Sherman's Travel

Tailored service and personal butlers ensure everything is exactly how you like it at Hôtel Fouquet’s Barrière, located on the corner of the Champs Elysees in Paris – and we’re talking every single detail. Before I even arrived in Paris, I filled out the hotel’s “Favorites” form via email which allowed me to hand-pick my bedding, the firmness or softness of my mattress, the preferred temperature of my room, the brand of water and types of soft drinks in my (complimentary) minibar, and the kind of flowers I’d like to welcome me upon arrival – all things I’d never really been asked before checking into a hotel. My room itself was actually a suite (see above) that looked out over the courtyard and Le Lucien bar terrace, and was swathed in decadent chocolaty colors, gold accents, and colorful artwork. (All units are designed by Jacques Garcia.) A flat-screen TV rose out of a sharkskin dresser with the touch of a remote button, and another sat above the large deep-soaking bath in the washroom. Fouquet’s has a sexy, curvaceous lobby; the knockout “U” Spa with an indoor pool, aqua-slimming trail, and hammam, Le Fouquet’s brasserie; Restaurant Le Diane; and the swank Lucien Bar (but be prepared for cocktails priced at a whopping €24! Ouch). Room rates start around €600/night.