The LGBTI-friendly XO Hotel is an elegant, boutique Paris hide-away, walking distance from the Arc de Triomphe.
Set down a quiet Parisian street, away from the busy boulevards, it’s a great base to explore the city, while still guaranteeing yourself a good night’s sleep.
A wine-lovers hotel
The XO Hotel’s most exciting unique selling point is its dedication to wine.
Oenophiles – or wine lovers, if you prefer – can use cool dispensing machines to get a range of cool wines by the glass 24 hours a day.
The dispensing machines are available at reception and in the lower-ground floor bar. They’re simple to use. You load a card with credit, put it into the machine, choose your wine by the glass and just press the button.
Of course, wine is even better when accompanied by a cold-cut and cheese buffet. So XO Hotel offers a complimentary ‘Apéritivo!’ session each evening in their dedicated tasting room.
The big wooden communal table also hosts wine tasting events led by knowledgeable oenologists.
And every guest gets a complimentary glass of wine included in their booking. If you really want to indulge, try the XO Cognac or Delamain Cognac to round off a special evening.
Boutique rooms
The XO has just 58 elegant rooms. So it is large enough to offer some of the facilities of a bigger hotel but small enough to offer a personal service.
The hotel was only opened in 2017, so the rooms have a stylish, contemporary feel. They are tastefully decorated with a soothing color palette of blond and bronze wood tones, with hints of blue and grey.
Naturally, you have all the luxuries you’d expect of a four star hotel. Each room has a mini bar, Nespresso machine, HD TV, complimentary wifi and luxurious bedding and towels.
They all look out onto the traditional Paris street and the upper floors in particular offer stunning views across the rooftops of the city.
Breakfast
If you are getting up early or in a rush, you can grab an Express breakfast of coffee, fruit juice and pastry as you pass by reception.
Or if you want to pamper yourself with a lazy morning in bed you can order a continental breakfast, served in your room.
But it’s worth getting up for the full breakfast experience. The XO provides a delicious buffet of cheese, cold cuts, fruit, fruit juices, cereal and scrambled eggs. And, of course, it wouldn’t be breakfast in France without the best pastries, bread, honey and jam.
It’s more than enough to set you up for a day of exploring.
Good food and wine are hallmarks of the XO Hotel.
Stay alongside real Parisians
I have visited Paris many times over the last 25 years and never explored the 17th arrondisement before.
In a sense, there’s no need to. This wealthy enclave that is home to the XO Hotel doesn’t contain any major tourist sites or museums. As such, it’s dominated by real Parisians, rather than tourists, which is quite refreshing.
And it is very well connected. From the hotel, you can stroll to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysée. Or you can jump on the Metro, with two stations just a few minutes walk away from the XO’s front door.
What is more, the 17th is a charming neighborhood in its own right. It’s one of the areas of Paris that Baron Haussmann set out on the orders of Emperor Napoleon III. So it’s quintessentially Parisian with wide boulevards and fine architecture.
The XO Hotel itself reflects the traditional building pattern but has added a hint of Art Deco style too.
There is excellent shopping available on the nearby streets that are lined with mid-range and high-end boutique shops, cafés and restaurants.
A neighborhood that has inspired artists
A few streets away from the hotel, is the Battignoles area, a little neighborhood within the 17th with a slightly alternative character. If you enjoy a grungy bohemian style, you should head here to check out the bars and bistros. The cute French term for the hipsters who make this area is BoBos, short for bohemian-bourgeois.
Battignoles is no new invention, however. It inspired the painter Édouard Manet and his friends, who painted scenes of its café lifestyle in the 19th century. They became known as the ‘groupe des Batignolles’.
Another neighborhood gem, walking distance from the XO Hotel, has also inspired great art. This is the Parc Monceau, a little green haven, surrounded by elegant houses. The dappled light and shade inspired the greatest of the impressionists, Claude Monet, to paint six views of it between 1876 and 1878.
It’s still a beautiful place to stroll, less formal than other Paris parks. And it boasts some quirky follies, an Egyptian pyramid, a Chinese fort, a Dutch windmill, and Corinthian pillars.
Staying at the XO Hotel
The XO Hotel is at 23-25 Rue Théodore de Banville, 75017, Paris. You can book online at the XO Hotel site.
