A prime table at Brasserie du Louvre
IMPERIAL ELEGANCE The Hotel du Louvre delights on every level Written by Jeffrey Cohen Commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III, and opened in 1875, the Hôtel du Louvre was the first grand hotel in Paris. With many innovative features for its era, including steam-powered elevators and multiple bathrooms to serve its 700 guestrooms, this grand edifice was well ahead of its time in terms of amenities and luxurious accommodations. Located between the Musée du Louvre, the Palais Royal and La Comédie Française, the Hôtel du Louvre is ideally situated for guests to relax and discover the City of Lights like true Parisians. Following eight days plying the waters of the River Seine aboard the luxury yacht S.S. Joie de Vivre, my family and I spent our final night at a more terrestrial address before our return flight to Indianapolis. There was still much to explore, not to mention several hundred restaurants to consider, before heading home. Following a top-to-bottom renovation that lasted two years, the Hôtel du Louvre reopened its doors in 2019 as part of Hyatt’s 72 slmag.net
Unbound Collection. This is prime Paris real estate; the Second Empire monument gazes at the Palais Garnier down the Avenue de l’Opera, and it is just a stone’s throw from the Palais Royal gardens. For students of history and art, the location could not be more convenient: we found ourselves within easy walking distance of the Musée National Picasso, as well as the groundbreaking Centre George Pompidou, still shockingly avant-garde after nearly 50 years. Right around the corner is La Comédie Française, the oldest theater company in the world, made famous by the playwright Molière, whose satires even today remain as brutally sharp as ever. Post-renovation, the hotel now offers 164 rooms, including 57 suites. Shared bathrooms are a thing of the past; the revamped accommodations are both spacious and tastefully contemporary, with floor to ceiling picture windows and an abundance of daylight. Our suite offered a balcony with an exceptional view down the Avenue towards the Louvre and the Palais Royal.
