Paris checks in: on the reopening of La Samaritaine and boutique hotel Cheval Blanc Paris

With the opening of La Samaritaine and boutique hotel Cheval Blanc Paris, the City of Lights is readying itself for post-pandemic luxury travellers

As Covid-19 restrictions ease around the world, cities are slowly coming back to life. Especially Paris, where nightclubs are once again pulsing with music, and the Haute Couture Week just wound up its fashion extravaganza. Adding to the hope in the air is the reopening of La Samaritaine — the grand Art Nouveau department store that current owner, the French luxury group LVMH, had closed 16 years for a complete overhaul — and Cheval Blanc Paris. The latter, housed in a 1928 building designed by Henri Sauvage, is the brand’s first urban hotel (others in the LVMH chain have addresses in the French ski resort of Courcheval, the Maldives, and St Tropez on the French Riviera, to name a few). Scheduled to open on September 7, the boutique property features 72 rooms, five dining spaces, and stunning views of the river Seine. On a cool evening, sitting at my desk in Mumbai, I gaze at Pont Neuf, Paris’ oldest standing bridge, bathed in the afternoon sunlight, as brand spokesperson Nastasia Morin takes us on a Zoom tour of the property. Though on video, I miss the frisson of excitement that a physical walkthrough entails — the scent of turned down sheets, questions about where particular doors lead — we do get the time to appreciate the eclectic interiors, outfitted by architect Peter Marino, showcasing a range of artworks from the 1930s to the present. The rooms are large, and feature custom iron chandeliers and a neutral palette. “A point from the Art Deco style is that we have the same shades of colours, but different materials, so it’s really rich in terms of textures,” says Morin.