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NOLINSKI PARIS E verything French architect and designer Jean-Louis Denoit touches is brushed with beauty and edged in poetry. Denoit's interiors for Nolinski Paris manifest exacting design principles, whispering with elegance. The tone is set for this jewel-box five-star property of 36 rooms and nine suites beginning at the hand-painted clouds lining the stairway walls — a nod to Baroque and Rococo ceiling cycles evoking heavenly ascent. Mere cobblestones from the Louvre, the 1880 Haussmann-era building has been transformed by Denoit: Its deeply layered reception rooms bear Béton Ciré plaster, Carrara-marble architectural accents, and a collection of sculpture. These opulent public areas are complemented by a restaurant led by Michelin two-star chef Philip Chronopoulos, the cosseted Le Grand Salon cocktail bar, and restorative Spa Nolinski. nolinskiparis.com/en. Catherine D. Anspon BRACH MADRID A rchitect/designer Philippe Starck set the standard for boutique hotels, and for the just-unveiled Brach Madrid, Starck creates an ode to the art and artisanship of Iberia. Starck investigated the grand traditions of Spain's decorative arts, which are brought forth in interiors brimming with rich details, realized in the Brach's woodworking, ceramics, textiles, tiles, leather work, stained glass, furniture, and paintings. With 57 rooms sited along Madrid's Gran Via, the property comes with a titled history in a storied neighborhood: It occupies the former site of the Palacio Masserano, where novelist Victor Hugo lived as a child. Featuring private room-side terraces, a jazzy '20s-inspired restaurant and bar redolent of the Deco era, the Brach's opening this month adds boutique buzz to Madrid's hotel scene. brachmadrid.com/en. Catherine D. Anspon GUILLAUME DE LAUBIER GUILLAUME DE LAUBIER 32