But perhaps the best example is Le Roch Hotel & Spa. Located in Place Vendôme and opened just this year, Le Roch is a harbinger of this fairly new string of properties that are doing it just right: offering the feeling of a fabulous pied-à-terre rather than just a room, the feeling of luxury without gilding the lily. As the phrase boutique hotel suggests, Le Roch itself isn’t that big. Inside, it feels like a converted apartment building- deeper than it is wide. On the ground floor, there’s a stylish lobby with a lounge, bar, and a two-wing restaurant that serves up three meals a day with such memorable dishes as la planche sea bass with nectarines and almonds and black mullet with passion fruit. Come for the food, but linger to appreciate the decor. Dark jewel-tone velvet fabrics complement marble tabletops; richly hued orchids dot the space, as do striking gold light fixtures and dramatic printed textiles. These chi-chi modern boutique hotels deliver a clean, modern, sumptuous and cozy Parisian experience. And are the city’s best kept secret.
