Résidence Nell

In one of the city’s liveliest neighborhoods, the Résidence Nell is a cocoon of calm and luxury designed for any length of stay, from a single night to an entire month—almost like having your own pied-à-terre in Paris.

A studio bedroom

A top-floor classic apartment

Star designer Patrick Jouin’s agency JouinManku has worked wonders creating 17 spacious, beautifully appointed apartments and studios that provide the comforts of an idealized home-away-from-home, including uncluttered bedrooms with lustrous, padded headboards, a choice of five pillow styles and large closets. Comfortable salons have Jouin-designed Ligne Roset sofas and Murano glass lamps, fully tiled bathrooms are fitted with Corian counters and oversized Italian showers. Materials are ultra-luxurious—buffed leather screens, hand-stitched drapes, solid oak parquet—and colors are vibrant in the living area, soft and soothing in the bedrooms. High-tech touches include flat-screen TVs, iPod docks and Wi-Fi.

Each apartment has a dining area and a cleverly designed kitchenette that’s fully and elegantly equipped, yet seems to disappear when not in use. (Daily housekeeping is included.) Those who don’t care to cook can choose from the menus of some 15 fine restaurants that will deliver room service.

In an animated and authentic quarter of old Paris—this is the district of the historic covered passages, the department stores of the Boulevard Haussmann, the Drouot auction house, the Opéra Garnier and countless small theaters and clubs—the Nell is a small haven of contemporary luxe, calme and volupté.

60 rue Richer, Paris 9th, 01.53.24.98.98. www.residencenell.com

Originally published in the May 2012 issue of France Today