Since Cheval Blanc, an extraordinary, newly designed and refurbished 72-room hotel owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey, launched in September 2021, it has been the talk of the town. Le Tout-Paris remarks about its WOW factor … and the hard-to-get reservations for the 30 seats at Plenitude, the intimate, first-floor gastronomic outlet headed by chef Arnaud Donckele, who earned three Michelin stars at Cheval Blanc Saint Tropez. Reservations are also recommended for Limbar, the ground-floor bakery/café/tea shop/bar where we watched Pastry Chef Maxime Frédéric preparing desserts and an absolute must-have for dinner at Le Tout-Paris, the 7^th-floor, all-day brasserie. This brightly colored space, with its raised seating and Fauve-like floor tiles and the adjacent Milanese restaurant, Langosteria, both have access to terraces facing the Seine River, with amazing views encompassing Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower.

This is the first hotel project for interior designer Peter Marino, who created fabulous LVMH fashion boutiques (Bulgari, Chanel and multiple Louis Vuitton shops). Here, Marino installed vintage and bespoke furnishings and every exclusive decorative amenity. The art-filled lobby features a monumental George Mathieu painting, and two grand abstract works by Vik Muniz flanked by custom-crafted metal works called Metal Claustra. The white horse sculpture is by eminent architect, Frank Gehry, who designed Fondation Louis Vuitton. Framed photos by Sonia Delaunay appear in corridors; emblematic pictures of Paris decorate the elevator walls on the non-stop ride to the 7^th floor; and an exciting digital motion view of the adjacent river enhances a swim in the 90-foot indoor pool — part of the Dior Spa Cheval Blanc Paris complex.

While huge windows of the hotel’s façade dominate the quayside landscape, the spectacular vistas are from inside, looking out through floor-to-ceiling windowed rooms and suites, or from terraces. The hotel’s location fronting Pont Neuf — near The Louvre — long housed La Samaritaine, the classic circa 1870 French department store, which shuttered in 2005. LVMH purchased it and a smaller-sized La Samaritaine reopened as a high-end, haute-brand, six-floor shopping mall, before the hotel, in mid-2021. The glamorous hotel/shopping complex further gentrifies the 1^st arrondissement, the city’s oldest.

Cheval Blanc Paris

8 Quai du Louvre
75001 Paris, France
tel 33 1 40 28 00 00