styleNorth

I’ve never been able to afford luxury travel but my friend has a friend who secured her a special rate at the luxurious Royal Monceau, a Raffles hotel just off the Champs-Elysees, a block from the Arc de Triomphe.

Closed in 2008 and reopened two years later after a multi-million dollar renovation by designer Philippe Starck, the hotel’s public and private spaces are more restrained and tasteful than many of Starck’s trendy hotel refurbs. Of course, there are some over-the-top flourishes like the chandeliers, above, a riff on Versailles’s hall of mirrors, and the gargantuan pendant light, below, in the restaurant where we took our breakfast on the first morning.

And speaking of sticker shock, I mean, breakfast, the continental version tipped the scale at 38€, while the all-in buffet was 46€. We opted for the full monty, which turned out to be surprisingly good value, in the end, because it carried us through to a late lunch, which in turned negated an expensive dinner.

My photo of our room, below, doesn’t do it justice. The space was not huge but it was VERY comfortable with seating and a small desk, a walk-in closet for dressing and a large, lovely bathroom. The TV was secreted behind the large mirror facing the beds.

Starck has used mirrors to great effect throughout the hotel, particularly in the en suite bathrooms.

The hotel has an art concierge and private gallery and a pool/spa that is beyond divine featuring all the Clarins products we could use (same in our bathroom). Luxurious appointments aside, I cannot overstate the superb level of service we experienced from absolutely everyone from the concierges to the desk staff to the doormen, waiters . . . everyone.

To quote The Pixies, this monkey’s gone to heaven!

Be Sociable, Share!

•