Great Escape: Paris
Greenwich native and travel expert Meg Nolan van Reesema dishes about the sneak peek she took of Paris' newest addition, boutique hotel Pavillon des Lettres.
Constantly curious about all things hotel, during a recent trip to Paris I stopped to check in on the progress of the highly anticipated, boutique property Pavillon des Lettres. Slated to open sometime this autumn (this is France, after all), the 26-room, literary-themed hotel has dedicated each room to a letter in the alphabet and a corresponding French scribe (H for Hugo, F for Flaubert.) The sister property to the Marais’ beloved Pavilion de la Reine, Pavillon des Lettres is buzzing with workmen who are busy sanding, painting, installing and generally sweating in order to complete the hotel according to the owner’s high standards.
Having set the bar quite high — the Pavillon de la Reine provides a rare, verdant oasis with plush, wallpapered rooms that hum with romance — the owners (particularly the son, who is the lead behind the hotel’s ode to the written word) have taken similar, well-conceived steps to ensure this new property will draw equal accolades, including remodeling a beautiful Hausmann style, 17th-century townhouse in the 8th Arrondissement and employing the talented designer, Didier Benderli, responsible for NYC’s Kitsch Restaurant and those dreamy rooms at Pavillon de la Reine.
The 26 letter-assigned rooms range in size and shape, though all feature stenciled words of the chosen writer above the beds and contemporary, glass-walled bathrooms. Despite the historic façade, each of the rooms will offer an iPad for easy communication with the restaurant-less hotel and provide, perhaps a fitting contrast between yesterday’s form of reading and today’s.
Good to Know: When booking, as to stay in either the front-facing, junior suite D for Diderot with a narrow terrace and skyline views of the Grand Palais and the iconic Tour de Eiffel or on the top-floor, nestled in the eaves, B for Baudelaire.
Book It: Rates start at 300Euro; pavillondeslettres.com
Meg Nolan van Reesema is a travel writer and author of the Hideaways series published by Rizzoli. She has recently opened a consulting business; Friend of a Friend Consulting, advising both small hotels and couples planning celebratory trips. (wherenextwithmeg.com)
