Paris: Honeymoon at the Maison Souquet

My husband and I flew right away the morning after our wedding to embark on our first trip as a married couple. Four nights in Paris, a train to Marseille, and a Mediterranean cruise to Italy, Malta and Spain. We had stayed up until 2am eating the cake from the reception and relating stories about the guests from the night. When morning came to leave for the airport, we scrambled to pack, humored by the fact we had planned all the little details of the wedding down to the glitter jewels for meal choice on the dinner placards — and hadn’t completely packed for the most meaningful trip of our lives!

When we arrived at the Charles de Gaulle Airport, we were tired but excited. A car had been arranged by the hotel to bring us to the Maison Souquet Paris. It may be rather nondescript from the street but it is a 5-star hotel. The lackluster feeling quickly dissipated when we walked into the lobby. Opulent yet not ostentatious!

Here is the review my husband left on Trip Advisor about our experience:

In November 2016, we started our honeymoon with a four night stay at the Maison Souquet and can say it was truly amazing in every way. The manager, Pierre, contacted us via email the day before our arrival and asked if we would like to arrange a driver from the airport — this was a nice touch and took some stress off us after a long trip from Arizona. Upon our arrival at the curb, the staff came out to help us with our bags. The front parlor immediately grabbed our attention — a truly stunning design by one of Europe’s leading designers, Jacques Garcia.

We were graciously greeted by Pierre who helped check us in and then gave us a brief walking tour of the hotel, including its origins as a brothel at the turn of the century. Instead of downplaying its somewhat lured history, the hotel successfully and appropriately embraces it. Each room is named after one of the ladies of the house with a brass plate bearing their name. Antique boudoir paintings of ladies tastefully adorn the rooms.

Ah, the rooms. We stayed in The Belle Otero, a true work of art. The room is decorated in a green motif and furnished with authentic antiques including a gorgeous velvet couch. The layout features filigreed wallpaper, crown molding, chandeliers, a walk-in closet, a spacious bath, an abundance of pillows, soft bedding, Hermes toiletries…

I could go on and on about the impeccable attention to detail paid to the design and maintenance of the room. Even the modern digital thermostat was decoratively hidden by a small brass grate on a hinge...

We took time to enjoy the spa in the basement on our third day. The design takes you out of this world and free of stress of life. My wife and I alternated between the lavender scented steam room and the cool pool, then settled onto the couch to relax and read a book. We were so relaxed that we actually fell asleep for a few minutes.

Enough about this amazing structure… now on to the real highlight of our stay: the incredible staff. Each morning we were greeted warmly by Konstantine and Maude. They offered excellent advice and directions to various landmarks — even taking time to write directions for us (be sure to grab a bite at the diner from the movie Amelie, the Cafe des Deux Muolins, which is only 5 minutes away by foot).

When we returned after our first full day of sight-seeing, our butler, Ben, had hung up our shirts and put away our shoes to get some of our unpacking out of the way. After dinner that night we returned to our bed festooned with red rose petals in the shape of a heart and a full page handwritten note welcoming us for our honeymoon, heartfelt congratulations, and offering to be of assistance at any time.

Each day thereafter we’d have a new note and chocolates waiting for us. One was simply a beautiful love poem. We’ve stayed at high-end hotels around the world and have never experienced service so perfectly attuned to our needs. In one word our stay was simply magnificent.