Review: Hotel Balzac, Paris

Here’s what to expect at the Hotel Balzac, a classic French Hotel with a rich literary history.

Inside Hotel Balzac, Paris

Hotel Balzac ©Matthieu Salvaing

At the warm wood front desk of the Hotel Balzac, an American is planning his pilgrimage to one of the world’s most famous, most popular bookshops, Shakespeare and Company. He’ll need to get up early, the manager warns, if he doesn’t want to queue for entry.  That’s no deterrent – the shop’s location is on the Left Bank, just opposite Notre Dame – so who wouldn’t want to step into a bright early Paris morning with such a plan in place? Shakespeare and Company’s storied reputation has already attracted  writers from Ernest Hemingway and Anais Nin to Lawrence Durrell and Henry Miller, so you’d be made of stone not to feel the romance stretching down the years and tempting you to stroll along the Seine.

But if you really can’t fancy the queue (and there is always a queue), there are lots of ways to explore French literary history in the capital. You can start at one of the Left Bank cafes: Les Deux Magots, for example, where Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir swapped ideas or try Le Procope, believed to be Paris’ oldest restaurant, which welcomed Voltaire as a frequent customer.

Head back to the river and on either Bank you can browse the bouquinistes, the second-hand booksellers whose trade dates back to the 16th century.

Feeling more adventurous? Take a walk through Pere-Lachaise cemetery (leave the metro at Alexandre Dumas station) and find the last resting places of Moliere, Colette and Oscar Wilde. 

Hotel Balzac ©Matthieu Salvaing

On Place Vosges, you’ll find the home of Victor Hugo, filled with his collection of 50,000 artworks. Don’t miss the library on the third floor; Hugo was an early advocate for public libraries across France.   

Or book tickets to the  Comedie-Francaise, the oldest active theatre in the world now based at the Palais Royal. Here were staged works by Jean Racine, Honoré de Balzac, and Emile Zola.

Afterwards, returning to a hotel with its own literary past seems almost obligatory. The Hotel Balzac occupies the site of the last residence of the writer Honoré de Balzac, which he shared with Madame Hanska, the love of his life, until his death a few months after their marriage.  The name of the road was changed from Avenue Fortunee to Rue Balzac in tribute.

The location is almost impossible to beat. Just off the Champs Elysee (nearest Metro: Georges V) and a stone’s throw from the Arc de Triomphe, it’s about two minutes walk from the Fondation Louis Vuitton – a Frank Gehry masterpiece, currently home to the new David Hockney exhibition.

Yet the hotel, a proud Relais & Châteaux member,  is set back from the hustle and bustle, and whisper-quiet inside.

The Balzac was completely updated last summer, inspired by the 1930s, by chic Parisian design team Festen. Walls are creamy camel, our suite had a fudge-coloured velvet sofa and light oak wood. There’s a timeless, soothing feel to the décor.

The 58 rooms boast perfect amenities from Chromecast-connected TVs to Diptyque toiletries. Some boast views of the Eiffel Tower, and the two top-floor suites feature sky-high terraces.

Downstairs, hotel facilities include a speakeasy bar where cocktails designed by Chef Barman Julien Quettier are a must plus an airy glass-roofed salon for breakfasts and light meals. If you want something more substantial, a hidden doorway takes you into the Michelin-starred Pierre Gagnaire, one of Paris’s most renowned restaurants (booking ahead a must).

Hotel Balzac Salon ©Matthieu Salvaing

A particular asset for the hotel is the Ikoi Spa, which offers Japanese inspired treatments, and the accompanying plunge pool/jacuzzi and sauna area. The sheer luxury of the pool after a day’s sightseeing cannot be understated.

Perhaps what makes this hotel such a find though is the staff who work here. Friendly courtesy and an eye for detail makes this feel like a real home from home. 

Honoré de Balzac himself would surely approve of the transformation of his old residence into the sort of place you just have to write home about.

BOOK IT

Rooms at Hotel Balzac start from £400 per night. Book here.
Find It: Hotel Balzac, 6, Rue Balzac, 75008 Paris

Victoria’s return flights had a carbon footprint of approx. 92.9kg of CO2e. (ecollectivecarbon.com)