Le Pavillon De La Reine

This chateau-styled boutique hotel is blessed with a remarkable location, on the Place des Vosges, in the Marais, in the heart of historic Paris. It is housed in an eighteenth-century mansion, and the décor is full-tilt historical — no stark modernism on display, and nothing that could reasonably be called “minimal.” Instead one finds tapestries, oak beams, luxurious fabric wall coverings, striped period furniture, even reproduction oil paintings.

The Place des Vosges was originally called the Place Royale, and was constructed on the orders of Henry IV, who did not live to see its completion. It was intended as a royal residence, though this purpose was never realized. The Place was once a gathering place for figures of high society - the hotel cites Racine and Molière among its visitors. The Marais, the district of Paris that the Pavilion de la Reine calls home, has been restored to its former glory, and is now home to some phenomenal shopping and dining, and a short walk from a variety of tourist destinations.

The historic chateau atmosphere pervades every aspect of one's stay at the Pavillon. Breakfast is served in a vaulted cellar, the reception is dominated by a stone fireplace, and carpets cover a flagstone floor. Modern conveniences are not absent, though; merely understated. All rooms are air-conditioned, with cable television — despite the period décor, the services are thankfully not eighteenth-century.