Fodor's Expert Review Eden Lodge

When we say unique in Paris, we mean it. Set back in a hidden tree-shaded courtyard off an uninspiring street minutes from Père Lachaise cemetery, no lodging in the capital is quite as unobtrusively fabulous as this trailblazing, 100-percent sustainable, five-room (including two suites) eco-lodge. Impeccably yet unpretentiously designed, with soaring glass windows framing views of the trees and gardens from every room, both your aesthetics and your conscience—not to mention body and spirit—will feel perfectly at ease in this serene and beautiful space.

Book directly with the lodge, they assure the very best price.

room

The feeling of cognitive dissonance (Where am I? Paris? Really?) lasts only few seconds before you succumb to the sophisticated yet totally cozy atmosphere of your room or suite, lovingly decorated with Cole & Sons wallpapers that echo the trees and greenery outside your window or spacious balcony and sleek Scandinavian furniture. Handpicked accents from around the world include chic original artworks, African textiles, and ingenious lighting. All rooms have minibars.

Four out of five of the rooms have either a big balcony or open onto the interior garden and there is a room with wheelchair access.

Photo: Chambre Belleville

Photo: Chambre Bagatelle

Photo: Suite Montsouris

bathroom

Open yet private baths offer state-of-the-art fixtures, with ample tubs and/or huge walk-in rain showers and wondrous heated Japanese toilets that both wash and dry!

Note that the silvery ceramic bathroom-floor tiles are not only beautiful, they contain titanium dioxide, which has anti-bacterial and air-purifying properties.

Photo: Suite Montsouris

Photo: Chambre Buttes Chaumont

Photo: Chambre Buttes Chaumont

lobby

From the sleek ground-floor lobby—or living area, as it's more like walking into a home than a hotel—you will notice some of the sustainable elements unique to the lodge: solar squares on the glass ceiling, a pellet-burning stove, and cutting-edge titanium-dioxide floor tiles that act as air purifiers, reducing airborne pollutants by 70 percent. So the fresh wood scent you're enjoying is not just the fragrance of untreated siding but actually fresh air!

Help yourself to complimentary tea and coffee all day in the kitchen.

Photo: The living room under the glass roof

Photo: The living room at the first floor

Photo: Arrival at Eden Lodge Paris

Photo: Kitchen

dining

Served at a communal table in the kitchen overlooking the interior garden, breakfast is an amiable affair, offered with the same warmth and attention to detail you find everywhere in the lodge. The croissants, bread, homemade jams, yogurt, cheeses, charcuterie, and fresh-presssed fruit juices are all sourced in the neighborhood.

YOU SHOULD KNOW Breakfast is included in the room price.

Photo: Kitchen

Photo: Terrace at Chambre Belleville

drinking

There is no in-house bar, but you're welcome to imbibe in your room or the common areas: downstairs or upstairs lounges, the convivial kitchen, or the internal and external courtyard gardens.

Photo: Terrace at Chambre Belleville

empire cyril lignac

When on the rue Charonne, you will want to know about Cyril Lignac, whose bistro (Le Chardenoux), pastry shop and boulangerie, and newly opened chocolate boutique are clustered at an intersection of the rues Chanzy and Paul Bert, about 10 minutes from the hotel. All noteworthy, the pastries are some of Paris's best and for chocolate lovers this adorable café is just pure good fun (do not miss the chocolat chaud!). Note to chocoholics: Alain Ducasse's chocolate factory (Chocolat Alain Ducasse, 40 rue de la Roquette), about 15 minutes away on foot, is not to miss.