"How did it strike you on arrival?It’s a bucolic vision straight out of the French countryside: birds sing, sheep munch grass in the fields, green moss clings to stone walls. Behind a gate, a marvelous cream-colored edifice comes into view, straight out of the Belle Epoque. Just at the edge of the Chateau de Versailles gardens, the Trianon Palace has occupied a prime piece of real estate since 1910. Its architect René Sergent was also the mastermind behind the Savoy and Claridge’s hotels in London. The architecture takes its inspiration from the Grand Trianon, the pink-marble hideaway built by the Louis XIV as an escape from confining courtly life. You can’t get much closer to sleeping at the Chateau de Versailles than an overnight at the Trianon Palace. What’s the crowd like?It’s split 50-50 between leisure and business guests, since there’s a well-equipped conference center staging corporate meetings and events. On the weekends, the hotel hosts well-to-do Parisians who don’t want to brave the traffic to Deauville. (A dose of fresh country air just 20 minutes from Paris, pourquoi pas?) Rub shoulders with the beau monde at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant or in the glittering Gallery. The good stuff: Tell us about the rooms.Rooms are spacious with plush, contemporary furnishings. Request a garden or park-facing room in the historic hotel and not the newer annex. Rooms come with Nespresso machines, Salvatore Ferragamo bath products, and mosaic-tiled marble bathrooms with heated floors. Some have marble fireplaces. Special shout-out to the Terrace Suites, tucked under the roof on the sixth floor. No. 602 has a piano, walk-in closet, and a furnished terrace for breakfast or candlelit dinner overlooking the Chateau de Versailles Any other little touches you loved?The hotel elevators lined with textured leather. Staff: If you could award one a trophy, who gets it, and why?The wonderful receptionist who hooked me up with an iPhone battery pack to bring my dead phone back to life. Anything stand out about other services and features?The Guerlain spa, spread across 30,000 square feet on three levels, is one of the largest hotel spas in Europe. 14 treatment rooms are oriented around the glass-roofed swimming pool. The brand isn’t just known as the “perfumer to royalty” (having created scents for Empress Eugénie and Napoleon III); Guerlain also has a cult following for its anti-aging skincare. Orchidée Impériale Prestige face treatment, anyone? There’s also a well-equipped kids club to keep younger guests entertained. Planning a party? The Salon Clemenceau, the historic gold-etched ballroom, illuminated by crystal chandeliers, was the site of the official delegations for hammering out the details of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. What was most memorable about your stay?Walking directly into the Chateau de Versailles gardens from the hotel. Bottom line: Why will we love a stay at Trianon Palace?If you want to linger longer in Versailles, this is the place to do it. And the gloriously opulent Chateau definitely cannot be seen in just one day." - Mary Winston Nicklin
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