À la hauteur: At the top of Paris

A moment in Hôtel Balzac's Paris Sky Suite, and the kind of hospitality you don’t forget

During a recent Paris adventure with my girlfriends, we found ourselves with an hour to spare before our 10pm reservation at Le Grand Café.

I know what you’re thinking — what is someone who prefers to be in bed by nine doing with a reservation that late?

I have one word: Paris. (And no, I won’t even attempt to explain how we ended up at Silencio afterward — you wouldn’t believe me.)

A late apéro was in order. So Nan, Lynne, and I met her impossibly chic friend Alyssa at Hôtel Balzac for a drink.

If there’s one word for the place, it’s divine. If you've spent any time lurking its interiors on Instagram, you already know. We glided across the marble-floored lobby and tucked into their tiny, glowing alcove of a bar — burlwood walls, golden lamplight, and the kind of bartender who knows how to read a table. Four espresso martinis were ordered. Dinner was hours away, what’s a girl to do?

Just then, the hotel’s incredible concierge, Jihad Salman, strolled over to say hello. He’s one of those rare finds in hospitality - gracious, unflappable, and quietly in command (always with a twinkle in his eye). He paused, then asked: Would you like to see the Paris Sky Suite? Just for a moment.

This group doesn’t turn down an invitation like that. We were in the elevator before the drinks had even arrived.

What awaited us at the top of the hotel was something out of a dream: a private apartment gazing over Paris, designed by Charlotte de Tonnac and Hugo Sauzay of Festen. Wrapped in warm wood paneling, with a quiet terrace (with a not-so-quiet view of the Eiffel Tower), the suite is a masterclass in restrained elegance: burled oak, lacquered finishes, velvet, marble. It’s the kind of space that feels both rarified and livable. Every detail is considered, understated and divine (hello to this tea kettle).

But what stayed with me wasn’t just the design — it was the gesture. The timing. A brief interlude, unprompted, that turned four friends lingering before dinner into guests of something larger. A great reminder of what true hospitality can be.

An exquisite pause at the height of Paris—where a gracious gesture turned a fleeting moment into something unforgettable. À la hauteur!