
WORDS Danielle Weakley PHOTOS Alexandre Tabaste (Cheval Blanc), Nicolas Anetson (Chouchou), Supplied
Five extraordinarily chic hotels recently flung open their doors in the city of love. Ready to explore?
Bulgari Hotel
When a luxury house as well known for its Italian craftsmanship as Bulgari opens a hotel in the heart of Paris’s Golden Triangle, just moments away from the Champs-Élysées, you expect it to be the perfect mesh of two fashionable cultures. And it is. A photograph of Sophia Loren looking out at Avenue George V takes pride of place in the lobby, perfectly encapsulating this mix. The architecture is an homage to the palaces designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, and the facade has been constructed in the same pale stone as the Louvre and the Trocadéro. Inside, it’s all marble and granite, softened by silk wall coverings, tapestries and marquetry.
Hôtel Madame Rêve
Hôtel Madame Rêve has taken up residence in the former Louvre post office building in the ritzy 1st arrondissement. It’s super-discreet, with nothing more than its geometric-style name embossed onto a single sandstone corner to announce its existence. Once inside, though, expect to find a rooftop bar-slash-urban oasis with a 360- degree view of the city, and a sexy penthouse Japanese restaurant that attracts Paris’s coolest locals. The retro, wood-panelled rooms are dramatically accessorised by little more than unobstructed views of the city’s most legendary monuments, thanks to the genius addition of impressive sloping windows.
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Cheval Blanc Paris
Since 1869, La Samaritaine’s Art tNouveau facade presided over the River Seine – but in 2005, the historic department store was shuttered. Its new owners, LVMH, set out to convert the iconic building, restoring it to its Belle Époque glory. In its new guise, it boasts one of the city’s chicest and most luxurious boutique hotels – and with close to 600 artisans involved in the restoration, and works by global artists throughout, spending a night here is a museum-worthy experience. A striking beige, white and gold colour palette is offset by staggering views – and there’s an underground Dior spa. It’s been aptly described as “1930s elegance meets 1970s grooviness”.
Château Voltaire
Imagine the buzz at Paris Fashion Week when co-founder of cult French label Zadig & Voltaire, Thierry Gillier, announced he was opening a hotel. The concept is “undone elegance” – sounds perfectly, fashionably Parisian, non? The idea is that guests should feel like they’re overnighting at his home, among his personal art collection. There are just 32 rooms, all completely different in size and design, and from the almost-secret room tucked into the eaves to room number 47 (which has its own terraced garden), the entire space is imaginative and insouciant. As with many great Paris hotels, there’s a hotel dog – and yes, it is a French bulldog. His name is Bobby.
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Chouchou Hotel
You’ll find Chouchou Hotel in the heart of the Opera District, just blocks from the most famous opera house in the world – Palais Garnier, the setting of The Phantom Of The Opera. The newly opened Chouchou doesn’t take itself too seriously: named after a French term of endearment, Chouchou loosely translates as “teacher’s pet”, and the hotel has lived up to that name, quickly becoming a favourite destination among locals. In a nod to its location, the rooms and suites are all named after famous French songs and novels. Stay in the pastel-pink La Vie En Rose, or hole up in the Heartsnatcher/L’Arrache-cœur suite, named after French writer Boris Vian’s 1953 novel.
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