*Stayed December 2025; Updated November 2026*
After visiting Christmas markets in Strasbourg and Colmar in December 2025, we spent some time in Paris before flying back to New York. We stayed at La Fantaisie in the 9th arrondissement, making this decision based on an American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts credit that we needed to use. I LOVED La Fantaisie’s decor and vibe, as well as its comfortable room and delicious restaurant. This hotel is designer Martin Brudnizki’s first Paris project, and it won its Michelin Key in 2024. This post reviews my stay at La Fantaisie in December 2025.
Paris in December!
The Hotel
La Fantaisie lists itself as a “five star” hotel with the tagline “Here, luxury is a feeling. And joy, a way of life.” The hotel is decorated in a whimsical fashion, with lots of pink and green and florals. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the design. This would be a great hotel for a girls’ weekend or a couples’ getaway. It has also received one Michelin Key!
This beautiful vase was just in my room. Just there to be pretty.
The hotel has 63 rooms and 10 suites, as well as an on-site restaurant, rooftop bar, and a spa. We paid $567 per night (through the American Express hotel portal) for a Comfort Room, which was upgraded through our American Express benefits to a Superior Room. An equivalent room in December 2026 is €470 per night. More on the benefits we received at the end of this post.
This was also just in our room. How adorable.
The Location
La Fantaisie is located in Paris’s 9th arrondissement on the Right Bank. It’s a 25-minute walk to the Louvre, as well as a 25-minute walk to Montmartre. The area surrounding the hotel is safe and walkable, although it’s not a super cute neighborhood (such as the Marais, Saint-Germain, or Montmartre). The location was my one downside to staying here.
This is the view from right outside our hotel.
While I did not love the area immediately surrounding the hotel, this adorable patisserie was across the street.
The Room
Getting There
We stayed in a Superior Room on the sixth floor. It was accessible via a decent-sized lift (by Paris standards) and a walk down a beautifully decorated, and strongly perfumed, hallway (there was way, way too much perfume in the hallway!). Its beauty made up for the strong perfume.
La Fantaisie’s hallway.
The Main Room
Our room was tiny (standard for Paris) but, like the hallway, gorgeously decorated. The main area consisted of a European king bed, with a very comfortable mattress and bedding, two side tables, a tiny round table, flat-screen TV on the wall, and a window overlooking the hotel’s garden. It was really nice for a Parisian hotel room.
Our Superior Room at La Fantaisie.
Another view at night.
The hotel garden from our window. There was not a lot to see here. I imagine it is nicer in the spring and summer.
There was also a small coffee/tea area built into the wall. Like the rest of the room, this was perfectly decorated and made great use of limited space.
Our built-in coffee and tea nook.
In the small entry hall leading to the bedroom, there was a small closet and the bath, as well as a cute full-length mirror on the door. Again, making great use of limited space!
I loved this mirror.
The Bath
While very tiny, the bath area was luxurious and worked well. The shower was spacious with American-style water pressure and temperature controls that worked. Bath products were by Parisian luxury brand Holidermie.
The sink area. There was a powerful hair dryer under the sink.
More of the bath for planning purposes.
The shower at La Fantaisie.
Extras
La Fantaisie pulled out all the stops with some gifts to make our stay feel extra special. For example, on arrival, we were greeted with two juices, two cookies made to look like playing cards, two souvenir coins (I didn’t understand this), and a set of branded cards, as well as a welcome note.
We received a very nice welcome.
A close up of the pretty cookies. They were too pretty to eat.
Small touches go a long way.
For evening turndown service, the hotel set out luxurious eye masks (which I still have!), slippers, and left melatonin and CBD gummies on our bed to assist in sleeping. Very nice and modern, thoughtful touches.
CBD and melatonin gummies on the pillow.
These sleep masks were actually incredibly nice.
Food and Drink at La Fantaisie
La Fantaisie is home to a beautiful sit-down restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as brunch on weekends, a rooftop bar, and a street-level bar/café. We tried out the restaurant and the rooftop bar during our visit.
Restaurant de La Fantaisie
As mentioned, La Fantaisie’s main restaurant is called “Restaurant de La Fantaisie.” It is located on the street level of the hotel in a truly fantastic setting. Think over-the-top, lots of color and patterns, very Instagrammable. I loved everything about the decor here. It was also impeccably decorated for Christmas.
Decorated for the holidays.
Restaurant de La Fantaisie.
I even loved the chairs.
Lunch
We lunched here right after we arrived, as we had a $100 property credit to use. I was not loving throwing away my sole Parisian lunch on our hotel restaurant, but alas, here we were. We both ordered the restaurant’s lunch prix fixe, which included a hot beverage, a starter and a main course (or a dessert in lieu of a starter) for €29. If you are visiting, know that the menu changes seasonally and what I ordered last December is not currently on the menu (at least per the hotel’s website).
My starter was a spinach soup, served in the most beautiful bowl, that tasted great. After trying the soup, I was not upset that we decided to lunch here, LOL. It was served with crispy croutons and cream. Really great. For my main, I ordered what our waiter described as the restaurant’s most popular dish, a chicken served atop sweet potato puree. I was not overly excited about this description but our waiter’s excitement influenced me. And I must say, this dish was truly wonderful. It was perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, and absolutely delicious. This reminded me of how the French just do classics really well. Highly recommend.
A beautiful soup.
This chicken was crazy good. I don’t even usually like chicken.
My hot beverage was an espresso.
Breakfast
We also enjoyed breakfast at Restaurant de La Fantaisie. The breakfast was also really good. It consists of a small buffet with cold and hot foods, with eggs made to order by a chef. For a hotel breakfast, it was great and more substantial than some French breakfasts I have seen.
Breakfast at La Fantaisie.
Espresso beverages are also included with breakfast.
Bar sur le Toit
La Fantaisie also has a rooftop bar called “Bar sur le Toit” (Rooftop Bar), which is open to the general public. We visited for pre-dinner cocktails to finish off our property credit benefit through American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts.
The interior of Bar sur le Toit.
I was excited to visit, as the pictures online look stunning, but the outdoor terrace, where everyone was located, was not particularly well decorated; it was just a heated outdoor terrace. In any case, the rooftop was well heated, despite being open air and it being December, and the vibe was cool, with a crowd of locals as well as hotel guests.
Dan and I each ordered one cocktail, which, while very pretty, were just “OK” in terms of taste. I think the vibes are why people come, not the drinks. I would like to return and experience the interior bar, which looked gorgeous but was totally empty when we visited, with patrons opting for the outdoor rooftop. Cocktails run around €20 each.
My cocktail at La Fantaisie’s rooftop bar.
The Café
La Fantaisie also has a street-level café that appears to be open to the general public, serving pastries and coffee and, according to the hotel’s website, food all day. It looked super cute, but we did not have time to visit this trip.
While I did not visit, I did snap a pic!
The Spa
La Fantaisie also has an onsite spa. We did not use it, or even visit it, due to time constraints.
American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts Benefits
We booked La Fantaisie through American Express as part of its Fine Hotels + Resorts. Booking through American Express, we received the following benefits:
- 12:00 p.m. check-in – Easily took advantage of this and checked in around 12:30 p.m.
- Room upgrade – We were upgraded from a Comfort to a Superior room.
- Daily breakfast for 2 – Used and breakfast was excellent.
- Complimentary WiFi – Used.
- Guaranteed 4:00 p.m. check out – We did not use this perk, as our flight was at 1:00 p.m.
- $100 property credit to be used during the stay at the spa or for food/beverage – Used at the restaurant and rooftop bar. No issues.
We also received a $300 statement credit. Between this, the property credit and the free breakfast, the single night felt almost free. Note that hotels booked through Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection typically cost a bit more than booking directly.
Note that starting January 1, 2027, Fine Hotels + Resorts stays must be at least two nights to qualify for the Platinum Card’s hotel statement credit. One-night stays still receive the other Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits.
STEAL OUR HOTEL
La Fantaisie: 24 Rue Cadet, 75009 Paris. This is the hotel’s English website.