Le Cinq Codet

We’ve seen other historically inclined Parisian luxury hotels, but none that so masterfully distill the essence of this particular era. Le Cinq Codet begins with a Thirties office block, something of an early modernist monument, and the contemporary renovation stays faithful to the period. The result, thanks to the work of star designer Jean-Philippe Nuel, is something that’s as stylish as any Parisian boutique and very nearly as luxurious as any of its famous grand palace hotels.

What’s not period per se is period-inspired, the stylish seriousness of interwar modernism being very much in fashion at the moment. The rooms and suites, meanwhile, are a subtle revelation: the eccentric layouts, many split-level, make for accommodations that are nothing if not memorable, and spaces that are inspiring and efficient, even if they’re somewhat more typically Parisian when viewed in terms of raw square footage. And the overriding feeling is of a hotel whose every element is expertly selected, from the artworks to the furnishings, across a range of eras from 20th-century classics to the present day.

In classic Parisian boutique style, Le Cinq Codet lacks the proper restaurant that might push it over the top. The bar, though, with its sunny indoor space and its open-air terrace, does serve a light all-day menu, as well as a breakfast of particular note — it’s made to order, rather than the usual buffet fare. Add to that a spa and fitness center and you’ve got a hotel that, substance-wise, offers rather more than the norm — and is, when it comes to style, in the top class indeed.