Cheval Blanc Paris

When Cheval Blanc Paris debuted in the landmark art deco building overlooking the Seine, it was the finishing touch in the five-year renovation of one of the fashion capital’s grande dame department stores: La Samaritaine. Joining LVMH’s handful of ultra-luxurious hotels in locales from St. Tropez to St. Barts, Paris marks the brand’s first urban maison. Intended to feel like a home (one with butler service and four acclaimed restaurants — including an outpost of well-known Milan seafood restaurant Langosteria), every element of the historical landmark building — which dates back a century — and its 72 rooms was handpicked to give the space a soul of its own.

Curated materials range from 20 different marbles to a selection of leathers, parchments and hand-painted patinas — plus collector-worthy paintings by abstract French artists and a series of lithographs by Sonia Delaunay. Taking advantage of its lively location on the Seine near Pont-Neuf, all of the rooms show off landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame from the winter garden bay windows, while the suspended garden on the seventh floor features 360-degree vistas of the City of Light.