Nestled above the 1st arrondissement’s Chopard boutique sits Paris’s new stealth-wealth gem of a hotel, the first from the Swiss fine jewelry maker owned by the Scheufele family. The watchmaking giant first bought the building, which dates back to 1723 (the roof and facades are protected historical monuments), a decade ago while it was still operating as another hotel, and subsequently embarked on a painstaking renovation and restoration project that birthed the beauty that exists today. With just 5 rooms and 10 suites, it’s a remarkably intimate affair. None looks like another, by the way—on one stay, you might lounge on the cobalt blue lounger of the modernist, Pop Art attic suite while the next sees you splayed out on the four-poster bed of double-height, quintessentially Parisian Appartement Chopard (the latter has its own hammam).
In the absence of an onsite restaurant, chef Boris Algarra slings his 24/7 menu (divided up between breakfast, day, and night) wherever the guest desires it—the library, the bedroom, you name it. And that’s saying nothing of the litany of fine dining found on the hotel’s doorstep—the neighborhood is the flâneur’s playground, with the Tulieres Gardens and prime shopping also a short jaunt away. Pack a good pair of walking shoes as Paris is, famously, best-walked from top to bottom with shopping bags weighing down either arm.
The new iteration of Kona Village, now operated by the reliably resplendent Rosewood group, ticks the boxes of design, location, and service in a way that few resorts across the Hawaiian islands have brushed the ceilings of. Senior editor Rebecca Misner dubbed the property “the Platonic ideal of the ‘Hawaiian hotel’” in her review. With 150 hale, or bungalows, dotting the 81 acres of oceanfront land, it earns its name for functioning as a sort of communal haven. The favored onsite watering hole, Shipwreck, sits within the gutted schooner of the original owner. A coconut outside a guest’s bungalow door sends the same signal that a do-not-disturb sign would at a more traditional hideaway.
As a preeminent resort, Kona Village offers everything you could ever dream of within its property line—two bars, two restaurants, a spa built into the site’s lava flow, and a beach that feels so endless in large part because there’s not much else in the vicinity. But the adventurous would be wise to call up the concierge, who can arrange excursions to the town of Waimea, as well as day trips to see the waterfalls in the North and guided hikes through hidden craters. Be sure to bring along your swimsuit, sarong, and a pair of water shoes for those excursions.
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