76 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {home & design} Checking in? At Enchanté Boutique Hotel, a French chateau-inspired destination in Los Altos, the rooms are anything but cookie-cutter. With themes ranging from Madame Curie, Marie Antoinette and Tour de France, each of its 19 accommodations is fitted out with distinct furniture and historic artifacts dating back centuries. “I wasn’t competing with the Hiltons or the Marriotts,” chuckles proprietor and longtime Los Altos resident Abigail (Abby) Ahrens. Nearly a decade ago, when she made the gutsy decision to transform an empty corner lot in downtown Los Altos into a little slice of Paris, she had no prior hospitality experience. Then again, neither did Los Altos. “When this town was founded, locals were promised a bank, a mercantile and a hotel,” in the downtown area, says Abby. She breaks into a grin and jokes, “It took me over 100 years to build the hotel.” Unlocking an upstairs suite, Abby motions to one of the room’s decorations: an intricate piece of needlepoint depicting a group of women beneath a tree. “If you stood way back, you might think it was a painting.” This is one of countless pieces from her private collection of French artifacts that now grace the walls, INTERIORS the suite life words by JOHANNA HARLOW • photography by ANNIE BARNETT
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