Cruising The Past Cruise News 
A link to the elegance of the past – our 2012 choice and review for one of the best boutique hotels in Paris – the Renaissance Vendome Hotel.
Video of Paris – during the 1920s.
One can never capture the feeling of cruising the past in most hotels today. That chic traveling public is gone. Clients arriving from a trans-Atlantic crossing on the France or United States are history. No one travels with maids and trunks today. One barely hopes your baggage (and the plane) makes it to your destination – except of course when flying in your own jet.
So in all great cities the experienced traveler is always looking for that special small hotel.
The Renaissance Paris Vendome combines many of those values – with a very up to date modern atmosphere.
It is one of the top small hotels in Paris and beautifully run by Marriott’s Renaissance Group. What I like about Marriott is that they are one of the best hotel chains operating. They don’t forget details no matter where you are visiting – and their benefits club is operating at the highest level.
Considering my experience of seven recent stays in Paris, Renaissance Paris Vendome is one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in, particularly for a large city. It is extremely quiet and has a restrained and luxurious quality about it, which I found refreshing after a number of recent stays in other boutique hotels. The bathroom has a full shower.
Within steps away from the world’s most famous museum, the Louvre, and nearby attractions such as the Musee D’Orsa, Champs Elysees and Opera Garnier.
Luxury accommodations at the Vendome come with marble bathrooms, designer toiletries, terrycloth towels, American style stall showers, towel warmers, iPod players, DVD players and large widescreen TV’s seen easily from the bed.
Rooms face street or beautiful courtyeards. Many of the great fashion houses – Chanel, etc. – are seen across from the back (very large) rooms.
The hotel’s on-side fitness center includes steam room, free weights, exercise maschines and a aspen-wood sauna for the total relaxation after a training unit. There is also a swimming pool.
The bar is very intimate and beautifully run. The hotel also has newspapers available every morning and has dozens of copies. For tourists or business people demanding the best – the Vendome is first rate.
The Vendome’s restaurant is Pinxo. This is the brasserie that’s associated with megachef Alain Dutournier’s terribly stylish, and much more expensive, Carré des Feuillants, which is on a nearby street. Within Pinxo, a good-looking waitstaff encourages clients to share their starters and platters with their tablemates.
This becomes relatively easy because anytime something appears on a plate, it’s replicated, sometimes with variations, three times.
The setting manages to elevate kitchen drudgery to a high, and high-tech, art form. Expect a wooden floor, white walls, and views that extend directly into an all-black open kitchen-cum-theater.
Most foods here are grilled or at least prepared with heart-healthy cooking oils. Examples include a mixture of Aquitaine beef on the same plate as a steak, a tartare, and a blood sausage, all of them accompanied by a slice of foie gras. Other dishes to sample include rare sesame-glazed tuna and sautéed squid with garlic chips.
Click here to make your Reservations for the Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel
Contact:
* 4, Rue du Mont Thabor
* Paris, 75001 France
* Phone: 33 1 4020 2000
* Fax: 33 1 4020 2001
* Sales: 33 1 4020 2005
* Sales fax: 33 1 4020 7219
