Where?
I’ve stayed all over Paris and each central-ish spot has its charms — and conveniences, but the 9th is becoming one of my favourite areas to stop in — especially if you’re coming from Gare du Nord, it’s an easy — but not too close — distance, meaning you can get right on with your break as soon as you disembark.
The Panache is nestled on bustling a corner, just back from Boulevard Poissonnière and a skip from Bonne Nouvelle metro station. For shopping it’s an easy 10 minute-ish stroll down to Boulevard Hausmann for Printemps and Galleries Lafayette; while if you stroll straight down you’re barely twenty minutes from the Louvre and Tuileries gardens. The best of Paris is found in those meandering walks where you’ll uncover all sort of gems waiting to be stumbled over.
Style
The Panache is a great compromise between the classic Parisian Hausmann style and a bit of modern flair, created by clever Parisian interior designer Dorothée Meilichzon velvet whose work also appears at London’s Experimental Cocktail Bar.
There are 40 rooms. We stayed in a family room, with a double bed and single for my six year old daughter. It was bijoux (the hotel sits on a corner plot, so the rooms are all different shapes) with a functional shower room, but incredibly comfortable and perfect for crashing after a busy day out in the city. There are enough stylish design elements — an elegant bamboo headboard, quirky printed wallpaper, scattered flea-market finds and striped bed cushions to give it that elevated experience. Our window opened out onto the courtyard for a very quintessential Parisian vista.
The staff are incredibly kind — and when my daughter had an accident could not have been more accommodating or helpful — or indeed sweet, we arrived back from A&E to find chocolates and a balloon waiting in our room for her. The set up here is great for families — on check in, my daughter was presented with a special T-shirt and ‘passport’ to tick off her sightseeing excursions which was very welcoming. There’s carafes of fruit-flavoured water downstairs which are the kind of thoughtful ideas which I find go along way.
Food & drink
Breakfast is your typical hotel buffet — plenty of mini boulangerie, toast and mountains of nutella, fresh juices and coffee. There’s no restaurant, but there is a spacious back sitting room with a table where we sat and ate ramen take out from the Japanese restaurant around the corner (Kokuban, 10 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre — absolutely delicious).
There’s also a great pizza and bar nearby (Matteo, 9 Grands Boulevard) which does smallish sharing pizzas (also the perfect size for young children) and has a pleasing yet cosy hipster-ish vibe. Here you’re basically surrounded by spots to eat at, it would also be remiss of me to miss off my daughter’s favourite joint, La Crème de Paris (4 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre) a rather sensational purveyor of ice cream and crepes.
Details
Rooms from €130, Hotel Panache, 20 rue du faubourg Montmartre 75009 Paris, hotelpanache.com
