Recently refreshed, one of our favorite Parisian properties is even more compelling

A long time favorite of our editorial team, Paris’ Hotel Bel Ami, nestled in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, hits all the right marks—location, size, service and style. The recent refresh of both the lobby and room design brought us back, and it made us love the hotel even more. Paris has no shortage of all types of hotels, and many serve your basic or out-of-this-world luxury budget busting needs. Finding a place that delivers just what you need and want in a great neighborhood, such as the emotional center of the Left Bank, is what helps make your visit a perfect visit.

Winter in Paris: Is there a more endearing setting? The warm welcome of a bistro and its well worn booths when you need to duck out of the cold; people watching at a corner cafe while sipping hot chocolate; the big museums are more tolerable, the smaller ones hardly crowded at all, even the sidewalks are empty if you get off the beaten path. Seeing Paris in an entirely different light than the warmer months, when the city swells with tourists and swelters in the heat.

Does enjoying one of the most walkable cities on earth require a bit more planning during the winter (which is pretty mild compared to many other global style capitals)? Indeed it does, but proper layering and smart footwear choices ensure you’ll be ready to roam as you desire while looking good. You may even get paid the ultimate style compliment—when a local speaks French to you, having mistaken you for one of the city’s own. 

Regardless of what you wear and what you do, the most important bit of planning is where you stay. With an overwhelming amount of hotels in the city, choosing a home base for a visit to Paris can be dizzying. A reliable way for many to tackle this choice is budget, but we’d strongly advise against putting that atop your list. Instead, focus on location, location, location. Keep in mind that it’s not solely about being in a nice neighborhood either, at least not in the sense of it being trendy. Generally if you look for lodging that makes your ideal activities easier to do you’ll find a quality spot and this is especially true in Paris.

Doing a bit of high level research like this is how you can find wonderful places like Hotel Bel Ami in the 6th arrondissement just off the iconic Boulevard Saint-Germain. Having undergone a renovation last year that invigorated the property with more of the personal style of Anne and Agathe Jousse, the mother-daughter team behind B-Signature Hotel Group, the Bel Ami feels quite personal. Art on loan from the family collection and furniture collaboratively selected with great attention to detail makes each communal space and all the guest rooms uniquely attractive.

There are eight distinct categories in the hotel’s 108 rooms, each suiting the needs of different travelers. Unlike boutique hotels operated by big chains, the focus at Bel Ami isn’t on big suites supported by generic smaller rooms. Room layouts are as functional as they are creative, with desired amenities—such as USB-C and USB outlets—where you expect them to be. One appreciable luxury is the ability to connect certain adjoining rooms—and nearly an entire floor by combining apartments and room types. If you travel with a sizable entourage or whole family, as some of Bel Ami’s returning guests do, this is the key to a home-away-from-home atmosphere. There is of course a beautiful top floor suite that has the look and feel of a Parisian artist’s studio, where we would have happily signed a year lease on our dream Parisian pied-à-terre had the offer been on the table. It’s a testament to the design refresh throughout the hotel that makes it feel so intimate and livable—previously it felt more distant. Funky has been replaced by chic, but the design language is by no means contrived. Pops of deep blues, rich reds and faded greens still accent rooms, but the neutral earth tones underpin the elegance that’s found behind each chamber door.

Between the equally attentive and knowledgeable staff, the top notch food and beverage program, the spa and the location in one of Paris’ most iconic, authentic, central and very conveniently located neighborhoods, we enjoyed our time in the hotel as much as we did exploring Paris. The classic European hotel breakfast at Bel Ami Café fueled us up before leaving in search of “second breakfast,” and the Sunday brunch is an impressive affair equally appreciated by locals as it is by guests. The Bel Ami Bar just off the corner of the main lobby took any decision making about before and after dinner drinks out of the equation, with their Negroni becoming an easy favorite to sip on while playing backgammon on one of the many sets. Spending a good deal of time in the lobby coming and going, we quickly grew accustomed to the genuine inquiry from the concierge staff as to how our morning, afternoon or night went. Each conversation went beyond the usual exchange of pleasantries, typically ending up illuminating, full of pleasant surprises and friendly, helpful advice.

It’s also steps from Rive Gauche’s trifecta of Café de Flore, Les Deux Magots and Brasserie Lipp. A few days here and you’re not just doing as the locals do, you’re thinking as the locals think. Instead of checking places off a list (as so many Paris tourists are) you’ll be returning to the same place for a perfect baguette, a proper coffee or pint, or a classic salad or croque monsieur. Though we enjoyed stepping onto the snow dusted sidewalks, it’s safe to say that Hotel Bel Ami would be just as attractive in the warmer months, though denser and busier. It’s a thoughtful property for thoughtful travelers, just the kind of place we’d like to return to again and again.