La Clef Louvre

They’re not kidding when they say it’s one of the most sought-after addresses in Paris. La Clef Louvre is right next to the Palais Royal, around the corner from the Louvre, and just off the south end of the Avenue de l’Opéra.

Occupying that prestigious address is a luxury boutique hotel comprised of fifty-one suites, all of which walk the fine line between hotel suite and serviced apartment; whereas some Parisian hotels are simply a place to lay your head at the end of the night, and perhaps drop off your shopping bags as you wander the streets by day, this is the sort of hotel where you’d be happy to spend some serious time shut in.

The look is the sort of post-modern, era-hopping, classic-influenced contemporary chic that’s all the rage in Paris these days, a homegrown style mixing pre-Revolution pomp with a keen eye for the current fashions (though it was, ironically enough, the product of a British design firm, the space-averse BuckleyGrayYeoman). It’s hard to see how this one could avoid becoming an instant classic — in this town, in this district, it’ll be a massive hit.