Marquis Faubourg Saint-Honore

8 Rue D'Anjou,

Paris, Île-de-France, 75008

Tel: +33 (0)1 44 80 00 00

http://www.marquisfaubourgsainthonore.com/fr

My Rating: 87%

Price Rating: $$$$$

Summary of Stay: I spent four nights here at the Marquis on my recent trip to Paris. The hotel is a luxury boutique hotel right in the middle of the world's best shopping. Literally, Hermes, Chanel, Louboutin, YSL and Dior are just steps away. So if shopping is your reason for visiting Paris, this is the ideal location.

This hotel is the former residence of the Marquis Lafayette and is an 18th century mansion converted into a 18 suite luxury boutique hotel. There is charm everywhere you look from vintage maps on the walls to historic wainscotting and gilded embellishments. There are orchids in nearly every room bringing a richness and a colour throughout the hotel.

he hotel's main lobby lounge was always empty even though there was a makeshift bar there. I think the introduction of a happy hour would be a nice way to get the guests down there and have the space used. It really was too beautiful to be under used.

My room was a junior suite and was approximately 400 sq feet. There was a tonne of natural light with 3 large dormer windows that looked out onto the street. There was a small dressing area with a closet that proved very handy when packing and unpacking. Plus it gave a distinct area for me to put all my shopping packages. The combined bedroom sitting area was cozy. While the entire room flowed seamlessly, the desk and TV seemed a bit disconnected. Like they hadn't found the perfect piece of furniture so they just built it and put it there. And since it was there, why not put the small flat screen on it? The TV was small, but I never turned it on once in 5 days. The bed was very comfortable and very high thread count sheets. But the real star of the show was the bathroom. Separate walk in shower, clawfoot bathtub, toilet, bidet and double sinks filled out this very large bathroom. But it was all the little extras that put it over the top. Heated marble floors, heated towel rack, plush bathrobes, Hermes toiletries, wired in TV speakers and so much more. The bathroom really was an oasis. I am a total shower guy but even I had to relax in the tub one night.

Highlight of the Hotel: I think one of the reasons that I especially enjoyed my stay here was that everything was very well looked after. That is very vague, but its really the only way to describe it. Starting with the property itself, there is not a mark or scuff or blemish anywhere. The hotel is perfectly preserved and maintained. It is rare to find a hotel, especially a historic one, in such perfect condition. Service was spot on. When my luggage arrived late from the airline, it was placed in my closet waiting for me. When I left an unfinished bottle of diet pepsi out overnight, it was thoughtfully placed back in the fridge for me. If I left a sweater thrown over a chair, the room attendant had folded it and laid it on the chair. All the little unasked touches.

Highlight of the Stay: Again it comes down to the service here as well and all the little touches. There was a welcome tray with fruit and chocolates upon my arrival. When I asked the front desk attendant/concierge about where I might do some shopping for Parisian brands, he headed me in the right direction. However, when I came back to the hotel, there was an additional list of other brands he had thought about for me. At breakfast, after the first day, the server knew my coffee order (even though the server changed - my coffee order came out consistent). A bit surprised, one day the server asked if I would like an omelette, which I said sure. So the breakfast went far beyond just the basic continental breakfast that was laid out. And besides the omelette being oneof the best I've ever had, the server never minded that I came down 10 minutes before breakfast service ended.

Drawbacks: Just 3 quick drawbacks that held the hotel from getting a higher score. First, turn down service was inconsistent and I only received it my first night. Next, weeks before my arrival I had emailed the hotel inquiring about a private tour to the Champagne region. I generally like a say in what vineyards I go to and don't need to do all the cellar tours, I'm more there for the tasting and less the show. So I tend to move at a quicker pace and like to do it solo. They got back to me with a quote and confirmed it was private and that it was in a Mercedes. I booked it. The morning of the tour, I get a call from reception saying my van was there. I went down to find a big Mercedes touring van. Ok. Then I joked to the driver and said that the van was awfully big for the 2 of us - which he replied that we had other people to pick up. So it was not a private tour at all - it was perhaps a semi-private because we were a smaller group. But the vineyards we visited were disappointing and overall, I wish that the concierge had done a better job of listening to my request because it really did spoil my outing. Finally, the hotel's neighborhood is very quiet at night and expect to have to go for a good walk in order to find your dinner at night. The concierge recommended one place that I found very overpriced and just average. However there is a really small Italian bistro down the street that was a hidden gem—plain and small but great value and wonderful food.