What is the best part of staying in a hotel?
Is it the luxury and comfort? Is it the room service and total pampering at the press of a button? Is it that all our cares and woes remain outside the door? Hotel life is not the real world, so much of the pleasure must lay in the escape. Who doesn’t like to escape every now and then from the rigours of everyday life?
Last week, in Paris, I had the great pleasure to be a guest at Le Bristol Paris for several nights.
Was I spoilt? A resounding yes.
Did I adore every extravagant moment? Of course.
Paris and I go way back and I am a frequent visitor.
Traditionally we celebrate our wedding anniversary each year in Paris. I have been very fortunate to have wined and dined in most of the better known Parisian hotels. But never Le Bristol.
What was he thinking? Saving the best until last perhaps?
When I am solo in Paris, with a mind full of stories and photographs that I am breathless to capture, where I stay is secondary. It is a different adventure.
At Le Bristol, I felt like a princess.
Not only because of the elegance and glamour of the hotel, but also because the service and ambience at Le Bristol is like no other I have experienced.
The hotel is family owned and feels like a Parisian home away from home.
The atmosphere was so relaxed, so friendly and despite the priceless furnishings and original artworks I felt that Le Bristol was my own domaine for those few days.
I could have happily stayed inside, lounged away the hours in Le Jardin Français with a good book and an endless pot of their delicious jasmine tea.
I’m old fashioned when it comes to all things Parisian and as much as I appreciate the contemporary I do enjoy the mood, the setting of the old world. To me, that is what Europe is all about and the difference that makes living or visiting here so unique.
What made Le Bristol special for me was the backdrop; the personal collection of decorative objects and the attention to detail in every area of the hotel.
Le Bristol isn’t about clever and edgy or keeping up with the latest and loosing touch with the past.
Le Bristol is about tradition, about the personal touch and first and foremost, Le Bristol is about their guests.
Loving interiors the way I do, I couldn’t help but snap my way through every corridor and peak through every door at Le Bristol.
and I also managed to have a taste, perhaps a little more than a taste, in each restaurant.
The food was sublime.
When you are in Paris try and have breakfast at Epicure, the gastronomique restaurant under the incredible direction of three star Michelin chef Éric Fréchon.
The pain perdu was nothing short of heavenly.
This French toast came highly recommended, I was not disappointed.
Promising myself only a bite, I lost all restraint.
And in the afternoon, apart from drinking the most fragrant jasmine tea in Le Jardin Français I would try the lemon meringue pie and the coconut macaron, if you must.
Le Bar du Bristol, this was probably one of my favourite rooms, not to mention the cocktails.
Slightly more contemporary than the rest of the hotel, the bar still has the same intimacy and warmth.
The wooden panelling, the tapesty, the velvet and leopard print fabrics all lend themselves to create an eclectic style and partcular French ambience that I love.
It’s hard after Le Bristol Paris to step back into real life. Yes, of course it was about luxury, about being looked after and about divine extravagance but it was so much more than that.
There was something so entirely infectious about the atmosphere at Le Bristol.
Leaving, I felt as if I had said goodbye to a great friend and that I would be counting the days until we are re-acquainted.
When in Paris… don’t forget Le Bristol and le pain perdu… xv
Le Bristol Paris
112 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré
75008 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 53 43 43 00
follow their holiday festivities on instagram @lebristolparis
