Earlier this month, we were given a tour of the newly reopened Hôtel Balzac by Nicolas Egloff ([email protected]), director of sales and marketing of Vivres-Les Maison’s Bertrand hotel group, which also owns other five-star hotels in Paris, including the Saint James Paris, Relais Christine, Chateau des Fleurs and The Norman.
The Hôtel Balzac, named after one of the great 18th-century French writers, Honoré de Balzac (who lived on the same site as the current building), is located on a quiet, side street just off the Champs-Élysées. The elegant building, made of limestone, is enhanced with round, white awnings and tall windows trimmed with decorative iron balconies.
Charlotte de Tonnac and Hugo Sauzay, who are the owner/designers of the company Festen, took inspiration from the "timeless elegance" of the 1930s and 1940s in designing the hotel. They said “Le Balzac perpetuates a timeless Parisian hotel heritage through its classicism. It’s a place full of atmosphere, with a history that we have respected and extended. You have to experience this place to understand it”
We immediately felt a sense of understated luxury in the lobby, decorated with cushy, vanilla-colored sofas, handsome wood paneled walls, soft lighting emitting from floor lamps with tangerine lamp shades, and black and white tiled floors.
Egloff invited us to lunch at the Salon Café in the bar and lounge area in the lobby. (Before the renovation, the only restaurant available in the hotel was the three-star Michelin restaurant, Pierre Gagnaire.) The Salon offers a casual menu of favorites and comfort food. Relaxing in black leather club chairs we dined on a delicious crab tarama dip by Petrossian for a starter, a medium rare hamburger on a brioche bun for our main, and, for dessert, a simple coupe of fresh raspberries with a light touch of whipped cream. I asked Egloff what was special about the hotel, and he replied “The style used by Festen for the Balzac is a tribute to the second part of the '30s, the golden era of the Champs Elysées, which is when Japonism, a movement of the late Art Deco years, was in fashion."
The hotel has 58 rooms including 11 suites, some with balconies or terraces, and 13 junior suites. The highest category of rooms are the two Eiffel Tower View suites on the fifth floor, offering small patios, room for three people and views of the Eiffel Tower. Our pick, however, would be the Paris Sky Suite on the sixth floor, which accommodates four people and has two bathrooms, Diptyque toiletries, and a 22-square-foot terrace overlooking the Eiffel Tower. Rates start at 550€ per night for the Boudoir room in low season.
Across all rooms, guests can expect a soothing décor in soft, neutral shades of creamy beige, taupe and tan in the furniture and bedding, along with espresso brown carpeting and light wood paneled walls. The influence of Japonism is executed with lacquer screens and flower motifs on wood cabinets in some of the rooms. Lavishly appointed bathrooms have creamy marble walls accented with wood paneling with freestanding bathtubs. Rates start at €550 per night (approximately $599) for the Boudoir room in low season.
On the lower level is a Japanese inspired spa, Ikoi, which means “a place where someone feels good.” Treatments include the “Wakayagu,” the signature anti-aging facial, “Shiatsu” for the body and face, and “Komorebi,” a deep tissue massage using green tea oil.
There’s also a workout room, sauna and small pool.
For more information, visit www.hotelbalzac.paris.