26 October, 2016
It's not hard to find a luxury hotel in the centre of Paris, but Le Roch - hidden down a side street off the Rue St Honoré - offers five-star service in true 'Maison Parisienne' style, giving it a more intimate Latin Quarter feel than the grander hotels nearby. This brand new Design Hotel is housed in a Haussman-style building and combines contemporary elegance with modern convenience. Paris is a city for walking and Le Roch's location makes it a perfect place to set out from - with the added benefit of knowing you'll have all your pampering needs catered to when you return.
The hotel has 32 rooms, with 15 looking out over the Rue Saint-Roch and the rest over Rue d'Argenteuil. The enormous Saint Roch suite and the four 'bien-être' suites come with their own hammams in the bathrooms, all with views over the courtyard terrace. The smaller rooms are really quite small, but beautifully designed with personal touches such as choice of books in each. The hotel has also made good use of integrated technology, so beware if you're a fan of the more traditional choice of an on-or-off switch. Le Roch also has an exclusive partnership with Codage Paris, and the bathrooms are full of their custom-made products.
Breakfast is a choice from three set menus, served in the restaurant or on the courtyard sun terrace. Begin your day French-style with an express coffee and croissant, while the continental offering will satisfy those after something a bit more substantial. Want to really push le bateau out? The all-American option includes a choice of hot drinks, juice, fruit, cereal, croissants, crepes, yoghurt, cheese, charcuterie, eggs and salmon.
Lunch and dinner are served in the hotel's restaurant on the ground floor and are prepared by the double Michelin-starred chef Arnaud Faye. The menu is small and inventive (geranium and pea coulis with sea bass, for example), and changes with the season. If you can't wait for dinner, the hotel also serves afternoon tea, making the most of the famous Paris patisseries.
Yes, and it's full of chic Parisians from the surrounding quartier. You'll find a small range of signature cocktails as well as all the classics, and the bartenders will make anything according to your taste. If wine's your thing, there's an extensive list, chosen by Anthony Hubault, the head sommelier at the Michelin-starred restaurant Le Jeu de Paume.
Unusually for Paris, the hotel has a swimming pool in the basement, with a waterfall dividing it from a little hammam. The spa offers a range of treatments, as well as a small fitness centre. All the rooms have flat screen TVs, AirPlay technology and free wi-fi.
The hotel was designed by Sarah Lavoine, whose interiors boutique is a short walk down the road. She lives in the quartier and her children are at school next door. This is her first hotel design and she's filled it with design books in the library and bedrooms, Carrara marble and furniture by herself and Cassina, giving a homely touch to contemporary-cool design. She also created 'bleu Sarah', a new colour for the hotel walls.
The hotel is right in the centre of Paris, a very short walk from the Louvre, the Opéra Garnier, the Place du marché St Honore, the Palais Royale and the Jardin des Tuileries (don't miss seeing Monet's Water Lillies at the Musée de l'Orangerie). It's also just ten minutes on foot to Place Vendôme, the Quais de Seine, the Place de la Concorde and the Champs Elysées. Café Angelina, a favourite of Coco Chanel and Proust, is down the road - stop in here on your way home for their famous Angelina hot chocolate. No matter whether you're in town for the first time or the hundredth, you couldn't be better placed for shopping and culture.
