More than in any other city in the world, opulent hotels in Paris are part of the culture and indeed identity of the place. They are the distillation of a singular type of decadence and glamor that gives the city that gilded quality of extravagance. However with the sheer number of options, changing ownerships and openings (and closings) hotels in Paris can be hard to navigate. When they are superb, then the prices they command is money well spent but when they lack that particular Parisian lustre, then the experience of the city becomes a fantasy unfulfilled. From polish to a patina, sensual to sparkling, here are glamorous addresses that are always a pure indulgence whether it is your first or fifteenth time visiting the City of Lights.
Le Bristol
With almost 200 rooms and suites, Le Bristol , a Paris institution and Palace-designated hotel, is one of the largest in the city, but it retains a chic sense of intimacy that many far smaller ones lack. Here, there’s an airiness to the grandiosity, largely driven by the meticulous garden at its core, but also in the pastel color palette (be it light gray-blue, the color of a Parisian spring sky or Petit Trianon mint green) found throughout the bright and spacious rooms, and the famed nautical-themed rooftop pool under the building’s mansard roof. The rooms facing Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the city’s most famous shopping street, have exceptional light, while the ones facing the interior courtyard are wonderfully serene. There’s even a new, sweet, resident of its lobby, Socrate, a Burmese kitten, to welcome guests. Le Bristol will never be the hippest of the five-stars and that’s precisely why we love it. Timeless.
112 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008, +33 (0)1 53 43 43 00
La Réserve
Set in a 19th-century mansion originally constructed for the Duc de Morny, and later the private residence of couturier Pierre Cardin, the five years-old La Réserve has nearly double the number of suites as traditional rooms, with only 40 rooms total, each with its own look, many with velvet headboards and silk wallpaper, all with marbled bathrooms. Here, designer Jacques Garcia took a lighter hand than much of his work elsewhere, still with heavy jacquards and gilded moldings, but with a more refined lilt. Garcia has a knack for library-style rooms and the Duc de Morny Library is an exquisite example, reserved for guests only for breakfast and a good seat for early evening drinks. Sit in Le Gabriel for dinner with all of the best trappings of French formality, including a noteworthy cheese trolley. The crowd in this Palace-designated hotel is sophisticated and the service is too, with the lobby acting more as lounge and check-ins taking place in the rooms themselves. La Réserve also has 10 apartments (some with three bedrooms) in an adjacent building, well-suited to longer or family-centric stays
42 avenue Gabriel, 75008, +33 (0)1 58 36 60 60
Hôtel de Crillon
Commissioned by Louis XV in 1775, the Palace-designated Hôtel de Crillon has a majestic and storied history, from Marie Antoinette taking a piano lesson in its salons to JFK and and Jackie O staying in its suites. In the context of Paris’s most traditionally luxurious hotels, the Crillon has a cooler opulence, a modern edge and a luxurious address on the Place de Concorde. The refined and expansive inner courtyard contrasts with the two absurdly decadent suites designed by the late Karl Lagerfeld when the hotel was renovated top to bottom in 2017 where red marble fountains function as bathroom sinks and hidden closets are revealed behind bookshelves with the push of a button. Whereas many of the palace hotels are places in which to be seen, the Crillon has a level of quiet discretion and cool restraint, while still offering butler service in every room and suite. With black-veined white marble, a horseshoe bar and enormous chandeliers, Bar Les Ambassadeurs pours elegant drinks to match the room.
10 place de Concorde, 75008, +33 (01) 44 71 15 00
Hôtel Raphael
It’s a cliche but here is the place for those who've dreamed of relocating to the lived-in but refined and characterful hotels that Wes Anderson evokes in his films. (In fact, Anderson filmed his 2007 short Hotel Chevalier here.) It’s the real deal. The last remaining family-owned—by a French family nonetheless—palace hotel in Paris, a stay at the nearly 100-years-old Raphael is like living in a soulful French apartment with all of its imperfections, creaky floors, hand-painted walls, old furniture, in the best of ways. The rooftop bar and restaurant, open only in the spring and summer, give insane views of the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower. Parisians love to have drinks up there, as well as on the first floor, at the discreet English Bar, complete with the Serge 78, a gin and apricot brandy cocktail created by Serge Gainsbourg, who lived in the hotel in 1978. Each of the rooms have their own distinct design, one in green wood paneling sourced from an old abbey, another painted with figures of women, and the Eiffel Tower duplex suite with a spiral staircase leading up to a 300-square-foot terrace. Arguably, Parisians (and PRIOR’s) favorite of all.
17 avenue Kléber, 75116, +33 (0)1 53 64 32 00
JK Place Rive Gauche
The newest addition to Paris’s cache of over-the-top hotels is JK Place on the rue de Lille, the first location outside of Italy for hotelier Ori Kafri, opened in the final days of 2019. Set in 8th arrondissement at the top of Boulevard Saint-Germain, a block from the Seine, and the Musée d’Orsay, JK Place has a more homey atmosphere than other hotels in its league. From a private boat made available to guests for dinner on the Seine, to the well-chosen vintage pieces sourced by interior designer Michele Bönan from the Les Puces de Saint-Ouen flea market, to the sexy and intimate barrooms, every corner feels easily lived-in. Opt for the master suite, for its comfortable 4-post bed, marble fireplace and tons of light. There’s something to be said for Italian hospitality, warm and informal, but detail-oriented, considering the hotel’s fashion and creative clientele. Nothing is overlooked, down to the theft-worthy correspondence paper and clothing bags, in the colors of the Madeleine with grosgrain ribbons, hanging in the closet.
82 rue de Lille, 75007, +33 (0)1 40 60 40 20
L'Hotel
On an inconspicuous block in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, designer Jacques Garcia has instilled L’Hotel with a dark and moody, baroque gothic quality, fitting for a place with a covertly naughty history. With only 20 rooms, L’Hotel was built in 1828 in the footprint of Queen Margot’s 17th-century Pavillon d’Amour. The rooms, with sunken beds and mirrored dressers, tend to be quite small here, so book a suite, if possible. In the basement is a hammam, which has its own history – it was a hangout for Oscar Wilde when he lived in the hotel. His spirit is preserved here, particularly in the wood-paneled Oscar Wilde suite, which has a private terrace. A short walk from Notre Dame (closed until 2024, alas) and just across the Seine from the Louvre and the Tuileries garden. Still the sexiest.
13 rue des Beaux-Arts, 75006, +33 (0) 1 44 41 99 00
Ritz Paris
The Ritz is unabashed in its glamor. It’s sparkly and polished and hilariously snooty, as it should remain. And while everyone might not feel all that comfortable here (don’t wear shorts even in the height of summer), that’s kind of the point. Founded in 1898 by César Ritz, owned since 1979 by Mohamed Al-Fayed. It’s one of those great hotels in the world whose history reflects perfectly the happenings of the city itself. From the German Lufwaffe setting up camp during World War II to Marcel Proust, F. Scott Fitzgerald and of course, Diana, Princess of Wales. The rooms and suites are old-school Paris, with each having its own color palette and can range from modern to old school. Habitues of the Ritz will find a room they love and return to it on every visit and such regulars will find their monograms stitched on their Frette bed linens. And there is of course the Hemingway Bar, which is one of the City of Lights most glittering and amusing shows.
15 place Vendôme, 75001, +33 (0)1 43 16 30 30
