I had never been a huge fan of Paris. Yes, it's a beautiful city full of art, history, shopping and great food. But it just has never completely wowed me like it seems to do for so many others. That is until my husband and I stumbled upon the hotel Maison Colbert.
We were headed home from Istanbul after a Mediterranean cruise when our flight from Paris back to the States was canceled.
When it finally became clear we might be there a few days, we decided to make the best of it and find a hotel in the city rather than one out at the airport. A quick internet search brought up the Maison Colbert, which online appeared to be a very inviting boutique property in the Latin Quarter -- and for less than $400.
Still, I wasn't sure what to expect. The 39-room hotel is part of the Spanish Melia brand, which I had always associated with beach resorts. So, as I always do after booking the unknown online, I prepared to be disappointed.
Instead, we were more than pleasantly surprised from the moment we arrived outside the 16th century building, with colorful flower boxes adorning the windows that look over the front courtyard and a wrought-iron gate at the street entrance.
The building was once the home of French philosopher and writer Simone de Beauvoir and was designed to reflect the spirit of the French middle class as depicted by Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla. Replicas of his most famous works hang on the walls throughout the property, which is decorated in rich greens and earth tones that give it a warm and welcoming homelike atmosphere.
The hotel is part of the Melia Collection of nearly 50 luxury "handpicked" hotels in cities around the world. The Maison Colbert is one of seven of the brand's hotels in Paris and arguably its most exclusive.
A superior room at the Maison Colbert hotel. Photo Credit: The Melia Collection
Feels like home
We had booked the least expensive room available. And while it was fairly small, it wasn't any smaller than one would reasonably expect in a historical property in a major city. And like the rest of the property, it had a warm, welcoming vibe that felt more like the home it once was than a traditional hotel.
The layout was efficient, with a table at the wall across from the queen bed, a corner chair and open shelving that served as a closet with shelves and hangars. The bath area was open to the room, with a large shower and a rainfall showerhead, closeted toilet and a curtain that could be pulled across for privacy. And the outside wall had French doors that could be fully opened to look out on the street below.
At the front of the property there is a small restaurant and bar area, Cafe Clotilde, that opens to the courtyard. A full breakfast is served in the morning, and snacks and drinks are available throughout the afternoon and evening.
But what really made the property -- besides its friendly and highly attentive staff -- was its location. We were on the Left Bank, just a few blocks from the Seine in the heart of Paris, within easy walking distance of Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle and the famed Shakespeare and Company bookstore.
The dining area at the hotel's Cafe Clotilde, which serves modern Parisian cuisine. Photo Credit: The Melia Collection
Seeing the sights
The weather was perfect, so instead of venturing out by Metro or taxi we spent our days wandering on foot. We visited Centre Pompidou, home to Europe's largest collection of contemporary art, and had lunch at an outdoor cafe with perfect views of the colorful animated displays in the Stravinsky Fountain. We headed over to the Marais district, took advantage of end-of-summer sales at department stores and boutiques throughout the city, wandered to Luxembourg Gardens and dined on the best beef bourguignon I've ever tasted at a random street cafe just blocks from the hotel.
The bonus, however, was discovering we were just around the corner from my husband Brian's favorite piano bar, Aux Trois Mailletz, where he and a friend had once tickled the keys in their college days and where Brian finagled an invitation to play when we were last in Paris shortly before the pandemic.
We stopped in, of course, and before we knew it he was back at the piano while I sipped Champagne and listened to the crowd chanting for him to play more.
The whole experience showed me the warmer "wow" side of Paris that now has both Brian and me eager to return to both the city and the Maison Colbert, which lived up to its claim to be the city's best-kept secret.