If you’re planning to attend the Paris Olympics and see a bit of Europe this summer, you have a variety of plush new hotels from which to choose (though they’re likely to fill up quickly). Whether you’re going to the Games or simply going on vacation, you’ll find fresh boutique properties in Paris and many more that are an easy flight away, be it to the French Riviera, Rome, or fittingly, an island in Greece, the birthplace of the ancient games.
Paris
Hôtel Balzac
Beginning June 1, after a two-year renovation, Hôtel Balzac, a member of Relais & Châteaux, the luxury hotel and restaurant network, is planning to open in the Eighth Arrondissement, within walking distance of the Champs-Élysées. Meant to feel like a Parisian home and inspired by 1930s style, the hotel is a sister property of the cozy Relais Christine in the Sixth Arrondissement, as well as the Saint James Paris in the 16th Arrondissement.
With interiors designed by Festen Architecture, there will be 58 rooms and suites in soothing neutral hues, some with views of the Eiffel Tower. Beyond your room you’ll find a lounge where you can enjoy breakfast before strolling the famous boulevard; a Japanese-inspired spa for treatments upon your return; a cocktail bar; and Pierre Gagnaire, a Michelin-starred restaurant with modern French cuisine. Prices from 590 euros, or about $630 a night.
Maison Proust
Like several of the latest hotels in Paris, such as Hotel Norman and Le Grand Mazarin, this hot spot in the Marais is an intimate affair with just 23 rooms and suites. A homage to the novelist Marcel Proust, the hotel features sumptuous spaces that conjure the Belle Époque and in them you’ll discover objects linked to the hotel’s namesake, including an autographed copy of “Swann’s Way.”
Designed by Jacques Garcia, the French interior decorator known for luxurious spaces like the Hôtel Costes in Paris and La Mamounia in Marrakech, Maison Proust is a member of the Collection Maisons Particulières, a group of hotels designed to feel like mansions. Each of the glamorous rooms are inspired by personalities from Proust’s world, including Colette and Monet.
If you can’t manage to nab one, you can still visit the bar where on Fridays, Colin Field, formerly the head bartender at Bar Hemingway at the storied Ritz Paris, is now creating cocktails (from 25 euros, or about $27) like L’Élixir de Proust, with raspberry essence and Champagne. You can also unwind at Spa La Mer, where there’s…
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