Hôtel La Réserve Paris

The building went up in 1854 in the eclectic style typical of the Second Empire and originally had six levels above a basement. In 1991 the couturier Pierre Cardin acquired it and opened the Résidence Hôtel Maxim's, which closed in May 2009. That same year the businessman Michel Reybier bought the building, and the hotel belongs today to his group, Michel Reybier Hospitality. Reybier wanted this town house of suites and rooms to have the discreet elegance of a private club.

The architecture firm Bach Nguyen and the interior architect Jacques Garcia led a complete rehabilitation in the spirit of the original. It was a case of facadism: only the facades and a few major architectural features were kept, among them the main staircase, which was later reassembled. The hotel opened on 19 January 2015, and the Palace distinction followed in 2016. The MICHELIN Guide now lists it with Three MICHELIN Keys, its mark for an extraordinary stay.

The Duc de Morny Library, open daily from 08:00 to 22:00, has more than 3,000 books on its walls, chosen personally by Michel Reybier and Jacques Garcia, among them some rare first editions. Warm woodwork, an open fire, velvet and drapes catch the soft light of the adjoining patio. Set into an alcove, the Cabinet de Curiosités is an honesty bar whose wines and spirits sit among the exotic souvenirs of Louis-Gaspard d'Estournel. He founded Cos d'Estournel, the Saint-Estèphe estate that is another of Michel Reybier's properties, and travelled widely in India to promote its wine. A secret door leads to the Smoking Room, where a Pinel & Pinel trunk holds more than 400 carefully selected cigars.

The hotel sits back from the Champs-Élysées on an avenue of century-old trees. In front of the building, what the hotel calls a majestic curtain of trees preserves its privacy and echoes the nearby Jardins de l'Élysée. The greenery also frames the views: according to the hotel, the Prestige Suites look out onto Rue du Cirque, with the Grand Palais glimpsed through the leaves.

The hotel lies midway between Avenue Montaigne and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, and its views reach the Eiffel Tower and the Panthéon, the Grand Palais and the Concorde obelisk. On the fifth floor, the Eiffel Imperial Suite's private balcony looks across to the Eiffel Tower, the spire of Notre-Dame and the glass roof of the Grand Palais, while from the Elysée Suite's many windows and balconies the view plunges to the nave of the Grand Palais, the Eiffel Tower and the gilded sculptures on the Alexandre III bridge.

Rooms and suites draw on silk-hung walls, velvet drapes, damask brocade taffeta, waffle-weave fabrics, herringbone oak parquet and one-off pieces of antique furniture; bathrooms use Carrara and Turquin blue marble, and most receive natural light. The Prestige Room (40 m²) and the Premier Room (45 m²) each have a king-size bed and look onto the leafy patio, and the Prestige Room has pastel hues and an interactive tablet for setting the atmosphere. Its bathroom is Carrara marble, as are those of the Prestige Junior Suite, Deluxe Suite, Prestige Suite and Eiffel Imperial Suite, each with a bath, twin basins and an Italian-style shower.

No two suites are alike: spread between the first and fifth floors, they range from 50 to more than 200 m², and some have communicating doors. The Prestige Junior Suite (50 m²) brings bedroom and living room together in a single open space; the Junior Suite Terrace is also 50 m², and the Eiffel Junior Suite 52 m². The Deluxe Suite (60 m²) has a bedroom, a dressing room and a lounge area under the remarkably high ceilings typical of the first floors of Haussmann-style mansions. Velvet sofas, damask brocade hangings and plush carpeting furnish it, alongside gilded bronze sculptures and antique curios.

The Prestige Suite (80 m²) is laid out as a spacious bedroom, a large dressing room, a private area and a separate lounge area, and in fine weather breakfast can be served on its balcony, which has a sculpted balustrade and panoramic views. Dark-wood Napoleonic-style furniture with gilt accents shares the space with velvet-covered settees and objets d'art sourced from Parisian antique dealers. The Eiffel Imperial Suite (118 m²) follows the Empire style: its period furniture is adorned with black lacquer, precious inlays and gold filigree, silk damask hangings carry medallion motifs, and there is a private bar and a wine cellar of Grand Cru wines. It can also be arranged to connect with the Eiffel Junior Suite.

The Elysée Suite (170 m²), on the fifth and top floor, sleeps four in two king-size beds; its two bedrooms each have their own dressing room, and there is a spacious lounge, two private bars and a cellar of Grand Cru wines. Herringbone-patterned wooden floors echo the ornate ceiling mouldings, and bespoke wallpaper follows the grand tradition of the French decorative arts. The Grand Palais Suite (220 m²) also sleeps four in two king-size beds, while the Duc de Morny Suite measures 115 m² and the Eiffel Presidential Suite 140 m². In the Elysée, Prestige and Eiffel Imperial suites, one additional bed, for one person, can be added on request.

At Le Gabriel, the dining room is clad in Spanish gilt leather and floored in Versailles parquet. Jérôme Banctel's cooking there is decidedly contemporary: each dish rests on naturally seasonal produce, on sauces made without butter or cream and on the chef's own story, with each course a chapter of his life, in a journey that runs from Brittany to the ends of the earth. The restaurant serves lunch from 12:30 to 13:30 and dinner from 19:30 to 21:30, Monday to Friday. As executive chef, Banctel also oversees La Pagode, whose cooking the hotel describes as resolutely French, with tradition rendered with acute precision, and whose menu highlights his signature dishes and brasserie classics.

The hotel suggests Le Gaspard, its bar, for cocktails with friends, after-work drinks, a business meeting or a glass of champagne for two. The Duc de Morny Library also serves La Pagode's specialities and, from morning to evening, makes an informal setting for a coffee, a meal, a cocktail or a glass of champagne; in summer its large bay windows open onto the patio for lunch. In the rooms and suites there is no fixed room-service menu: the dedicated butler, on call 24/7, packs and repacks, runs baths and can have the chef of Le Gabriel prepare a meal.

Spa Nescens combines a 16-metre indoor pool with a hammam, three treatment cabins and a fitness studio with a personal coach, and it draws on the expertise of Clinique Nescens, which the hotel calls a pioneer in the biology of ageing. The spa is open daily from 09:00 to 21:00; treatments are booked by appointment within those hours and are open to outside clients as well as hotel guests. Fitness sessions run to tailor-made training circuits, Pilates and yoga, and any hand or foot treatment in the Beauty Studio comes with a complimentary Kure Bazaar nail polish in the colour of the guest's choice.

Only hotel and apartment guests, spa members and people who book private lessons may use the pool and fitness area. Children have access to the spa, the pool and the fitness centre, with conditions: under-16s must be accompanied by a responsible adult, they are welcome in the pool before 10:00 and after 19:30, and massages and facials are reserved for guests aged 16 and over. The Beauty Studio offers hair styling in guests' own rooms.

Marie-France, the head concierge, belongs to Les Clefs d'Or, the Golden Keys. Any room or suite can be fitted out as a personal workspace, with an adapted desk, a printer, an additional screen and other equipment. As an event space, the Winter Garden, hidden from view and named after its hand-painted trompe-l'oeil decor, covers 40 m², with a 40 m² outdoor patio set with red Château de Versailles planters; it seats 15, or 20 for cocktails.

Families can ask for connecting rooms, suitable furniture and childcare, and the butler service extends to children. Connecting rooms join two or three separate rooms, each with its own bathroom, through an inner door or a common hallway: a Prestige Room and a Premier Room together take up to four guests across an average of 85 m², overlooking the leafy patio, and the largest combinations take up to eight. Children receive a soft toy elephant, a colouring booklet, organic bath products, juices, water and pastries, plus, on request, biscuits bearing their first name.