Le Brilliance Of Le Bristol review: France’s first ‘palace’ hotel proves sometimes you need to stop counting
If perfection has an address, it’s 112 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, in Paris.
France’s first “palace” hotel (classed above five stars) lies on a street that may well outshine London’s Bond Street and Madison Avenue in New York for couture, art and antiques. The presidential Élysée Palace is almost next door. Chanel, Hermès and Dior are neighbours. UK and Canadian embassies are parked nearby.
Le Bristol has been the ultimate Parisian pied-à-terre for collectors and connoisseurs since 1925, when the Roaring Twenties were at fever pitch, and the likes of Coco Chanel, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí were practically permanent residents.
It’s a dazzling heritage and Le Bristol has lost none of its original lustre. If anything, recent major refurbishments have only amplified the glamour - the popular Imperial Suite now commands a cool €45,000 (sure, call it $90,000) per night.
ROAM. Landing in your inbox weekly.
A digital-first travel magazine. Premium itineraries and adventures, practical information and exclusive offers for the discerning traveller.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Giddy calculations begin the moment the champagne cork pops in the Junior Suite (€2990 per night, for those counting). ROAM’s travel companion is already wondering aloud whether buying a Parisian apartment might prove more economical than a month at Le Bristol?
It’s gauche to discuss money in this context of course, particularly since ROAM has been invited to experience one of the most famous luxury hotels, in one of the world’s most expensive cities.
This is one of the last family-owned grand hotels in Europe. It’s the never-lift-a-finger property where Parisian style means discretion, not bling, and an exquisite lack of condescension is the highest form of excellence all by itself.
Le Bristol operates with the precision of a principality: 650 employees approach duties as if gliding on casters; five in-house florists tend blooms scattered across Versailles-style antique furniture; dedicated ateliers craft chocolate and pasta, and bread, from flour milled in the basement.
There is a perpetual tussle between exploring Paris and barricading in one of the lavishly furnished suites with twelve-foot ceilings festooned by crystal chandeliers.
There’s an antique writing desk for penning something significant under letterhead paper that’s a collectable treasure without even trying.
The marble bathroom with heated floors sports the deepest tub with soaps so exceptional you’ll think about pocketing them (please, don’t!).
Towels are as vast as picnic blankets and the walk-in robe is stocked with two dressing gowns for each guest (one for bath, one for spa or pool).
The art of gracious living reaches its zenith upon consideration of a candle (€580) by Maison Trudon (illuminating refined interiors since 1643) and, as evening falls, the prospect of a maid turning down the coverlets.
Stroll through the serenely green parterre garden and you’ll forget, if you haven’t already, that this is a 190-room hotel in a pulsating European capital.
An afternoon tour leads to the kitchens where a chocolatier is wielding a knife over a millefeuille with the gravitas of a surgeon. ROAM drifts from the bakery to cheese cave to pasta laboratory.
“I can see why people skip the apartment and just take a suite for a month,” mutters the travel companion.
Le Bristol holds four Michelin stars: three for Epicure held continuously since 2008 (the former lunch canteen of President Sarkozy, as it happens) where multi-course tasting menus are a masterclass in gastronomy.
It’s one star for the more casual brasserie 114 Faubourg where, upon recommendation, ROAM orders the signature pâté en croûte de canard et foie gras - duck and foie gras pâté in a crust - faultlessly French as expected.
A meal like this one can only be further complimented by a delicately executed millefeuille crafted by that surgeon-wielding-knife chocolatier.
Breakfast in Café Antonia overflows with an equally intricate basket of handcrafted pastries, accompanied by confiture, porridge, fruit, a classic egg dish, spinach on the side? Best ever tasted.
“It’s not obscenely expensive if you price each element separately,” interrupts the travel companion, fixated on mathematics again. “We could have had the lobster omelette for €65 instead of the classic at €74.” Another tussle ensues.
Dishes fit for royalty are served under the gaze of Queen Marie Antoinette, painted by court portraitist François-Hubert Drouais.
It’s not a surprise to find her here. Purists might snipe about hiding great art in top hotels, but a few euros on an espresso at Le Bristol (€12) buys you an hour with a masterpiece, unencumbered by crowds.
Art is everywhere. This is Paris, after all, and Le Bristol - in the words of head concierge Tony Le Goff - is “a club” for art collectors. His team maintains high standards of knowledge, rooted in passion, not just protocol.
“Since the beginning of this season, after work hours, I’ve been to 12 exhibitions,” he tells ROAM, catching up on Medieval works at Musée de Cluny, Gerhard Richter at the Louis Vuitton Foundation, the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay, jewels that are easily walkable from the hotel.
The Oetker family, who acquired Le Bristol in 1978, commissions work from major contemporary artists specifically for the property.
One of the art world’s most expensive living artists, George Condo, has created three original works for the Imperial Suite.
Equally improbable is the sixth-floor swimming pool flooded with natural light through windows offering breathtaking views across the Parisian skyline to Sacré-Coeur and the Eiffel Tower.
The walls are painted charmingly to resemble the prow of a sailing vessel, a la Onassis, surrounded by ocean liner panelling.
Up here, everything is absolutely clear. This isn’t just a place to stay. It’s a glimpse of what life could be if money were no object in an unapologetically magnificent city.
Sometimes, you just need to stop calculating and crack the damn champagne. lebristolparis.com
Price
Executive Room (for two) from about $3550 per night; Junior Suite from about $5335.
Insider
Don’t fight the breakfast splurge at Café Antonia as it’s multi-coursed theatre. Book the spa and Epicure before arrival.
Download a currency converter app, then immediately delete it because, if you’re going to do Paris properly, you might as well do it at Le Bristol. Your accountant will recover. And you won’t ever forget it.
