The second most exciting part of our trip to the Monaco Grand Prix 2016, was the fact that we would leave Monaco and then fly to Paris and spend four nights in the city of lights. What was so much exciting  was the fact that we were flying to Paris to stay at the Park Hyatt in the Vendôme region of Paris, described as the Beverly Hills of Paris. Doesn’t get any better than this? Answer: well…let’s just get inside and check the hotel out.

Stepping into the hotel now, all the elegance and glamour, the answer is yes. This is what I was expecting. The hotel with his cream fresh walls and attentive support staff did feel quite nice. Check-in was smooth and easy, four nights courtesy of my Chase Hyatt credit card. For signing up with the card and spending $3000 in the first three months, you get two free nights anywhere in the world. So my wife and I signed up for cards, and receive two free nights each for total, at this ultra luxurious hotel, in this ultra luxurious neighborhood of ultra luxurious Paris. Get the picture? Now that’s Pimpin Your Credit Cards!

As part of check in, we are escorted up to the room by the hotel desk clerk. Now that’s the white glove treatment that makes you feel special. None of that “our elevators are to the right” stuff. We get up to the room and first notice the high ceilings. They have to be somewhere in the 15 foot range which gives the room a big volume feel. The room is nice, and the bathroom is amazing. I like the gold finishes on the bathroom faucets and shower. And what it interesting shower set up, completely open with not even a glass enclosure to separate it from the bath and the hand wash bowl. The entire bath area is a soft neutral granite with a subtle veining. A glass door separates the water area from the rest of the room. Separate area for our clothing storage and vanity. Very nice room overall. Looking back now  I wish I had asked for a street view room, but we have the interior courtyard view. Oh well no problem as I go to open the window and take a look outside, the handles to the windows are these interesting little sculpture figurines. And then I noticed the same figurines on the headboard holding up the light so to speak. Interesting I think. There’s plenty of space on either side of the bed and a very comfortable feel to the room.  Très Chic Paris!

We head down stairs to the hotel lobby and check out the bar which is a beautiful high-end bar. Since a free cocktail accompanies the room, we sit down to have a drink and get ourselves acclimated to our new Paris life. Dining options in the hotel include a four star Michelin star restaurant, but unfortunately we’ve waited too late and they are no reservations available until Thursday. Of next week! Wow, this must be a very nice restaurant, given the price and all. But this is Park Hyatt Paris, so everything fits accordingly.

Well let’s see what’s outside this luxurious Rodeo Drive of Paris. We head out the hotel on a drizzling, little Paris day. Immediately, the street is filled with pedestrians and high-end purses and watches. On either side of the hotel entrance are clothiers of the most exclusive brands. Across the street are some nice watches  and purses, IWC, Glashutte and Vacheron Constantin, watches nice enough for me to not even look at. But now we are actually hungry for lunch, so we walk down the block but alas, no dining. At the corner of Rue Daunou, we hang a right and head down and come across Cafe du Cadrau. This looks like a nice little spot so we stop in for our first Paris eats. A wonderful meal with the tenderest chicken for a whopping €13! Oh my god that’s a $30 dinner at most restaurants for for 13 euros, which equates to about $15 US. I’m liking this Paris trip.

We start checking out Google map locations and we see that the hotel is easy walking distance to the Louvre and close enough to all the dying to do touristy options. The next four nights in Paris are absolutely wonderful with visits to Notre Dame, Sacré-Cœur, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Élysées with all it’s shopping and eating. One cool thing I pick up on, Parisiennes definitely have their own cool style of dress. The classic beret and scarf outfit stands out against the generic American jeans and t-shirts of most of the tourist. Again, Très Chic Paris.

The hotel is just down the street from the Opera House, a beautiful palatial building in classic Euro style, and in the opposite direction, the Place Vendôme. In the opposite direction, on the way to the Louvre, you walk through the actual Vendôme itself. The luxurious neighborhood is landmarked by a large column in the middle of the Vendôme. The Vendôme was completed in 1810 as a tribute to the victorious French in the Battle of Austerlitz, deemed one of Napoleon’s greatest victories. Today, it’s home to the Ministry of Justice and high-end courtiers such as Dior, Patek-Philippe and Chanel. Past the Place Vendôme is the Tuileries Garden, Jardin des Tuileries, a nice garden park to relax in, if you don’t mind the all the lion statues around. And then you can see a wonderful gold statue of Joan of Arc on the way to the Louvre. Travelers tip: If visiting the Louvre, understand that on any given day, you could have anywhere from a 45 minute to a 2-hour wait at the main entryway. Walk further down the Rue de Rivoli until you see a red awning for the Louvre, at the Passage Richelieu. This is the back entry way, about half the wait time in air conditioned comfort. In the driving rain or hot summer days, this underground mall entry will keep you dry and comfortable. Plus while your wife waits in line, you can do some shopping at the underground stores or buy some snacks.

The four days in Paris are just magical. And again, another city that I’d love to live in, and made all the more so luxurious by this wonderful Park Hyatt hotel. This hotel was our most luxurious of our European trips so far, and definitely set the standard for future stays. We even treated ourselves to breakfast in bed on our last morning, as a farewell to the city. The Eggs Benedict were intriguing, and oh so creamy. From now on, nothing but the best for me. Especially when it’s free!

The Hotel Negresco serves as part hotel, part museum. Primarily a hotel, it also houses an amazing collection of classic art work. Everything from historical portraits to contemporary sculptures, this takes the idea of a hotel to the next level. Also interesting is its rich history. Built in 1912, this grand palace is unlike other historical monuments where you get a sense of how small everything was a hundred years ago, this palace is…well, palatial! The lobby is a comfortable size, but step into the Royal Lounge, and you are greeted by a 16,000 piece Baccarat crystal chandelier. Yes, 16,309 to be exact. These fine little French Baccaratian crystals, the story goes, were supposed to be delivered to Russian Czar Nicholas II. But the delivery was blocked as a result of the October Revolution in 1917. So it stayed in France, and in this hotel to be viewed by the public at any time.

And so are the other 6,000+ pieces of art located throughout the property and in the rooms. Jeanne Augier has been the patron saint of the Negresco since 1957 and her impeccable taste in art is evident from the moment you walk in the building.

For refreshments and dining, you’re in luck! The bar, named Bar, is a classic looking all walnut wood design dating back to the 1913 opening of the hotel. Just amazing to imagine this is what the early century patrons were also experiencing for a cool one on a summer day. And the beuty of it, this is not a recreation, this is the actual bar. The way the hotel has been kept up is just amazing. It does not feel like it’s been painted over with a dozen coats of paint from the decade of improper care. And since they give you the best in art and drinks, then food must be at the same level, and it is. For dinner tonight, we’ll be serving a 2-Michelin star dining experience at Le Chantecler Restaurant. Yes please! The Yuzu soufflé is a must!

Our room was listed as a Superior Room, but everything about it was beyond Superior. The room was listed as 269 sq ft (25 sq/m), but we must have been bumped up to a Superior Plus, because the room felt twice that size. Maybe they do not include the salon area, a cozy little seating area with a full size couch and antique Japanese panels. We had a beautiful hand carved head board, complete with a little Cherub watch over us. The bathroom was gorgeous French modern countryside with bold strips in my favorite French Blue. But my favorite was the wall paper. The salon side of the room was rich, golden yellow, the bed side was a steel Blue hue with flowery embossing that gave the room an elegance you don’t often find in hotels these days. And that’s the appeal of Le Negresco. It’s not just some old hotel. It’s a hotel that meticulously maintains it’s traditions. Everything sparkles as if brand new.

One nuance of the hotel, each floor has a different theme. The 3rd floor is Chinese. The 4th floor is American Jazz. A huge art piece playfully portrays American Jazz great Louis Armstrong in a colorful play on his famous cheeks. But none of the floors compares to the Atrium. Center stage for the Baccarat Chandelier, the atrium is filled with sculptures and paintings of French royalty and various other art pieces. The hotel is a living museum, and by living, it’s right there in front of you. No lines to wait in, no guards telling you to step back. Seeing this was quite a thrill for a light weight museum geek like myself.

In an ultimate twist of irony, during WWI, the hotel was used as a hospital in mid-1916. Sadly, 100 years later, the hotel saw medical duty again. In 2016, when a terrorist attacked bystanders on the Promenade des Anglais, the Hotel Negresco was used as a triage center to treat wounded to coordinate hospital delivery.