Live like royalty at Pavillon de la Reine. Stay at this remarkable luxury boutique hotel in Place des Vosges, deemed Paris’ most beautiful historic squares.
White stone arches lead through hotels each with their private courtyard surrounding the infamous Place des Vosges once home to nobles and royals. Today, it is considered one of the prettiest squares in the world once built by Henry IV. As we walk through an awning of stone arches that loops around the square, we stop in front of a sign that reads Pavillon de la Reine. We have arrived. The luxury boutique hotel is hard to miss. The stone entrance leads to a large pavilion with a courtyard that reveals a 17th-century mansion whose façade is cascading with lush green ivy. The courtyard is a splendid example of Marais architecture. Step in and you don’t hear a sound. It’s an oasis from Paris’ popular Marais neighborhood.
We enter and check-in. A bellhop escorts us to our Deluxe Suite on the second floor. Pavillon de la Reine only has 54 rooms, making it an intimate stay in a 17th century former mansion. We walk down a long hallway with rich dark velvety-like wallpaper. Our bellhop opens the door to our Deluxe Suite and we are overcome with sunshine breaking in through the double door window and an explosion of color and texture. High ceilings set off golden tones throughout the room. Each room is decorated with different colors that recall 17th century style. Our walls were overcome with elegant and rich golden silk damask wallpaper. The wall was so smooth, I had to resist the urge of placing my cheek against it. Heavy orange and purple velvet curtains draped the side of our floor to ceiling double door windows that opened up to a private balcony overlooking the lush green courtyard.
The Deluxe Suite had a sitting area with a velvet-striped couch, a table with a welcome fruit bowl, a mini-fridge stocked with snacks and beverages, and an antique desk. The top floor had a king size bed, TV, and wardrobes. The room was full of antique furnishings and oil paintings even in the mosaic tiled bathroom. Not all duplexes have cozy sleeping lofts, but if you request one, you might get lucky! The clock near the king size bed was bluetooth enabled. Pat hooked his phone up to and using the free wi-fi began playing French jazz music through the surround sound in the room—so Parisian, so French, so classy.
We got dressed and headed out for a walk around the Marais district. Pavillon de la Reine offers complimentary bicycles on-site for guests to use, but it was slightly raining that afternoon, so we chose to go for a walk instead. Steps outside from our luxury boutique hotel was Place des Vosges. The green park was surrounded by dusty pink to deep red tall brick and plaster townhouses and hotels, once owned by royals and nobles. The clouds turned into a similar dusty pink as the sunset behind the buildings. After dinner at Gaspard de la Nuit, just steps away from Pavillon de la Reine, we returned to our Suite.
Unlike a hotel, Pavillon de la Reine operates just like an intimate country home. As we returned from dinner, large wooden doors closed the courtyard to the outside world. The only way to enter was to ring the doorbell and have the bellhops let us in. It felt like someone’s private intimate home in the middle of Paris.
It had been a long day and we were exhausted. We had landed in Paris just that morning and needed to unwind. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to experience the spa services at Pavillon de la Reine or fitness center. If I had an extra day, I definitely would have delighted in a massage and used the jacuzzi and steam room. In any case, the bathroom and amenities did the job. Complimentary Codage products and lush bathrobes and slippers made for the perfect cozy evening. We even took a few bottles from the mini-fridge to unwind. Pavillon de la Reine offers high-end drinks such as champagne, wine, hard liquor, and free snacks. We enjoyed a bottle of Champagne Billecartsalmon Brut Rêserve. We toasted to an amazing first night in an amazing Small Luxury Hotels of The World property.
The next morning the sun was out and we were ready to take advantage of the day. Pavillon de la Reine offers the opportunity to have breakfast in room, which I later on regretted we didn’t take advantage of! The views from our balcony were gorgeous that morning. While I waited for Pat to get ready for breakfast, I had a coffee using our in-room Nespresso machine and read the paper out on the balcony.
Breakfast is served in the library room at the entrance of the luxury boutique hotel. You can choose to eat inside or outside in the courtyard. Pavillon de la Reine can accommodate for everything, from custom made orders to buffet service. We went with the buffet. We picked and chose from fresh pain au chocolat, croissants, crêpes with jam, bacon, eggs, oatmeal and berries, grapefruit juice, coffee and café au lait. Our spread was rich, colorful, and full of variety.
Pavillon de la Reine was constructed by Henry IV with the intention of being an official Royal Residence. Although, it never got to play it’s part it became a meeting spot for many nobles and affluent and successful people from high-society. A stay in this historic mansion home is like immersing yourself into the life of the high nobility in France of the 17th century. From the service, to the mix of antique furniture and modern amenities, and the peaceful and intimate feeling that the house exudes, you’ll find yourself staying in a gem within the lost quarter of Paris, le Marais. My stay in this particular mansion home, not hotel, is one that has brought me back in time and allowed me to relive a piece of French history. Rooms start at €306.
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Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Pavillon de la Reine & Spa, a Small Luxury Hotels of the World property. All opinions remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company.
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