Hospitality heaven doesn’t get much closer than an elegant suite in central Paris with panoramic views over the City of Light with the Eiffel Tower a shining beacon in the night.
That’s the delightful situation I found myself in at Hotel Balzac, a member of the Relais & Châteaux group, nestled at the corner of Rue Lord Byron and Rue Balzac beside Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
A tiled balcony with clear views over the city skyline ran the entire length of my suite, 601, with enough room for a table and four cushioned chairs at one end and a sofa and armchairs at the other, with an abundance of herbs and flowering plants including rosemary, cat mint, myrtle and potato vine, with lemon, oleander and Mexican orange trees evoking a delicious scent.
Comprising three separate rooms, my living-room featured a carpet and wood floor furnished with a soft beige sofa, and flat-screen TV, a black speckled marble coffee table and a writing desk.
Minimalist wall decor focused the eye on a framed etching above the writing desk of Honoré de Balzac, novelist and playwright after whom the hotel is named and who once lived here with Madame Hanska, the love of his life, until his death a few months after their marriage.
A copy of one of his works sat on the writing desk alongside a copy of ‘Paris Souls’ by Dirk Velghe and a directory of the room designed as a four-page newspaper.
A well-stocked bar stood in one corner filled with drinks and snacks including – the first time I’ve seen one in a hotel room, kumquat liqueur – as well as single malt whisky, rum, gin and vodka from Distillerie de Paris. Wines included Château Tour de Marbuzet from Bordeaux and Givry 1er Cru from Bourgogne. Cacao and vanilla biscuits, tender white nougat, lemon and ginger shortbread and artichoke truffles were among the snacks.
My spacious bedroom featured floor-to-ceiling windows, built-in closets painted white, a coffee table, a cosy armchair and a second TV. On the bedside table was a retro Marshall radio and a small wooden container resembling a jewellery box with plug-in adaptors and leads for electronic devices inside.
Marble featured lavishly in my bathroom, speckled grey on the walls with beige-colored floor tiles, with a double sink, bathtub and spacious walk-in shower. Toiletries were the Diptyque brand, located on Boulevard Saint Germain. There’s even an impressive weighing machine for those bold enough to check.
As the hotel offers guests a complimentary welcome drink, my companion and I soon found ourselves ensconced in the lobby bar furnished by a massive fireplace, comfy armchairs, attractive standing lamps, designer wall hangings, marble-topped coffee tables, even chess sets and shelves of books on subjects as diverse as travel and art.
Being a bartender in my younger days in Ireland, I was curious to see close-up how well-stocked the bar was. I was not disappointed. It housed an impressive collection of natural (note the word ‘natural’ not synthetic) flavorings including Thai and Japanese bitters and others in shapely bottles as if from a laboratory. There was even a special spray for added zest. Fresh flowers, including lilies, decorated the bar-top with an ornate lamp, described by Saona, a friendly staff member conceived on the Caribbean island of the same name, as having been made in Italy and featuring a lighted fire of freedom.
Two hundred liquor bottles (yes, Amaury, another staff member and I counted them together) lined the shelves, including a wide range of rums, gins, vodkas and also a pastis I had never seen before, Hamelle from Paris. As for wines, there were fifteen white, twenty red, three rose and seventeen champagnes including white, blancs de blancs and rose, on display.
Breakfast is also served here with a buffet menu of viennoseries and various breads, smoked salmon, cold cuts, cheeses, yogurt and fruit salad. The a la carte menu included eggs Benedict, various omelettes, veal and chicken sausages, smoked fish, roast turkey, French toast and crepes. Drinks ranged from aromatic Ethiopian organic coffee and fresh detox juices to hot chocolate from Angelina, a high-end Parisian provider.
Enjoying such comfort, we opted for a dinner in our room of Caesar salad, burrata and gourmet hamburgers, all served on elegant dishes with gleaming cutlery.
Service at the hotel was both efficient and welcoming, from Celine, who organised a room change for us, Swan, the friendly assistant manager who described the hotel’s services to us, and Jehad, aka Santa Claus who prepared the sauna at the Ikoi Spa for me to enjoy – a tranquil setting with three treatment cabins offering special Japanese treatments such as Kobido facial treatments and Shiatsu massages.
For a luxury hotel in an enviable location kissing the busy Champs-Élysées and boasting an historic literary legacy, Hotel Balzac is well worth a visit.
