Just Back From… Paris

We’d heard great things about  Le Grand Mazarin, so we took up our friend Victor’s invitation to stay there.* First of all, we loved the neighborhood—so central, just a block from the Hotel de Ville metro stop in the 4th, a 15-minute walk to our daughter’s apartment and an easy walk to pretty much everywhere we wanted to go. The room decor is really good—I loved how it had just enough of that old-world tapestry vibe, coupled with a clever palette of muted brights that made it feel modern and chic. The first room we stayed in was very charming, but small (we were bringing home a ton of stuff from our house in France, so we had four giant suitcases), so we asked if we could switch to something bigger. Our second room was lovely, including its little balcony with a table and chairs, and a giant bathroom. There’s a great pool with a ceiling mural by Jacques Merle, a sauna, and a surprisingly large gym, which we always had to ourselves. There’s a cozy bar with a great bartender, and while we didn’t eat at the restaurant,  Boubalé, we’ll have to go back, because several people have told me how excellent it is. (We’d made plans for every dinner before we arrived.) The only awkward part was the smallness of the front desk area—the lobby isn’t a high-ceilinged affair—so if you’re looking for more of a grand palace hotel vibe, this isn’t it. It’s cool, it’s charming, and it’s intimate.

On our first night, a Monday, when literally nothing in Paris seems to be open, I’d made a booking at  Floderer, a restaurant Clara and I had walked by a few weeks earlier. It’s an Alsatian restaurant, and that’s cold-weather food for us. We had incredible French onion soup, followed by a perfectly done  choucroute garni,  all in a room that hasn’t changed in well over a hundred years—it’s completely caught in time (you can even get crèpes Suzette). We loved the restaurant and its sweet staff, but it was almost entirely empty. We just want more people to know about it, because it’s so good. If you like old school and aren’t a vegan, come! In fact, someone like Ducasse should take it over—it’s ripe for just a small adjustment and the recognition it deserves. 

In the Marais, we loved the coffee from  White. I’m a simple black-filtered coffee drinker, but Clara likes more complicated drinks and said their matcha latte was great. Down the street from White, our friends have a great menswear accessory store called  Serica. They’re the nicest guys, and if you’re wandering around the area and need some local intel, pop in, say hello, and tell them we sent you. We returned to  Mariage Frères  (the OG) and had a late afternoon tea. Tip from me: just order one pot to share—we had one each and couldn’t finish—plus you’ll save a lot. It’s a lovely place to take a break from the cold, and I always like to pick up a box of Wedding Imperial boxed tea bags. (You can order them online in the States, but they’re so much more expensive.) 

One morning we walked in the Canal St Martin area, where we ogled the bacon, egg and cheese at  Mamiche Traituer  (couldn’t indulge as we had a big lunch plan!), and settled for some insanely good croissants at   Liberté  bakery, which also had delicious-looking sandwiches and huge cookies with Milk Bar vibes–which, even in Paris, you sometimes just crave. After lunch at  Le Relais d’Entrecote  (more about that in Clara’s list), we walked around the 6th, where I picked up some of my favorite chocolates at  Debauve & Gallais, got inspired by all the Roger Capron tables, mirrors, and thick glass ashtrays at  L’Atelier 55, and wished  L’Uniform  (the most perfect minimal/graphic totes/bags/purses) wasn’t so expensive and so good. Our Thanksgiving meal was at  Le Grand Vefour, which I’d been dying to go to since forever, and yet somehow Matt and I had never made it. When I arrived, Matt and Clara had just stopped in at  Bacqueville, a military medals store, where they were eyeing beautiful ribbons, and bought me a gold-plated bracelet, which they gave me when we sat down at the restaurant. (The shop’s been around since 1790, and if you’re wandering around the Palais Royal, stop in.) The dining room is one of the most beautiful rooms I’ve ever eaten in, but sadly the meal was a disappointment. We had a wonderful time regardless, and if we complained at all, it was that we missed our turkey tradition—but I would say that some changes need to happen in the kitchen before I would go back or recommend it. 

*Now and then we’re asked about how we can afford to stay in all of these hotels, so I’d like to be transparent about our process. We get many generous invitations to visit different properties all over the world. We know that there is an unspoken (and sometimes spoken) hope/expectation for us to share our visit on social, or in our newsletter, or in the magazine, or in all three. Before we accept anything, we first evaluate it as best as we can—we don’t want to waste our time (or a brand’s money) accepting a free or discounted stay at a place that we ultimately won’t be able to cover because it isn’t “us”. We also never promise anything in return—because we don’t want to be beholden to expectations, and we won’t know what we think of a place, or how we might best cover it, until we have experienced it. Back when I was at  Condé Nast Traveler  in the ‘90s, their “Truth in Travel” motto meant that writers and editors showed up anonymously and paid full price for their room. By the time I returned to the magazine in 2013, this policy had changed. We could no longer afford to be anonymous—instead, we had to seek out discounted media rates or free rates. Then, as now, we will accept a comped or discounted room because we can’t afford to check it out otherwise, and we believe it’s a valuable service to our readers to actually vet the hotels we write about. But we only go to places that excite us. We won’t be taking free cruises or going places we aren’t serious about covering. Which brings us back to Le Grand Mazarin, where—in total transparency—we had two free nights and then paid for two nights at a media rate, about 550 euros/night.