Hotel Le Relais Saint-Germain Paris

Opulent and elegant, this establishment may have 4 stars but there is nothing of the ostentatious luxury specific to certain grand hotels here. Our hotel reflects the discreet and timeless charm of a noble building which dates back to the late 16th century.

“When we took over the hotel in 2004, we wanted to keep the soul of the place – directly inspired by the story of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and its great writers – but also its space, its original beams and the spirit of the whole area,” explains Yves Camdeborde.

And here, not one of the 22 rooms is the same. Avoiding any possible uniformity, each room its decorated in its own style, a clever combination of authenticity and contemporary design.

The different fabrics, wall coverings and wood panelling grace the vast reception areas with their sometimes rustic, other times contemporary furniture. With two or three per floor, each room has a view of the Carrefour de l’Odéon, a typical square in this animated district on the Left Bank.

Some have a mini-spa, a terrace or a library and all are named after a literary great and exude the wonderful scent of Parisian joie de vivre…

Looking beyond the ultimate comfort and authentic character that reign supreme here, there is no doubt the family atmosphere sets this destination apart. For Yves Camdeborde, “the Relais Saint-Germain is everything but a hotel…it’s more like a family guest house.

With us, the customer feels at home. Here, everything is focused on the personal touch. Every member of staff gets to know our customers and can build a privileged relationship with them. The result? After two days, the customer knows everyone in the hotel and vice versa.”

This atmosphere is already evident at the hotel’s reception where the customer is welcomed at a simple desk, open and accessible, rather than in an impersonal foyer. All of the staff are used to “making every effort to keep the customer happy and take care of them as best they can”.

Guests can for example make a reservation in one of the best restaurants in Paris, or a ticket for a rugby match or football game. Every detail is taken care of for customers who can, at any time, enjoy lunch or dinner in their room, choosing one or several dishes from the restaurant menu, not simply room service.

At breakfast, the dining room is solely for hotel guests. From 7.15 to 10.30am, they can enjoy the excellent products sourced by the chef, like Raphaël jams (Saint-Malo), La Pellerie farmhouse butter (Normandy), Le Petit Béarnais yoghurts by Fanny Ferrand (Castetis) or one of the six varieties of Nunshen tea direct from Nepal or Thailand.

Suite with Terrace
The spirit of the room
On the 6th and last floor of the hotel, the Marguerite de Navarre suite, a unique retreat, is perfect for romantics with its pretty terrace and uninterrupted views of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area.

On warm days, enjoy a glass of champagne or feast on dishes from the restaurant menu on your own private terrace. Intimate and tranquil, the room has a lovely bathroom full of natural light, high amongst the Parisian rooftops.

Junior Suite
The spirit of the room
Like the Knoll coffee table in the large lounge of the Mme de Sévigné suite, here the furniture is particularly understated, uncluttered and wonderfully elegant. Decorated in traditional toile de Jouy, these spacious suites (34m²) perfectly represent the Parisian charm coveted by guests from around the world.

Deluxe Room
The spirit of the room
Delightful and bright rooms with homely, silky interiors are hidden behind three flower-covered windows. Undeniable charm, highlighted by the warm wood panelling dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries.

Restaurants of Yves Camdeborde in Paris
Delicious and full of character, Yves Camdeborde’s food is prepared with exceptional natural products, sourced mainly from south-west France by the chef himself.

Serving a combination of traditional and contemporary cuisine, it is open 7 days a week throughout the day and evening, perfect for a snack or an extravagant blow-out.

Choose from a dozen small plates to share in the Avant-Comptoirs, traditional French dishes updated by the chef in the brasserie or more creative menus in the restaurant.

Le comptoir
This Saint-Germain-des-Près institution is steeped in the bistro atmosphere everyone enjoys when they come to Paris.

Opened by Yves Camdeborde in 2004, it overflows with warmth and generosity. Particularly in terms of its delicious food, prepared with flavourful produce sourced by the chef himself, and its all-natural wines.

Avant comptoir de la mer
Standing at a huge bar as long as a month of Sundays, regulars and new customers looking for flavour sensations come here to feel the sea air of the Breton coast or the Bay of Biscay as they tuck into restorative mouthfuls of seafood with a glass or two of one of the many white wines, most of which are biodynamic.

Avant comptoir de la terre
To keep your hunger at bay or for a drink with friends, the first of the Camdeborde galaxy’s three Avant-Comptoirs has everything you need.

Right next to the Brasserie and for your unrestrained pleasure, the menu boasts no less than 70 different individual tapas, simply prepared using produce from the fields, served with very affordable glasses of wine.

Avant comptoir du marché
They come from Saint-Germain-des-Près and elsewhere in Paris, from all over France and the world. We’ve stopped counting the number of bons vivants who visit and revisit the latest and largest of the three Avant-Comptoirs created by Yves Camdeborde.

They come to try the sharing plates, full of flavour and pleasure, served with excellent wines made by young, eco-responsible winemakers.

Yves Camdeborde
“I believe that a chef should cook a carrot, sardine or pig’s trotter with the same respect and to the same standard as caviar, turbot or a fillet of beef. They must select their products and ingredients with the greatest of care because, whatever the price, they must be of the highest quality.”

Yves Camdeborde in 7 dates
A tireless flavour explorer and game-changer, for nearly thirty years Yves Camdeborde has continuously shared his love of cooking and passion for fine produce with his loyal customers, readers, listeners and viewers.

1964 A childhood in Béarn
On 7th December in Pau, Jean, a Béarnais charcutier through and through, and his wife Germaine, originally from Morbihan, had a son Yves. Alongside his two brothers Jean-Marc and Philippe, he grew up in a very happy home, enjoying rugby and school, family feasts in Navarrenx and memorable post-match celebrations.

1982 A revelation with Christian Constant
At the final of France’s Best Apprentice Competition in Paris, the young cook was noticed by a chef from the Ritz Hotel, who offered him a position of commis the following year. It was sous-chef Christian Constant who taught him everything, very quickly becoming his mentor.

1988 Happy days at Le Crillon
After a stint at Maxim’s, Le Relais Louis XIII, La Marée and La Tour d’Argent, the young man from Pau returned to work with Christian Constant, now Head Chef at Le Crillon. Four euphoric years followed, “years of freedom and intense creativity where anything was possible.”

1992 La Régalade: a food revolution
On 21st August, the young chef decided to stand on his own two feet and opened La Régalade, a stone’s throw from Porte d’Orléans in Paris. It was a small local bistro where everyone came to enjoy fantastic food, inspiring an entire generation of young chefs.

2004 Renaissance in Saint-Germain-des-Prés
In February, after twelve years at the helm of La Régalade, the chef moved to the very heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés to open the Hôtel Le Relais Saint-Germain and the restaurant, Le Comptoir du Relais Saint-Germain.

2010 The adventure of the Avants-Comptoirs
Between 2010 and 2016, Yves Camdeborde opened three Avants-Comptoirs (La Terre, La Mer and Le Marché) where his brasserie customers could wait their turn for a table, sharing a light bite and a drink.

2019 The man and the media
The author of a dozen books and graphic novels published since 2003, over the years Yves Camdeborde has become the media’s blue-eyed boy.

On television between 2010 and 2015 as a member of the Masterchef jury on TF1 and then since 2018 on France 2 with the programme “A table! Mangez sain, depensez moins” presented by Faustine Bollaert, now on the radio.

Faithfully pursuing his vocation to share his passion for cooking to the greatest number, every Saturday Yves Camdeborde gives advice and tips in his radio programme “La table des bons vivants” presented by Laurent Mariotte on Europe 1.

Website: www.hotel-paris-relais-saint-germain.com

Rooms: 22

Price: from 230 EUR per night