The subtlety of a ballerina’s movement, the mysterious expression of her look, and the eternal beauty of a muse, are the inspiration that led Laurent and Laurence to create the unique Le Narcisse Blanc.
Cléo de Mérode was a Belle Époque ballerina (let’s say it was the first It Girl there’s memory of!), her beauty inspired some of the most emblematic artists of the time. She was called “small and beautiful Narcisse”, and that subtlety inspired the ambiance and decoration of (now) one of my favorite hotels in the city of light.
First Impression
Located at the Rive Gauche, between Pont Alexandre III and the Eiffel Tower, the hotel’s location best coordinates with the seductive and mysterious beauty of the ballerina.
As we approach the building of Le Narcisse Blanc, we can see the perfect architectural mind of Georges-Eugène Haussmann.
When entering the hotel we are invaded by an intimate and private luxury sensation. Making us feel like we’re the only guests at the hotel, transforming it immediately in our home.
The entire decoration and essence of the hotel mixes Art Nouveau, Art Deco and some almost Arabian details. Inaugurated in 2016, Le Narcisse Blanc is still a child fighting in the midst of centenarians, but already one of the best hotels in the city.
Created by Laurent and Laurence, it also has the mark of its owners and the team of interior decorators Thierry Martin and Thibaut Fron. The predominant colors are white, beige, champagne, pearl, grey, and pink.
The ambiance is comfortable and glamorous, with a touch of seduction.
And just like that, we were being welcomed by the reception team, that readily took care of our check-in and accompanied us to our bedroom.
Bedrooms
There are 37 bedrooms, of which 7 are suites.
Classic and contemporary, taking our hearts right away, not the usual classic nor the usual contemporary, a mixture of both, combining in perfect harmony, making them timeless bedrooms.
Some are gifted with terraces over the Eiffel Tower, other over the Invalides, and a few others over the Parisian roofs.
We stayed in a Classic Suite, with a generous 36m2, and a patio, reminding a private shelter inside the city of light.
The bedroom was for sure one of the most elegant and comfortable I’ve ever been in, and the bed, by far, the best of all the hotels I’ve experienced.
The pearl, beige, white and champagne tones combine with unpaired subtlety with the satin and velvet fabrics in the bedroom, giving it such a great harmony.
Waiting for us was fruit, water, candy and a present of the emblematic Angelina, and they were being replaced during our stay. The bedroom also has a coffee machine and different tea options. All this in the huge room next to the bedroom.
In the bathroom prevails the dark marble, the exclusive fragrance of the hotel in the hygiene products (wonderful!). Here the faucets are glass balls with small, beautiful, narcissus inside!
For me, with my love for bathrooms, this area could’ve been a bit bigger, considering the generous dimensions of the bedroom, however, that is compensated by the actual toilet being in a different area from the rest of the bathroom!
Restaurants
The space working as restaurant breathes glamour, and Cléo is its name! Here are served the several meals during the day.
In the access to the main area of the restaurant, the pink color comes to join the other soft colors of the rest of the hotel, assuring a very feminine, sensual and elegant environment.
Here you can have a drink or snacks during the day, or before going to rest at night. Here is also served the delicious “Tea Time”, with small sweets and finger foods, accompanied by tea and coffee. Right next to it, there’s a terrace, also elegant and comfortable.
At the restaurant the tones go around the beige, brown and champagne, the environment is completed with mirrors from the ceiling to the ground, giving it amplitude, as well as the chandeliers with medium lighting that give a quite seductive atmosphere.
Here we had the chance to have breakfast, buffet and à la carte, and also experience a surprising dinner.
It is wonderful when we arrive at a table without expectations, and dish after dish we are conquered and surprised. This dinner with the signature of the Canadian Zachary Gaviller, and a combination of influences from the French cuisine to Spain, Portugal, and even Japan, captivated our taste buds, starting with the amazing bread!
Mushroom broth with black chanterelles and corn
We started well with a rich and slightly spicy mushroom broth, balanced by the sweetness of the corn; and a brilliant confit salmon with shiso leaf, beetroot, and citrus. A nice surprise!
Codfish with capers and mussels
Followed a codfish dish, and a strigoli pasta with nduja, squid, and tomato, both excellent in flavor. There was still time (and space) for an excellent tuna steak and a delicious chestnut puree. To finish, nothing like a good cheese plate, us being in Paris.
Cléo! is for sure an option to consider, with menus between 29 and 55€, not only for the hotel guests, but also for those searching for good cuisine, in a unique space, full of identity, without the madness of some more famous spaces.
Very close to the restaurant is a room where you can organize private lunches or dinners, with a capacity for 10 people. A mix of meeting room and library.
Services
Le Narcisse Blanc has all the services of a luxury hotel, from room service, laundry, wifi (and wifi pocket), personalized parking service, business center with computer and printer, national and foreigner press, among others. The hotel has also a meeting room, as I mentioned before.
The hotel assures a unique experience in partnership with the Domaine de la Soucherie, spending a day/night in the heart of a vineyard, at La Maison des Amis and La Maison des Vignes, just 2h30 out of Paris.
For the gym lovers, the hotel has a small room with treadmill, bicycle, and a few weights.
But, the real spotlight of the hotel is the Spa, one of the prettiest in town, for sure.
With elegant lines and cozy atmosphere taking us immediately to a relaxation state, the spa is constituted by a heated pool with hydrotherapy jets and countercurrent, a jacuzzi, a hammam, a sauna and an ice fountain. It also has treatment rooms, signed by the luxurious brand Carita.
Le Narcisse Blanc is intimate, seductive, charismatic and gifted of an extremely perfectionist team, attentive to details, without being invasive.
A part of the enchanted Spa at Narcisse Blanc *
It’s the new luxury that assures us the privacy we seek for, nowadays. Glamor is present in every detail, you just have to pay attention; and the narcissus, for sure, the super highlight of this elegance atmosphere. They’re present all around the hotel, in the door handles, staircases, in the gold paint on the walls, and the simple and feminine paintings we find around the hotel.
They give the hotel its name and are for sure its distinctive brand, with all of Cléo de Mérode’s beauty and subtlety.
One of the best hotels in Paris for those wanting to experience luxury, and one of the few I wouldn’t mind calling home in the city of light!
See you soon, my little narcissus!
Le Narcisse Blanc
Bedrooms from 300€
Boulevard de La Tour-Maubourg, 19 – Paris
+33 1 40 60 44 32
contact@lenarcisseblanc.com
Photos: Flavors & Senses and *Press release
Disclaimer
We were at Le Narcisse Blanc by invitation, whereas this does not alter our work, being the opinion and the text of the exclusive responsibility of the author.