best bed: La Reserve, Paris, France

I’m pretty sure La Reserve is what heaven is going to look like, smell like, taste like, BE like!  The hotel truly is divine. Originally the home of Napoléon III’s half-brother, the Duc de Morny, it was built in 1854 in the poshest part of Paris. The Duc was a renowned dandy, art collector and very successful business man. His house was built in the grand Haussmann style of the Second Empire. This new Paris was controversial in its day. Old medieval neighborhoods were destroyed and people relocated to make way for this fashionable grandeur. Now it is what we think of as typically Parisian: cream colored stone, mansard roofs and small balconies along the facade. The family kept the building until 1888… after that it was converted into offices and later owned and lived in by designer Pierre Cardin. In 2013, French businessman Michel Reybier bought the property. He was a man with a dream… to create the finest hotel in the world.  In collaboration with famed designer Jacques Garcia, they spent two years and I can’t imagine how much money creating a property that harks back to the glamour and decadence of the Belle Epoche yet encompassed all the modern luxuries the Duc could only have dreamed of. The dark reds, soft velvets, thick silks and antique pieces could be intimidating but are actually extremely welcoming. As is everything and everyone throughout the hotel. The pre-arrival questionnaire guarantees you have everything you need including your preferred room temperature (I left it blank as I have no idea, but I plan to learn). The padded mat beside the bed ensures your bare feet have a spoiled place to rest before putting on slippers. An extensive minibar is complementary as is a selection of way too tempting treats. There is even a bedside charging station. Every detail is so thoughtfully considered. It’s no wonder that since it opened in 2015, La Reserve is regularly voted the best hotel in France, Europe and the world. Heaven on earth.

Number of Rooms: 25 suites, 15 rooms

Sweet Suite: The Duc de Morny suite where I was lucky enough to stay… not their biggest, but it oozed charm, comfort and luxury and it had the most luscious marble and mirror bathroom I’ve ever seen. It also has the Duc’s original birth certificate… a wonderful bit of history! The dressing room was bigger than my first apartment. We lit a fire in the evening and gazed at the Eiffel Tower while we enjoyed a room service breakfast at our own dining room table in the morning.  John said it had the best shower he’d ever taken, I loved the tub. Every room comes with a butler, I wish real life did.

Favorite Thing: well, everything… I wish I had brought a big suitcase as I wanted to take every perfect detail home with me…but to pick one thing it might be the super toto toilet… the seat cover raises automatically, it senses (100% accurately) when to flush and in between can do pretty much anything you can imagine except actually go for you!

Near By: Who cares! Because the truth is you’re not going to want to leave… but if you decide to step back out into the real world the location is close to the shopping of Faubourg Saint-Honore & Avenue Montaigne, the Champs Elysees, Petit Palais, Grand Palais, the Pont Alexandre III, the Place de la Concorde

Amenities: the 2 star Michelin restaurant Le Gabriel, Le Pagode de Cos Restaurant, bar, 24 hour pool, private cigar lounge for guests, bar, pool, fitness room, spa, yoga mats & weights in the room, complementary mini bar, library

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https://www.lareserve-paris.com/en/