Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (2024)

Newly redesigned and decorated by Paris designer Laura Gonzalez, theRelais Christine has a rare and very charming garden and private sunny courtyard.

Since 1979, the Relais Christine has been one of the Left Bank’s best-kept secrets. Newly renovated, the ultra-private hotel has the warm and welcoming atmosphere of a family home with the refinement and amenities and polished service of a top luxury hotel. It’s quiet, hidden away on a secluded one-way street, opposite a private cinema showing classic films. It has some of have the most charming and inviting rooms and suites in Paris.

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (1)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (2)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (3)

The Relais Christine reopened its doors post-renovation with a meticulously designed style imbued with French romanticism. Classic Parisian styles preserve all the classic codes (old furniture, 18th-century patterns, wallpaper and fabric by iconic brands such as Pierre Frey, Hermes, Le Manach, Braquenié, ) enhanced and rejuvenated by the choice of contemporary materials such as brass and marble.

Laura Gonzalez has redesigned the ground floor reception and lounge areas with a virtuoso blend of historic character, intimate ambiance and luxurious decoration. Charming and discreet spaces wrap guests in a mantle of comfort or simply make a wonderful place to read by the fireside.

At any hour of the day and evening, guests gather and relax with a cup of tea and a pick-me-up, a glass of wine or a Champagne aperitif.

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (4)

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (5)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (6)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (7)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (8)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (9)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (10)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (11)


The Relais Christine pays tribute to the site’s dramatic centuries of history—and gives them a subtle tweak. This challenge was brilliantly met by noted French decorator Laura Gonzalez.

There is a new spa under the vaults.

The effect is modern and elegant and it feels entirely French and totally Parisian.

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (12)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (13)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (14)

I love the lively colors Laura selected. They are the marine blues and leaf greens you see at Versailles, and the ruby and golden tones favored since Louis XV. When I stayed there, I especially appreciated the very French style of adding bolsters on sofas, and adding padded comfort to linen or twill headboards so that reading in bed feels cozy and quiet.

Pillows are trimmed with custom-crafted brush fringe, and edged with custom-colored cording and piping. Wall lights shimmer with a wash of gold. Sofas are large and relaxed.

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (15)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (16)

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (17)

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (18)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (19)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (20)

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (21)

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (22)

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (23)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (24)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (25)



Each of the 48 splendidly unique rooms and suites projects a resolutely chic and intimate universe: collections, paintings, antiques, cosy velvet, warm woodwork and noble materials, Toile de Jouy print in one room, canopy beds in another, beautifully lit Carrera marble bathrooms. The welcoming rooms are infused with warmth. At the same time they are practical and highly functional.

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (26)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (27)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (28)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (29)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (30)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (31)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (32)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (33)

When Gonzalez renovated the property, she first imagined the property as a whole, obsessing over the DNA of the place and its history and style. She drew inspiration from old stones of the (no-longer-extant) 16th-century friars’ college building upon which the hotel was built. Some excavated historic architecture is viewable in the basem*nt near the fitness center.


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (34)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (35)

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (36)

Decorating Details

Laura Gonzalez was given the brief to ‘make it intensely French’ and ‘update the interiors’ and ‘keep our residential look’ and ‘make it comfortable’.

Using all French fabrics and fabricators and lighting and silhouettes, Gonzalez captured precisely the right tone—with traditional French favored colors and codes and proportions and motifs.

Curtains are tied back with large-scale tassels, and all the hardware has boldness and heft. Upholstery is generous in proportion and elegant in its detailing and shape.

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (37)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (38)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (39)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (40)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (41)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (42)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (43)

Within Walking Distance

Location of a Paris hotel is extremely important to me.

I like to be able to walk out the front door—and within minutes I am at a favorite café, or at the Louvre, or walking into an antique shop of a fabric showroom, or enjoying lunch with a friend, or picking up French magazines or London newspapers at the newsstand off the rue de Buci (or a book at Taschen).

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (44)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (45)

Close to Relais Christine:
• Museums and other cultural sites: Musée du Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Monnaie de Paris, Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, Saint Chapelle, Conciergerie.

Strolls to the Luxembourg Garden, Ile Saint- Louis, Latin Quarter. The banks of the Seine and the bouquinistes are a block away.

Shopping: boulevard Saint-Germain, rue de Rennes, rue du Four, rue Saint -Sulpice, Bon Marché.

Art galleries.

Mythic cafés (Café de Flore, Deux-Magots, Procope...) and Michelin-star gastronomic options.

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (46)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (47)

Services and Features

• Relais Christine has 48 unique rooms and suites. Some are 2 stories, some with terrace in the garden or in the courtyard, some for up to 4 persons, many connecting.

Some suites connect. Garden suites have their own terrace (potentially for sun-bathing).

Cozy lounges in the garden.

In the reception is an Honor Bar, which is perfect for that evening when you bring a friend back to the hotel for a drink and to great your family. There’s a library for an impromptu private meeting.

Guests may enjoy tea in the lounge—or coffee.

Buffet breakfast.

Room service 24.

7 GUERLAIN spa with exclusive treatments, fitness, sauna and Jacuzzi .

Concierges are Clefs d’Or.

The hotel offers free WiFi. For anytime refreshment, a free in-room Nespresso machine and bottled water.

Rooms and suites are air-conditioned and equipped with a mini-bar, safe, and Bluetooth Marshall speakers.

Free parking and in the summer and good weather, free bicycles.

A car available for rental.

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (48)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (49)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (50)


Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (51)

CREDITS:
Relais Christine images are courtesy Relais Christine.

WHERE TO FINDRELAIS CHRISTINE:
3 Rue Christine

75006 Paris, France
T: +33 (0) 1 40 51 60 80

contact@relais-christine.com

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (52)

Where to Stay on The Left Bank Now: The Privately-Owned Relais Christine Is My Latest Left Bank Favorite (2024)

FAQs

Who owns Relais Christine? ›

Since the 1980s, the hotel has been owned by the Bertrand family who knows a thing or two about Parisian icons: they also own Angelina and Brasserie Lipp, as well as sister hotel Le Saint James near the Arc de Triomphe.

How many rooms does Relais Christine have? ›

Each of the 48 splendidly unique rooms and suites projects a resolutely chic and intimate Left bank atmosphere: antiques, cosy velvet, warm woodwork and noble materials, Toile de Jouy print in one room, canopy beds in another, Carrara marble bathrooms, and more.

Does Relais Christine have air conditioning? ›

The hotel rooms in Hotel Relais Christine are equipped with their own air conditioning.

Does Relais Christine Paris have a gym? ›

A place to rest your soul and body

A well-being area with dry sauna, whirlpool and gym equipped with treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine, bike, a weight-lifting machine and free weights.

How many hotels does Relais Chateaux have? ›

Relais & Châteaux : 580 luxury hotels and fine dining restaurants.

How many hotels are in Relais & Chateaux? ›

Relais & Châteaux: 580 luxury hotels and fine dining restaurants.

Why doesn t France use air conditioning? ›

Part of this is because, historically, there was simply far less reason to cool the air in Paris, France, than in Paris, Tex. European countries had warm summers, but they rarely reached the sort of persistently high temperatures seen in the American South.

Is ducted air conditioning worth it? ›

In conclusion, ducted air conditioning systems are worth considering for home and business owners who want to cool or heat their entire home efficiently and effectively. These systems offer several benefits, including whole-house comfort, energy efficiency, improved indoor air quality, and aesthetics.

Do window air conditioners provide heat? ›

Window AC models that contain supplemental heat do exist, but they're pretty similar to using a space heater… with your window partially open. It's not the best idea. If you're looking for ductless heating and cooling options, check out mini splits—they're the way to go.

How many rooms does the hotel Lancaster Paris have? ›

A courtyard forms the center of The Lancaster, and each of the 60 rooms emanates a style of Parisian chic. Like an elegant museum, this intimate hotel is still run like the private home of a connoisseur.

How many rooms does the Eliza Jane hotel have? ›

The hotel's accommodations and amenities comprise 196 guestrooms, including 12 signature suites, a fitness center, a lobby bar and French inspired restaurant, Couvant.

How many rooms does the Relais Henley have? ›

Unique Design & Idyllic Views at The Relais Henley

Each of our 40 rooms is individually designed with curated amenities and a fresh look that takes inspiration from the River Thames, blending a rowing club spirit with botanicals from the English countryside.

How many rooms does the Oyster Box hotel have? ›

Whether you prefer an opulent room overlooking the ocean, or a serene suite surrounded by lush tropical gardens, every one of our 86 rooms, suites and villas has been individually decorated to ensure your stay is memorably luxurious.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Foster Heidenreich CPA

Last Updated:

Views: 6227

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (76 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Foster Heidenreich CPA

Birthday: 1995-01-14

Address: 55021 Usha Garden, North Larisa, DE 19209

Phone: +6812240846623

Job: Corporate Healthcare Strategist

Hobby: Singing, Listening to music, Rafting, LARPing, Gardening, Quilting, Rappelling

Introduction: My name is Foster Heidenreich CPA, I am a delightful, quaint, glorious, quaint, faithful, enchanting, fine person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.