Sixteen Avenue de l'Opéra puts you a few minutes' walk from the Louvre, the Comédie-Française and the ramen counters of rue Sainte-Anne, which is about as central as Paris gets. Jean-Louis Deniot took a Haussmannian office block and made something closer to a jade-and-bronze apartment: 45 rooms and suites, a green Carrara marble reception desk, and a storm-sky fresco by Mathias Kiss spiralling up all six floors. Downstairs sits a heated pool under a mirrored ceiling pricked with tiny lights. In fact, you won't find a single downlight in the place. After a day of exploring the city, returning to your own 'flat' is perfection.
Deniot took his palette from Parisian dusk, all petrol blue, grey and jade. The Grand Salon is the room you'll linger in: a custom rug carrying more than 40 colours, a bronze fireplace, a grand piano, and sofas you sink into properly. Silas Seandel's bronze cloud sculpture hangs above reception, and every corridor glows a different colour, so you'll know your floor by its light. The restaurant delivers French cooking with no fuss about it, plus puddings by a European Pastry Champion.
Rooms and suites sit across six floors, several named for artists and writers (the Hemingway is a light-filled loft with a balcony and worth the ask). Sizes swing from snug to properly spacious, so category really matters here. Each room commits to one bold colour: raspberry, green, yellow, petrol, you name it. Expect neoclassical panelling, 1970s Italian furniture, curved varnished-wood wardrobes and marble bathrooms with intricate tilework. Slippers are soft, linen crisp, and the armoires are built to look like travelling trunks.
Head into the Palais Royal early, where Buren's striped columns stand about in an almost-empty courtyard before nine. The Comédie-Française is next door and releases same-day seats. Take an evening slot at the Louvre rather than joining the morning scrum, or walk to the Bourse de Commerce for Tadao Ando's concrete cylinder, which draws a fraction of the crowds. Browse rue Saint-Honoré, poke about Galerie Vivienne, then eat udon on rue Sainte-Anne, the best value supper in central Paris.
That pool. Fifteen metres of warm water in a candlelit granite room, backlit landscape panels, Louis XIV armchairs and a ceiling full of little stars. Swim at 7am and it's entirely yours.
The spa admits non-residents by day, so swim before 8am or after 9pm. Plus, order whatever the kitchen flambés at the table, which is the house party trick and always has been.
Entry-level rooms are small for the money, and Pyramides metro runs directly beneath, which some guests hear. Ask for an upper floor away from the avenue, or book a category higher.
Start with a recommended trip or create one from scratch
Nolinski Paris can be booked with Timbuktu as part of a tailor-made France trip, rather than as a standalone room reservation. Start online, customising one of our recommended France trips featuring Nolinski Paris or get advice and suggestions from one of our France specialists who will design the trip around your dates, check availability and handle every booking for you.
Stays at Nolinski Paris start from around $370, or US$370, per person per night as part of a tailor-made trip. The exact price depends on your travel dates, room type and the shape of the rest of your itinerary. A Timbuktu travel specialist can give you an accurate quote for your dates.
Postcard-perfect architecture, world-class food and wine and all that unapologetic, effortless glamour.
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