"In 1860, sugar tycoon Alfred Sommier purchased and restored the 17th-century castle Vaux-le-Vicomte and built a double Haussmannian mansion inside of a stone-flagged courtyard just steps from Place de la Madeleine. In 2019, Richard de Warren, a descendant of the Sommier family, introduced the refurbished property as an alternative to soulless big-box hotels. Belle Époque flourishes abound throughout the 80 rooms and public spaces in the form of herringbone parquet floors, marble fireplaces, gilded moldings, and a grand staircase flanked with caryatides. These, plus the leafy courtyard for breakfast and cocktails, are manna to Francophiles who love a whiff of old-world haute société."
