Sofitel Paris La Faubourg is the flagship Sofitel in Paris. Since I wrote about the location and service in my previous post (read about it here), I will focus on the Duplex Prestige Suite instead. Compared to the Collection Suite, I liked this Duplex Prestige Suite that we were moved into on the third day of our stay with the hotel. There are only two Duplex Prestige Suites in Sofitel Paris La Faubourg.

The Duplex Prestige Suite

The Duplex Prestige Suite in Sofitel Paris La Faubourg feels more like a Parisian apartment. The two-level duplex suite has a total floor area of 45m². Employing a mainly yellow theme, the Duplex Prestige Suite is comfortable and elegant. The living room and powder room are on the lower level, while an open study, bedroom, and bathroom are on the upper level.

Entryway

The Duplex Prestige Suite felt homely. The decoration in the entryway is minimalistic, with only a gold-plated artwork mounted onto the entryway’s wall against a velvet wall. There are no furnishings in the entryway, which I thought was a good choice as it would clutter up the entryway. There are two doors on either side of the entryway. The door to the right leads to the powder room, while the one on the left leads to the living room and the rest of the space in the Duplex Prestige Suite. I like how the hotel fits a small wardrobe on the right of the entryway, which was useful for hanging my jacket. Fitting a full-length mirror on the door of this wardrobe was a smart idea, as this allowed us to ensure we were smartly dressed before leaving the hotel.

Powder Room

The powder room sits further into the right side of the entryway, past the wardrobe. It is rather sizeable and fitted with a toilet and a sink. The brightly lit powder room is laid with blue wall tiles facing a set of French balconies, providing us with the convenience of using the toilet without needing to go upstairs. Despite being a secondary toilet, Sofitel Paris La Faubourg still provides the essential bathroom amenities in the powder room.

Living Room

The living room of the Duplex Prestige Suite was adorned in a white and gold theme, giving it a luxurious yet cosy feel. The elongated living room occupies most of the space on the lower level of the Duplex Prestige Suite. I like how Sofitel Paris La Faubourg furnished the living room with plentiful sitting spaces, allowing the suite’s occupants to invite guests for a small gathering. The yellow couch in the centre of the living room, which can seat up to four adults, could also be converted into a bed. Tucked at the end of the living room are another velvet stool and a high-back armchair, which provide additional seating space. The mirror at the end of the living room, with a patterned round gold frame, exudes a sense of elegance, and the placement of a vase with real flowers gives the living a residential vibe. Both the velvet stool and the armchair were cushiony and comfortable to sit on. There are a couple more seats in the living room near the dark brown wooden staircase. The armchair beside the TV console, alongside the green velvet stool, provided even more sitting space in the suite. Sofitel Paris La Faubourg furnished a side table on one side of the yellow couch with a huge lamp, which not only enhances the cosiness of the living room but also makes this part of the room feel less empty. We did not find any coffee table in the suite’s living room. Instead, we saw a small table at the side of the TV console and used it mainly as a coffee table. I thought not having a coffee table here made sense. Due to the elongated layout of the living room, having a coffee table would make the living room feel cluttered.

A large 42″ flat-screen TV sits on a console opposite the yellow couch in the living room. There is limited space on the TV console, which looks like two square tables pushed together to form the console. We were not able to use the TV console to stow any items. The entertainment options were limited, like the TV in the Collection Suite, where we stayed for the first two nights. There is quite a large selection of channels on TV; however, most of these are in French, and there are few English channels. We mostly ended up watching China channels when we were in the suite.

The hotel was clever in fitting the minibar under the stairs, maximising the useable space in the living room. The hotel provided a Nespresso coffee machine and some tea bags on the top shelve of the two-tiered grey cabinet. The drawer houses more glasses and champagne flutes, while the fully stocked mini-fridge is well hidden in the bottommost cabinet. It was weird that Sofitel Paris La Faubourg did not include an electric kettle (we had to request one).

The Antechamber on the Upper Level

Climbing up the staircase to the second level of the Duplex Prestige Suite, we came to an open space. I regard this space as the open study in the suite. The cosy and elegant design on the lower floor was also apparent on the suite’s second floor. A work desk was tucked by the wall, which created much space in this part of the suite. The glass-top work desk is of a decent size, sufficient for one to lay their laptops on for work. I like how the hotel included power sockets here, making it convenient for occupants to keep their devices juiced up while working. The velvet sand colour chair was comfortable to sit for long periods for one to work. A luxurious-looking and comfortable armchair with a side table sits in the corner of this area, next to the work desk. I used this chair to place my backpack on, but other than that, this corner is a great spot for guests to sit on, reading a book.

The main wardrobe in the Duplex Prestige Suite is also found in this antechamber area. The hotel dedicated a large wardrobe space for hanging clothing, which we found sufficient space to hang our one week’s clothing. The right side of the wardrobe featured shelving space, allowing us to place smaller clothing items or our shopping. We found the in-room safe nicely hidden in the wardrobe. I was surprised to find another mini fridge hiding in the wardrobe on the upper level and a drawer storing the same glassware as in the minibar on the lower level.

Bedroom

The bedroom in the Duplex Prestige Suite exudes a cosy and comfortable feel. The slanted inward ceiling in the bedroom makes one feel like sleeping in an attic, which enhances the cosiness of the bedroom. In the middle of the bedroom rests the king bed, which has excellent sleep quality and leaves me feeling fresh every morning. The hotel provides no pillow menu, and the pillows provided were too soft for my liking. On either side of the bed sits a couple of bedside tables, which gave us sufficient space to charge our mobile phones from the power socket installed on the walls above the table. At the end of the bed was a bed-end bench, which allowed us to sit and watch the TV without messing up the bed. Given the space in the bedroom, I thought placing the TV on a stand instead of a TV console was a good idea as it made the bedroom look less cluttered. There is another wardrobe fitted into the walls, which gives us additional space to stow our things.

Bathroom

The bathroom in the Duplex Prestige Suite sits at the end of the bedroom on the second level of the suite. The decor was a departure from what we had seen in the rest of the suite, but the bathroom was no less luxurious. I was not too fond of the sink in the bathroom, as it afforded us limited space to place our toiletries. We had to move things around, like playing a game of Tetris, to fit our travel-size toiletries. The sink area employed the same blue tiles on the wall as those in the powder room on the suite’s lower level. A bathtub sits across from the sink, sufficiently sized for me to enjoy a soak. Due to space constraints, Sofitel Paris La Faubourg fitted a bath/shower combination in the bathroom. The bathroom in the Duplex Prestige Suite is only fitted with a regular shower head. Taller guests might find showering in the bath a tad claustrophobic due to the structure of the building; the wall where the bathtub was placed slants inwards. I like how the hotel designed a partial wall and placed the toilet behind it to create some form of privacy, given the space allotted to the bathroom.

Overall

I loved the Duplex Prestige Suite in Sofitel Paris La Faubourg. The suite emits a homely feel and feels comfortable and luxurious. I like the split-level design, where the sleeping and entertainment areas are very well segregated. The open study area is comfortable and very tastefully designed. The bedroom felt cosy, and the sleep quality on the king bed was superb. I would return to stay in the Duplex Prestige Suite the next time I return to Paris.