PARIS, FRANCE

It takes bravado to build a hotel during a pandemic. Luxury Italian brand Bulgari rose to the challenge.

If you’re after a palace-hotel experience, the high-end properties located on and around Paris’s elegant Avenue George V promise Baccarat chandeliers, grand entrances, liveried staff and lobster salads.

But sometimes you want your luxury a little sleeker. Enter the Bulgari Hotel Paris (bulgarihotels.com). Opened last December, the 1970s former post office in the 8th arrondissement underwent a transformation courtesy of Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, the Milanese architecture firm employed to design all of the brand’s hotels (there are currently seven across the globe). “Its ’70s façade made it totally incongruous but this building had two extraordinary assets: an uncompromising transgressive charm and the audacity of vintage contemporaneity,” says architect Patricia Viel.

The 11-storey office block was reconfigured to become 76 rooms, 57 of which are suites, and a penthouse set across two levels with its own terrace and roof garden. The vibe is more generous private apartment than hotel suite and many of the guestrooms are ensconced in glass that floods the interiors with light and offers the occupants views of the city’s rooftops, the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Coeur.

The décor is a blend of old-school Paris (think herringbone-pattern Pierre Frey rugs designed to look like parquetry floors) and Italian craftsmanship: Maxalto furniture made in Milan, artworks by Gio Ponti and lighting installations via Barovier & Toso in Murano.

Can’t check in for an overnight stay? At least plan a visit to the hotel’s 1300-squaremetre subterranean spa and book an Augustinus Bader facial followed by a dip in the pool, which is covered in mosaics in shades of emerald, jade and malachite.

Or schedule dinner at Il Ristorante, which is run by Michelin-starred chef Niko Romito, making sure to slink into The Bulgari Bar beforehand for apéro hour. Order an Amaretto Sour, snack on focaccia, charcuterie and an assortiment de fromages Italiens then sit back and stickybeak at the locals.