After the arrival of the Shangri La and Mandarin Oriental in Paris, the city awaited the opening of the Peninsula with baited breath. A 338 Euros million revamp, 4 years in the making, turning a 400room hotel to 200 under the legendary luxury emblem of the Peninsula was quite the event. And it does not disappoint.
It’s hard not to be seduced when you start your visit with a stop at the spa… the luxurious cocoon in the basement is all low lights, soft Nepalese tunes, sophisticated scents of cedar wood and eucalyptus (the dressing room cupboards and steam room) and extremely polite staff.
Having popped on our Frette Peninsula waffle robe (very comfy) and slippers (velvety and warm as opposed to the sticky plastic variety) and anticipating some serious pampering we took a little tour of the facilities. Most impressed with the touch screen toilets, beautifully packaged toiletries and swimming costume drier, it was clear nothing was left to ‘le hasard’ as the French say.
Anna, our therapist was professional and friendly and commiserated us on our fluey condition. Sadly, even lying down wrapped in soft towels on a warming massage bed, StyleNest still felt quite poorly. Anna explained about the products the spa use, ESPA and in this case, Biologique Recherche, a made-in-France brand, with offices around the corner on the Champs Elysees. With natural products, the Biologique Recherche products, she warned, were ‘active’ so we shouldn’t be alarmed by any tingling, or potentially ‘pink face’ on exit. As she cleansed and massaged (a very unusual poking and prodding which apparently rebalances the skin and helps face muscles tone up) we managed to relax (despite fighting the irritating urge to cough). Anna applied the lotions and potions, gently exfoliating with the miracle P50 lotion before hydrating and an hour later held up a mirror to show a radiant face, and surprisingly wide eyed. Despite the illness and chronic fatigue, our face was expressing something else, akin to happiness. Eyes wide open, skin aglow, StyleNest looked younger, and rested and definitely more ‘taut’ than when we went in – result.
Rather than rush out to the cold, we opted to prolong the blissful state of post-spa relaxation and headed to the relaxation room. The well named room offered a choice of four pretty fancy massage beds, with inviting warm quilts, huge V shaped pillows to disappear into and an array of gadgets which we soon found out could either turn the cosy beds into ‘wave’ settings 1,2 or 3 or ‘pulse’. Neither were our cup of tea. However the tea was. Nepalese white tea, it was quite delicious and the perfect soother for a sore throat. We bypassed the dried apricots, fruit and healthy juice options when Anna recommended we try one of the Madeleines in case we were feeling peckish. And, we’re so glad she did. The pink (in honor of breast cancer awareness month) Madeleines were light and fluffy – just perfect – even better, they came with a rich raspberry coulis inside and a very light, crunchy sweet pink frosting on the outside. Bliss. We had two. We thought it would be rude to have more though it was rather tempting. Surely no one would notice in this dark, cosy room? Now, we just need to work out how to get back there before the month is out and the Madeleines disappear forever…
The Peninsula Paris, 19 Avenue de Kleber, Paris 75016, France
Treatments from around €170.
Rooms from €1,095 per night based on two adults sharing a Superior Double. Please see www.peninsula.com for further details and bookings.