“Where do you want to wake up on your birthday?”
It’s a question I’d never been asked, but my answer to my wife was immediate, instinctive: “Paris.”
And when it came to exactly where, the answer was also immediate: Le Meurice, one of the city’s most beautiful historic hotels.
Paris doesn’t suffer for superb places to stay. What sets Le Meurice apart is simple. There’s nothing like waking up in one of the suites with views of the Tuileries, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Place de la Concorde, and that sky that is never not romantic and, like the city itself, stretches to infinity with possibility.
To build a hotel in such an extraordinary location is virtually inconceivable today. Le Meurice, however, has been on this prime stretch of the Rue de Rivoli since 1835. For much of its first century, it was the second home for traveling royals, including Queen Victoria. After World War I, the artists claimed it, beginning in 1918 when Picasso and his first wife, the ballerina Olga Khokhlova, had their wedding dinner here along with the artist and writer Jean Cocteau, the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, and the ballet impresario Sergey Diaghilev, who were best men. The German military moved in during World War II, and then, from the 1950s until the end of his life, Salvador Dalí spent part of each year in a suite.
Visitors to Parisian hotels can often feel, no matter how great the room, they need to get out of it because you should instead be Out There! Walking those streets! Seeing life! To relax is impossible. Not with Le Meurice: throw open the windows to discover the gift of both paradises. Sit in the splendor of a suite—recently renovated to combine 18th-century design with 21st-century comforts and conveniences, as part of a top-to-bottom refresh of the property—and gaze at the beauty outside.
Le Meurice might be the best hotel in Paris for neutralizing FOMO. Want a great bar? The moodily lit 228, in a former library space, is the perfect place to drink before going out on the town, and just as good a place to nightcap at the end of the evening and scroll through all the photos you do (and maybe do not) want to share.
Is it exquisite food you seek? They’ve got two top-notch options. Alain Ducasse’s two-star Michelin restaurant, Restaurant le Meurice Alain Ducasse, nails dishes that say “elevated French” but don’t make you feel like you’re on a runaway train of courses. Even better, it’s set in a room modeled after the original Salon de la Paix, at Versailles. It’s an incredible experience, as is Le Dalí, which serves classics such as onion soup and entrecôte.
One detail that makes Le Meurice especially wonderful is the staff. Just about everyone here seems to be under 35 years old, and they brim with enthusiasm and expertise. A staff member reflected that the youth movement coincided with a complete refresh of the rooms and their interiors. As a result, all are bright and welcoming, and they retain all the best parts of Parisian formality and elegance.
Speaking of rooms, don’t miss the one that blows away the rest: the Belle Etoile Penthouse Suite. At $45,000 per night, it’s a favorite of Beyoncé for the 6,000-square-foot terrace with 360-degree views of Paris.
Michael Hainey is a Writer at Large at Air Mail
