SITUATED opposite the relaxing Jardin Tuilleries and just steps from the world’s most famous art gallery – the Louvre and France’s finest shopping street Rue Saint-Honoré – as well as the dramatic Place de la Concorde, Le Meurice is the perfect launchpad from which to explore the city of lights.
However, one may be hard pressed to actually leave such an exquisite hotel.
Le Meurice encapsulates the elegance of Paris. With its 19th-century marble interiors, crystal chandeliers and gilded walls the hotel escorts you into another century. And then brings you right back again with modern and playful additions from legendary French interior designer Philippe Starck.
The salon Pompadour
The hotel has a long and illustrious history as a gathering point for leading artists and royalty. So many kings, queens, duchesses and sultans stayed there in the 1900s that it became known as the ‘hotel of kings’. Tchaikovsky, Dali, Kipling, Dylan and Chanel are just a few of the creatives who have graced the hotel’s rooms and salons.
Creations of Cédric Grolet’s pastry shop at Le Meurice
All dining at the hotel is overseen by legendary, multi-Michelin starred chef Alain Ducasse. With pastries taken care of by celebrity pâtissier Cédric Grolet (who boasts 8.5M Instagram followers).
Executive suite with a park view
Executive room with park view
The rooms and suites are a masterclass in French taste. Our executive suite featured an enormous living room with Louis XVI style chairs, chandeliers and beautiful wall coverings and boasted a dream-like view of Jardin Tuilleries and the Eiffel Tower. From our balcony we could enjoy the hourly evening light show of the tower while feeling cosy with our sumptuous bath robes and hotel chocolat chaud.
The hotel is also extremely welcoming of children. I travelled with a 5-year-old and a 5-month-old and both were equally made to feel at home. At breakfast, the baby was given the most delicious chef-made apple puree with Madagascan vanilla and the 5-year-old swooned over his crepes with berries and luxurious chocolate sauce. The children received soft toys and smiles wherever they went.
Executive room bathroom
The Alain Ducasse restaurant at Le Meurice
The hotel also boasts the only spa in Paris by Valmont, the acclaimed Swiss beauty and wellness brand. Treatments include Ayurvedic massages, lymphatic drainage facials and sculpting treatments for an instantly more toned look.
It would be hard to find a more perfect Parisian hotel. There is nothing that can be faulted. In fact, everything at the hotel is extraordinary and all guests are treated like the kings and queens of the past.
by Nicola Kavanagh
Don’t miss Cédric Grolet’s limited edition festive creations this Christmas season. For more information on Le Meurice visit www.dorchestercollection.com/paris/le-meurice