Hotel des Grands Boulevards

With only subtle signage announcing its spot on a busy Right Bank avenue, Hotel des Grands Boulevards is located past a wrought-iron gate and down a short arbored alley. The set-back building went up during the French Revolution in the late 18th century; then, the location was essentially the poor countryside. Designer Dorothee Meilichzon winks to this time period, incorporating motifs from the court of Versailles and the realm of Marie Antoinette throughout the hotel. Instead of a grand lobby, there is a simple hallway, where herringbone brick floors march past the wooden reception desk (note the black-leather tassel keys) and into the glass-roofed courtyard restaurant. Forest green and vivid crimson benches with brass coffee tables and potted plants line the entryway. Globe lights and sconces resembling street lamps and the glass roof of the courtyard restaurant provide extra light and the musky scent of lit candles fill the air. 

The hotel was a January 2018 opening from the Experimental Group, the uber-cool food-and-drink-focused hotel group behind The Henrietta Hotel in London's Covent Garden and Grand Pigalle Hotel in Paris' South Pigalle, as well forthcoming hotels in Verbier, Switzerland; Venice; and Munich. The group was started by three New Yorkers, who, in the mid-aughts, couldn’t find a decent cocktail bar in Paris. They opened the Experimental Cocktail Club, which became such a success, they opened opened two more locations before branching into restaurants and now hotels. Top-of-the-line food, drink, and design are common threads at all properties. Even the style of the ground-floor bathrooms at Hotel des Grands is meticulously thought-out: communal circle sinks, pull-flush toilets, and wallpaper depicting pastoral scenes all reference the neighborhood's low rank as the poor countryside in the 1700s. Rustic touches found throughout the hotel are combined with subdued references to Versailles and Marie Antoinette. The 18th-century queen's love of decorative seashells (a popular ornament in France at the time) inspired the lobby-level The Shell, a jewel of a cocktail bar open nightly until the wee hours. The arched mirrors in the elevator and the parquet carpeting in the rooms are sly nods to Versailles. Coral marble, a common material in Louis XVI style, is found throughout the hotel.

High-end hipsters, mostly couples and solo travelers, make up the clientele, and during the day, the restaurant is packed with business types having informal meetings over beef tartare and red wine. Not surprisingly, the designed-to-a-T hotel is often booked for photo shoots. Families will probably feel out of place here, and would do better at the nearby Hotel Indigo Paris - Opera, which has family suites and duplexes.

Standing in front of the hotel on the busy Boulevard Poissonniere, you must really search for any clue that a hotel is tucked between the Irish pubs and toy and baby-gear stores. The signage is discreet, the building is set back, and there is a lot going on in either direction: this commercial stretch in the 2nd arrondissement is full of bars, bistros, creperies, theaters and cinemas (including Le Grand Rex, a block and a half away), and 19th-century covered shopping passages. Palais Garnier and Galeries Lafayette are about a 15-minute walk west from the hotel. The area is up and coming, thanks to the openings of this hotel and the nearby Hoxton, Paris. The Grands Boulevards metro stop (lines 8 and 9) is right in front of the hotel. Getting to/from Charles de Gaulle Airport takes about 35 minutes by car and 55 minutes by train.

All 50 of Hotel des Grands Boulevards' soundproofed rooms and suites share a super-chic design and, with a few exceptions, the same upscale amenities. Rich tones and textures, like rough linen in emerald or coral, give the rooms a feel that simultaneously minimalist and plush. Beds are handmade in Brittany, France, and dressed in satin sheets. Tall velvet headboards with baldachin canopies -- draping linen custom-dyed by the Paris-based Nobilis fabric house -- hint at Marie Antoinette's boudoir. Driftwood side tables and work stools and walls coated in muted slate and sage were inspired by the bucolic grounds of Versailles and the countryside that once surrounded the hotel. Desktops and some bathroom ledges are made of red marble, a material closely associated with Louis XVI style.

All rooms feature Sjostrand espresso makers with organic coffee, mirror flat-screen HDTVs, safes, air-conditioning, and a free bottle of water, replenished daily. Revo radios look vintage, but are enabled with Bluetooth, and rotary-style phones can be used for free calls. By the beds are both USB ports and old-fashioned brass button light switches. Not surprisingly from a hotel group that got its start with cocktail bars, in-room minibars are excellent and feature special batches of handmade ECC cocktails.

Most rooms have arched double doors leading to the bathrooms. Bathrooms have clawfoot tubs, rainfall showers, or both, and all have marble countertops, globe lamps, and custom tiles in contrasting patterns by a ceramics workshop near Lyon. The hotel works with many upscale beauty brands for its toiletry kits -- linen drawstring bags full of items like Sachajuan shampoo, Ren conditioner, Malin+Goetz lotion, and shower gel from Paris-based Codage. Cast-iron jars are provided for keeping jewelry safe. Bathrooms have heated towel racks and full-size hairdryers, and bathrobes and slippers are provided in all rooms.

Some rooms have balconies or courtyard terraces. Housekeeping and turndown are performed daily. Wi-Fi is free in the rooms.

Hotel des Grands Boulevards has three main features: an upscale restaurant, a chic cocktail bar, and a seasonal rooftop bar. Overseen by Italian-born chef Giovanni Passerini, the restaurant is set under a retractable glass roof in the building's courtyard. It's open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and brunch on Sundays. Cuisine is a mix of French and Italian, with popular menu items including Italian charcuterie, Roman-style rice balls, and hanger steak. Dishes are served on handmade Greek pottery. Twenty-four-hour room service is also available.

The Shell, named after a decorative motif in popular in 1700s France (and with Marie Antoinette), is a cozy cocktail bar open nightly until late. Decorated in brushed brass and rich shades of coral-red and blue, the space features 1960s Eugenio Gerli armchairs, bold and colorful zigzag-print stools, and an intimate eight-seat bar. When the weather is pleasant, the hotel opens the Shed, a seasonal bar on the rooftop.

Hotel des Grands Boulevards does not have any on-site fitness or wellness facilities. It partners with a local gym, but guest access only comes at a fee. Concierge service is available 24 hours a day, and laundry/dry-cleaning are available. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel. At this writing there are no meeting rooms, but the hotel is planning on adding the feature in the future.