Le Damantin

Paris already has so many extraordinary hotels that it’s downright shocking when another one opens. Le Damantin Hotel & Spa occupies a stunning red-brick 19th-century Louis XIII–style mansion on a corner overlooking the Right Bank of the Seine, and its recent conversion from a private house into a high-end boutique hotel is a substantial boon to the Parisian hospitality scene.

The rooms and suites are contemporary in aspect and classic in atmosphere, combining period architecture with modern design and artwork that pays tribute to Paris’s inimitable visual identity. It’s the rare Parisian boutique hotel that doesn’t have us grasping for nice ways to say that the rooms are small — here they’re generous enough, while the suites offer plenty of space, and some of them are improved by views of the Eiffel Tower.

Le Damantin’s spa is a particular highlight, an exquisitely calming space that feels a world away from Paris’s busy streets. Meanwhile the hotel’s kitchen and bar serve upscale contemporary French fare and inventive cocktails in the ground floor’s stylish common spaces, including a lounge, a library, and a living room. It’s this low-key yet full-service residential atmosphere that sets Le Damantin apart from the norm among Parisian hotels, and earns it a spot in our local selection.