Hotel Champs Elysées Plaza

It would be an exaggeration to say that the world was shocked at the news that the folks behind the Hotel Champs Elysées Plaza had decided to convert a 1909 Haussmann-style townhouse just off the most famous street in Paris into a 35-room luxury hotel. But, as is so often the case in this city, what’s lacking in novelty is more than made up for in fine execution. The flowers are fresh, the lighting warm, the service professional and discreet, the atmosphere hushed without feeling stiff. The hotel’s bar is stylish but not flashy, an intimate space with chocolate-colored walls and Louis XV wing chairs — hitting all the right notes for a leisurely drink before dinner at the hotel’s cozy French-Continental restaurant, Le Keller.

The rooms here are large by Parisian standards, starting with the six, 375-square-foot Executive rooms. The fabrics, from the bedding to the upholstery, befit a neighborhood that’s home to the shops of Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior and many others, with various shades of brown, plum, gold and cream setting the color scheme. The Art-Deco-style bathrooms, with separate tubs (most of them jacuzzi-style) and showers, are appropriately stocked with Hermès toiletries. After the Executive rooms, it’s all suites. Junior suites are located on the corners of the building, their spacious sitting areas set around marble fireplaces. The mansard-roofed Deluxe suites and the vast Prestige suites, set on the upper floors, feature excellent views of surrounding rooftops and the street life below.

Just outside, the Arc de Triomphe, the Place de la Concorde, and genuinely world-class shopping, eating and drinking are steps away. If you’ve been to Paris before, or merely received your share of postcards, it’s likely a familiar scene. Change here is not exactly met with open arms, and with a location like this, a hotel could do much worse than to uphold the high standards of its neighborhood.

• 35 Rooms
• Style: Contemporary Classic
• Atmosphere: Lively

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