The inhabitants and visitors have many reasons to visit Paris, but during a recent trip to the city of the Enlightenment, I found myself being well, breast-feed. This is how I found myself at the Valmont Spa at Meurice for a day of rest and renewal.
Opened in 1835 on rue de Rivoli in Paris 1er 1st boroughThe Meurice has long been hailed as the golden stallion of luxury life, with its majestic suites and its dominant hall which feels both cavernous and intimate. Often called “The Hotel of Kings(Or “Hotel of Kings”), Le Meurice cemented this status officially in 2011 when it became the first property to be awarded the official status of the “Palace”. And yes, many royal guests have passed through its doors in the preceding years and since then.
Now, a year deleted from the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, Le Meurice – and a large part of Paris – continues to welcome guests from all countries (and yes, all the notbibilities too). The latest statistics on Paris tourism declare by plane up 13% compared to the period last year, with a night when the hotel remains 8%. French Minister of Tourism Nathalie Delattre, in the meantime, would have boasted that the country is on the right track to “beat another record” after having crossed the brand of 100 million visitors in 2024.
The post-Olympic boost has brought both longtime fans and new visitors to Paris, with the Meurice of the Dorchester collection remaining a jewel in the heart of the historic city. But while the hotel itself is large and opulent, its Valmont spa is deliberately discreet, nestled at a lower level far from the Louvre movements and the guests of Tuileries Body-Body in the streets above. The spa is suitable for relaxation, of course, but it is designed for results. This means a small sauna and an outdoor terrace, but no swimming pool, jacuzzi or steam. You are here for treatments – and remedies.
For me, it meant to indulge in one of the SPA signature facials, which promised to bring my skin stressed and tired to life.
After a brief consultation, my facialist suggested a personalized mixture of the treatment of the “purity of the Alps” of the spa – said “restoring your radiation and improving your natural beauty” – as well as “the hydration of the bisses”, which “redemottes your skin, which allows it to find comfort and radiance”.
Anti-aging essentials
Set of timeless essentials Valmont
Slowly but intentionally, my facialist worked through a range of Valmont products which addressed my most pressing skin problems: a cleaning foam to eliminate the constructed oil and the impurities of a week spent walking in the Parisian streets; a hyaluronic acid serum to plump and hydrate; and a soaking mask for an instant – and intense – hydration dose -.
It looks like a hyperbola but my skin was entirely softer, lighter and more relaxed. My jaw was not covered and my forehead raised, and I started to drift in a state of tranquility.
Fresh gel hydration
Booster moisturizer
Valmont’s world renowned treatments are supported by decades of experience, and brand products were used by Coco Chanel and Grace Kelly. While I was lying on the heated table in the serene space of the Le Meurice Spa (aka Valmont house for the Meurice), I couldn’t help but ask myself how many stars had crossed these same rooms – and these same expert hands – before. As it is really luxurious to engage in such a restorative experience, and how much to find a moment of loneliness in the midst of the bustle of life.
Note me
Primary sail
After a mask for cooling eyes, treatment for nourishing lips and fingers of fantasy to lift and tighten the neckline, my treatment was finished. “Your skin really needed it,” said my facialist.
I think I really needed it too.
Through the city, the famous Plaza Athénée hotel offers another type of food, with the recent reopening of their outdoor restaurant, the courtyard.
As its name suggests, the restaurant – or “Courtyard Garden” – is nestled in the heart of the prestigious property avenue Montaigne, located among the leafy greenery and the imposing walls of the famous hotel.
New for summer is a menu with the flavors of Brittany, the most northwest region of France which ends at the start of the Atlantic Ocean. Rightly so, the dishes range from vinaigrette and grilled lobster to Kouign-Amann Millefeuille and Crêpe cake.
Mark Read
Do you prefer a different culinary experience? The Montaigne terrace, the restaurant on the terrace facing the rue de l’Hotel has also reopened to eat to eat outdoors Offering a view of the Eiffel Tower, while you sip your Cappuccino in the morning or enjoy an aperitif in the afternoon. The visible and seen space also offers a full menu, with meals focused on seafood such as tuna tartare, lobster spaghetti and spicy trout salad with curry.
Known for having been presented in the last season of Sex and cityThe original HBO race, Plaza Athénée Hotel, continues to be an essential destination for celebrities and the elegant ensemble today, with the majestic Hotel Palace nicknamed “the Haute Couture address” for its proximity to the longest fashionable stores, but also for its white glove service, which has long established luxury hospitality.
Our suggestion: Book a suite avenue oriented towards Montaigne at the Athenée, which offers window shutters from the floor to the ceiling that open to reveal a charming balcony with a view of the Eiffel Tower, so that you can enjoy the sunrise in the morning and bring the sparkling lights of the emblematic French brand at night.
On the east side of the city, SO / Paris quickly became an essential place for fashion enthusiasts, the cultural class and design aficionados. Located along the banks of the Seine, at a distance from the districts of the Marais and Bastille districts, the brilliant and minimalist rooms of the SO offer a contemporary alternative to the more traditional and classic hotels of the city. The hotel offers a kind of unpretentious Parisian luxury which makes it a very well sold destination stay.
S / O Paris
Head nods in Paris abound, organized local illustrations and coffee table books in rooms, coding bath products, which would be inspired by traditional French pharmacy offers. New this season: an activation of the hall with the emblematic department store, spring, celebrating its 160th anniversary.
The installation celebrates the history of the store while presenting conceptions of the past and the present. What if you see something you love? The print building on Boulevard Haussmann is only 15 minutes by car.
To come this fall: the SO / Paris hall will pass looks inherited to the future, teaming up with the French fashion institute (IFM) nearby to present the looks of students in the fashion design and IFM motif class. The hotel says it is an opportunity for visitors to “walk behind the scenes and discover what is going on before a garment strikes the track”.
The Light Hotel Hall is the ideal setting for fashion models because it has quickly become a popular gathering place. Indeed, the S / O Paris Lobby Cafe, the restaurant on the Bonnie roof (playing off Bonnie & Clyde) and the Bonnie Club on the roof, attract crowds of premises and visitors every week. The hall offers a place for work, the happy hour or drinks before dinner, while the roof offers panoramic views to correspond to the people who look inside.
And when you are ready to crash, the S / O Paris also makes sure to stay in bed in bed, with the recent launch of its second collaboration with the brand of night clothing based in Berlin, Tom indam. The collection includes a set of two-room room clothing that merges the hotel sophisticated with the avant-garde vibrations of the German brand.
Made from a super soft and durable Tencel material, living room clothes are suitable for sleep, but did not speak in its place when they are exhausted and roughly one or the other. This is just another way that the S / O Paris is organizing an experience for customers who extend beyond the hotel room. Buy the collection here.
