Paris Smart Splurges

Christian Lacroix is beloved for his love of wild color combinations and theatrical design, so it should come as no surprise that the fashion designer created a sensation when he did the interiors for this new hotel in the northern Marais district. Each of the 17 smallish rooms in this 17th century former boulangerie (bakery) features a completely different look: some walls are covered in black leather, some are splashed with Lacroix’s design sketches, and others feature bejeweled headboards. But the owners knew better than to sacrifice comfort for all this extravagance. The fantastic king-size beds are wrapped in fine linens, the attractively tiled bathrooms have large tubs, and air conditioning and Wi-Fi are both on tap. The one thing it doesn’t have is a restaurant; but in this neighborhood, home to some of the best bistros and pastry shops in Paris, why bother?

Who needs the Loire when you can live out your fairytale fantasy of castle stays and garden dining right in the midst of Paris? Saint James Paris, the only chateau hotel in the city, is situated on a prized slice of real estate off posh Avenue Foch, just a short walk from the Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, and Trocadero gardens. Surrounded by lush private gardens and a gated entrance, the late 19th-century neoclassical mansion offers 48 quiet and spacious rooms and suites, each decorated with different color schemes and with furnishings that range from antique to cutting-edge contemporary; ten rooms on the top floor also open up onto roomy interior patios. The grand lobby oozes old-world opulence and charm, while the classy library-bar is the perfect place to linger over an early-evening martini. The restaurant – open exclusively to guests and members of the hotel’s private club – also offers outdoor dining on the garden terrace during the summer months.

The legendary Le Meurice enjoys stunning views over the Tuileries Gardens and easy access to some of the city’s chicest boutiques and nightspots. Having provided luxurious accommodations to a high-profile clientele – everybody from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to Dali – for nearly two centuries, Le Meurice’s masterly white-glove service and spectacular public spaces ensure an experience fit for a king (pre-guillotine days, of course!). The hotel’s 160 sumptuous guest rooms and suites are individually decorated to combine fine period furnishings, rich fabrics, oversized marble bathrooms, and up to date amenities like Internet and flat-screen TVs. Of the several higher-floor rooms with garden-view balconies, the most spectacular is the expansive Belle Etoile Suite, with a terrace that boasts 360-degree panoramas over the Parisian skyline. A Michelin three-starred restaurant, an inventive spa doling out “vinothérapie” treatments, and an elegant lobby highlight the public spaces.

2008 SMART LUXURY WINNER
Paris's Best Luxury Bet

In the City of Light, luxury is a serious business, so when it came to naming our favorite hotel – George V? St. James? Plaza Athenée? The Ritz? – we were a bit bewildered. Enter Le Meurice: Its location, between the Place de la Concorde and the Louvre, near the Champs-Elysées yet sequestered from its hustle, and looking onto the lovely Tuileries Garden, is unparalleled.

Other Paris hotels have restaurants, but Le Meurice has Yannick Alléno – one of the most innovative, talented young chefs in the world – helming two eateries. Le Dali offers a less-pricey taste of Alléno’s skills and pays homage to the surrealist artist who once called Le Meurice home, beseeching the staff to catch flies for him in the Tuileries or fill his room with a herd of sheep.

The hotel is as full of Parisian pomp as ever but possesses an air of artistic whim – once embodied by Salvador Dalí and reinvigorated by designer Philippe Starck and his daughter Ara during a recent renovation. Best season for value: fall.

Great Value Alternative: Hôtel Langlois offers loads of atmosphere and a lot of space. From $180/night; www.hotel-langlois.com

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Set sail on romantic, live-music-accompanied dining cruises from the 8th arrondissement, passing by the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, the Louvre, and underneath the scenic arches of numerous bridges.

This long-time Parisian favorite in the Four Season George V Hotel serves up culinary treats...more

Forget the Moulin Rouge. Catch Paris' superlative cabaret show as it unfolds nightly (9:30pm and 11:30pm) on the Champs-Elysées; tickets to this feather-and-sequined spectacular include a half-bottle of champagne.

A fantastic pedestrian-friendly shopping district, le Marais is a medieval maze of streets harboring trend-setting boutiques on the ground floor of 17th-century mansions, plus fine shops and galleries along the perimeter of the Place des Vosges.