Last Updated on June 14, 2024
Luxurious boutique hotel in central Paris
Casually luxurious is the mission of Maison Albar Hotels, a group that has hotels in France and Portugal. It is not only a clever marketing phrase but is precisely how the five-star Maison Albar Hotel – Le Vendome felt to me during my recent stay. Invited to review the hotel and its restaurant, Yakuza Paris, I arrived at the front door not realising I had walked past it many times. Living close by in the 9th arrondissement, I had noticed the striking façade of dark wood panelling from a bygone age without realising it was an hotel. The building was previously a Russian bank and before that a hotel-restaurant, Le Lyon d’Or which hosted a renowned cabaret of the Belle Epoque and was well known amongst the refined elite. Once inside, all is contemporary, light-filled, and elegantly designed with artistic use of sculpture, gold motifs and luxurious fabrics.
Paris has a number of Maison Albar Hotels dotted around the city so you can choose the area where you wish to stay. I found Le Vendome to be the perfect size with 51 rooms, including four suites, giving it the feel of a boutique hotel. The warm welcome from the manager and the team felt personal which a large hotel does not always facilitate. Designed by Fabien Roque, the use of white marble, gold and emerald velvet throughout the hotel creates a luxe feeling and a sense of continuity throughout the communal areas and the bedrooms. The use of gold – very tastefully done at Maison Albar Hotels – Le Vendome – references the hotel’s previous incarnation as hotel-restaurant Le Lyon d’Or (the golden lion) and this motif appears on each room door as a golden lion’s head as well as through sculpture in the entrance lobby.
Entering the hotel lobby my eye was immediately drawn to the internal courtyard garden which is a perfect place to have a coffee, an aperitif, dinner on a warm night and breakfast. You might happily lose a few hours reading on a comfy sofa shaded from the sun by trees. This a Zen garden, shared with Yakuza-Paris, with Japanese touches throughout the space from a sculpture of a horse to a mannequin wearing a black kimono. The garden has several references to Ki No Bi, the flagship gin from the Kyoto Distillery, Japan’s first artisanal gin distillery.
Our bedroom overlooked the courtyard and some of the other rooms overlook the street. It was a cosy room which is typical for Paris and contained all that one could need for a comfortable stay. A queen-sized bed was dressed in white linen and cushions in emerald green velvet which matched the footstool under the desk and flatscreen TV. There was also space for a marble topped table and a taupe armchair. The fabrics were lovely, the curtains a neutral colour with an interesting texture. Round shapes were found in the large mirror and central lights with gold trim adding visual interest on many surfaces. The gold trim around the marble panels in the bathroom were particularly effective. I found the emerald green, grey, gold and marble theme very calming. The bedroom had tea and coffee making facilities and a minibar with complimentary water and biscuits.
The bathroom, with a separate loo, had a walk-in rain shower with a marble bench and a vanity with two basins. Beauty products were supplied by Carita. Fluffy white robes and slippers were provided.
The overall feel of all areas of Maison Albar Hotels – Le Vendome was plush, luxurious and elegant. The passageways, so often a vacant space in hotels, are so well designed that I enjoyed walking along the grey, textured carpet with grey wallpaper imprinted with trees and sporting golden, cylindrical wall sconces. The Japanese theme was enhanced with the golden lion’s head on each door.
Having spent the afternoon at a museum in the area, we arrived back at the hotel and were delighted to be ushered out to the Zen garden and offered refreshments. It was there that I enjoyed the best cup of tea I have had in many weeks of living in Paris. It is a ritual I miss and I was grateful to enjoy it in such a peaceful environment. Sufficiently restored, we lost no time in exploring Spa Vendome by Carita which is in the hotel basement. The Spa has a wide range of massage and treatment options for the face and body, for women and men. There is a fitness room for those who wish to work out, but we made straight for the heated pool. This is the largest indoor pool that I have yet experienced in Paris and it has been designed, like the rest of the hotel, to engender a sense of peace and relaxation. It has a large skylight so that natural light falls onto the pool and floating on one’s back the sky is visible. All around the pool are nooks where one can sit and relax. Along one wall there are three doors. One opens into the hammam, another onto a Vichy shower that can be booked as a treatment, while the third opens into an experience shower which mimics a tropical rainstorm along with lightning. After a swim and an exciting shower, I relaxed with a glass of chamomile tea in an alcove and felt the heat and beat of the city recede.
While Paris is a sheer delight when it comes to the choice of where to dine out, there is no need to leave Maison Albar Hotel – Le Vendome to eat a beautiful meal. Yakuza Paris by Olivier offers an extensive menu of Japanese fusion cuisine and was very popular on a Friday evening when we sat out in the Zen garden to enjoy an array of creative dishes.
The next morning, we returned to the courtyard for breakfast where we had a meal that set us up for the day. I do enjoy a hotel breakfast and here we had freshly squeezed orange juice, a basket of viennoiserie with croissants, pain au chocolat and brioche along with three kinds of bread. There was yoghurt and fruit salad, two kinds of butter, and an outstanding range of jams from Maison Laurino – my favourite was apricot, peach and rosemary. A plate of ham and cheese was served as well as the option of scrambled eggs which we had with bacon, courgette and tomato. A proper cup of good tea and coffee rounded off a jolly fine breakfast after which we set off to explore the area.
Maison Albar Hotel – Le Vendome is well located and is a very short walk from Opera Garnier which is a stunning opera house with an interior that is reminiscent of Versailles. You can book a guided tour but equally can take a self-guided tour as we did. The hotel is also very close to the shopping extravaganza available at Galleries Lafayette or Printemps, two shopping emporia that will satisfy the most exacting customer. A 20-minute walk brought us to Musée Jacquemart Andre, a magnificent Belle Epoque mansion with an outstanding collection of art bequeathed by a pair of collectors who travelled extensively, especially in Italy. From here it is a short walk to Park Monceau, one of the loveliest parks in Paris. The 9th arrondissement where Maison Albar Hotel – Le Vendome is located is an excellent place to stay in Paris. It is away from the overpopulated tourist areas yet it is very central and close by to both cultural highlights of Paris – a 20-minute walk to the Louvre, for example as well as in the centre of as much shopping as you may care to do. It is within walking distance of many of the most popular sights and when you return to the hotel you will be sure not only of a warm welcome and an excellent meal but you can also soothe your weary feet in the Spa.
Maison Albar Hotels– Le Vendome
7 rue du Helder 75009 Paris
