La Reserve

Why book?

For its unique combination of intimate scale and epic style.

Set the scene

Though by no means hidden or hard to find – its red front door stands out like a beacon amid the green leaves of the horse chestnut trees that line the Avenue Gabriel, just around the corner from the presidential palace – there’s a wonderfully secluded aspect to La Réserve. You’re in the heart of the heart of the city, and yet you feel slightly set apart from everything. This pleasant sensation is best enjoyed from the balcony of one of the south-facing suites, from which the loveliest part of the view is not, actually, Notre-Dame or the Grand Palais or the Eiffel Tower, marvellous as they are, but the empty space above and around them. A precious buffer zone of nothing but thin air between all the beauty behind you and all the beauty in front.

The backstory

Originally built in 1854 as a private residence for Napoleon III’s half-brother, the Duc de Morny, the house was eventually acquired by fashion panjandrum Pierre Cardin, an enthusiastic collector of historically significant Parisian real estate. He turned it into a hotel, the Résidence Maxim’s, named after the famous restaurant, which he also owned. This was the mid-1980s, and the world wasn’t quite ready for Cardin’s Second Empire-meets-The Jetsons mash-up. But the world was well and truly ready for it when, under the ownership of Michel Reybier and following a top-to-bottom redesign overseen by Jacques Garcia, it opened as La Réserve in 2015. A star was born. Reybier had previously had great success with his first two La Réserve hotels, in Geneva (also with interiors by Garcia) and Ramatuelle. Even so, the bijou-proportioned Paris property made a gigantic impression. Ten years on, its magic remains as potent as ever.

The rooms

The rooms facing the inner courtyard are charming; the sprawling suites aligned along the Avenue Gabriel side, facing the Grand Palais, are even more charming, but that’s only because there are more square metres’ worth of them to be charmed by. All 40 of the rooms and suites, regardless of size or position, are strikingly sumptuous, swathed in silk and velvet, heavy on classical motifs, overgrown with floral flourishes. The palette is largely limited to red, green, blue-grey, champagne, chocolate and black, with here and there flashes of gold and pools of crimson so deep you could drown in them. The furniture is by Henryot, the silk wallpaper by Rubelli, the fabric headboards by Prelle; antique objets stand on original chinoiserie cabinets alongside works of modern art; the gleaming mini bars are far from mini and stocked with superb wines from Cos d’Estoutnel, Michel Reybier’s Bordeaux estate. All in all, it’s a pageant of flair and wit. There are no bad rooms here, but the pick of the litter are the south-facing suites: 504, at the top, is pure theatre, with views extending from Notre-Dame to the Eiffel Tower; the champagne-toned 204, because of its elevation, lacks the full rooftop panorama, but is just as enchanted in a different way, demure rather than diabolical.

Food and drink

The very walls at the hotel’s three-Michelin-starred Le Gabriel restaurant look good enough to eat, which, in point of fact, they probably are, since they’re made of fine, supple cuir de Cordoue. Surprisingly, dogs are not allowed in Le Gabriel – perhaps they have a particular taste for cuir de Cordoue – but even that stricture appears to have done nothing whatsoever to deter the locals; the restaurant is packed day and night by diners willing to leave their poodles at home and eager to devote the time, attention and money (nine courses, £355, wine not included) required to appreciate the extraordinary cuisine of chef Jérôme Banctel.

Both the hotel’s second restaurant, La Pagode de Cos, and the exquisite little bar, Le Gaspard, have evolved recently, taking fuller advantage of the outdoor spaces they adjoin (the inner courtyard, in the case of La Pagode, and the streetside area directly in front of the hotel in the case of Le Gaspard). The Duc de Morny Library, meanwhile, remains very much as it has been since the hotel’s opening in 2015 – a book-lined sliver of sumptuousness, one of the hotel’s glories. It’s hard to imagine a lovelier spot in which to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate on a crisp, bright Paris afternoon.

The spa

A wonder (a small wonder – three treatment rooms, a bijou hammam, a 16-metre pool and a nifty fitness studio). The contrast between the no-tassels-barred opulence of the rest of the hotel and the streamlined simplicity of the spa comes as a delightful surprise. The La Réserve portfolio has a strong reputation for its wellness offering; the Paris property doesn’t disappoint. Connoisseurs of science-based anti-ageing cosmeceuticals will appreciate the use of Nescens products, unique in the city.

The neighbourhood

Chic alors. A baguette-cut diamond’s throw from the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, a Birkin bag’s swish from the Avenue Montaigne. In short, impossibly glamorous and stuffed full of fantastic places to part with large amounts of cash and generally lose yourself in a dream of Haussmannian elegance and branded splendour. Diverse, edgy, gritty? Not so much.

The service

If you’ve ever experienced withering contempt in a café, outright boorishness in a bistro or insufferable hauteur in a hotel, La Réserve is the antidote, the cure, the place to come to restore your faith in Parisian hospitality. Warmth, polite attentiveness and multilingual competence are as much a part of the La Réserve experience as foxed gilt-framed mirrors, parquet floors and velvet upholstery. It’s always worth striking up a conversation with the concierge team in their lovely corner of the Louis XV Salon (there’s no reception, as such, at La Réserve, just the so-called Louis XV Salon, which, furnished in period-specific splendour, serves an approximately reception-like purpose perfectly well). Should you hanker for an after-hours visit to Marie-Antoinette’s boudoir at Versailles, for instance, or a day trip to Champagne by helicopter, they can of course make the necessary arrangements. But even if you don’t, and even if you already know the city well, these charming custodians of Les Clefs d’Or are full of good ideas and helpful advice.

For families

For such a decidedly grown-up kind of place, and despite the absence of a kids’ club, La Réserve is actually rather wonderful for families. Children are welcomed and, frankly, spoiled rotten. Tipis, rocking horses, and even popcorn and cotton-candy machines are available on request. The room-service menu includes a section for young gourmands. Cots and roll-out beds are available, and a significant proportion of the rooms and suites can be connected.

Eco effort

Though certain familiar expressions of eco-effort are made – energy-efficient lighting, refillable rather than disposable bathroom amenities, guest-led linen changes, the availability of filtered water, scrupulous food-waste sorting – this remains an area with plenty of scope for further development.

Accessibility

The entire hotel is wheelchair-accessible and two rooms in the Prestige Junior Suite category have been specifically designed for guests with reduced mobility.