A Queen as Quiet as a Mouse

Paris hotels range from stately palaces like giant wedding cakes, to space-station-esque design disasters, to dives and dumps and dungeons. Quietly minding her business, tucked away on the Place des Vosges, is the true queen of the castle, the Pavillon de la Reine.

We love the Pavillon de la Reine. You couldn’t claim it had the biggest rooms in town—they start at 25 sqm, and even the biggest suite is smaller than some hotels’ mid-range rooms. Nor the best views—despite its position off the Place des Vosges, it doesn’t look out onto it. And for a queen, she sure dresses a bit like a man—the colours are relaxed but somewhat masculine tones of greys and burgundy, amber and browns. So is it the restaurant? No—there isn’t one. There’s not even a bar—at least, not one with a barman: there’s a little honesty bar in the quiet front reading room.

So why? Very simply because it’s discreet, it’s extremely pleasant, and it’s superbly well-run. It’s one of those hotels that the guide books probably don’t go nuts for, because on the face of it, there’s always another in town that beats it in a face-off of Hotel Top Trumps (best suite; best pool; best location etc). But at Trufflepig we actually run trips, and we talk to our clients when they come back, and nowhere seems to elicit an affectionate response like the Pavillon de la Reine, nor have such a loyal, repeat clientele.

www.pavillon-de-la-reine.com

Jack Dancy is your un-Frommer’s guide in Paris; get in touch with him (once the volcano ash settles) if you’re planning a trip to Europe.