Historic hotels are having lavish makeovers while stylish new properties are launching to meet visitor demand
The Parisian hotel industry has not had an easy ride over the past couple of years. It has been rocked by a drop in occupancy rates caused by the gilets jaunes protests and seemingly never-ending rail and metro strikes. Competition from Airbnb hasn’t helped, either – the city represents one of the home-stay company’s biggest markets, with about 60,000 listings.
Still, there are plenty of visitors to go around – the French capital saw a record-breaking 38 million tourists and 24.5 million hotel check-ins in 2018, according to France’s national statistics bureau, INSEE. These figures will undoubtedly increase when Paris hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024, when an anticipated 500,000 tourists will descend.
To prepare for the future, a host of renowned hotels have undergone lavish refurbishments, while new properties with quirky interiors are embracing a certain je ne sais quoi. Stylish hotels by well-known fashion houses and avant-garde skyscraper properties are also on the horizon.
New
25 Hours Hotel Terminus Nord
The German-based 25 Hours group opened this 237-room Parisian outpost in January last year, opposite Gare du Nord in the cosmopolitan tenth arrondissement. Designers have incorporated the area’s multicultural history into the decor – expect floral motifs, ceramics and portraits of the locals throughout. There’s a two-floor lobby with a shop and café, and Middle Eastern restaurant Neni and Sape Bar. The hotel also has bikes for hire or a complimentary Mini to take around the city.
French Theory
This “hotel, concept store and musical laboratory” opened in September last year in the Latin Quarter. In keeping with its literary surroundings, the 48 rooms and suites have shelves of books, with accommodations categorised from “Study” to “Professor” rooms. The ground floor houses a café and restaurant, and downstairs the Audio Lab has studio equipment and a lounge with an LP collection. frtheory.com
Hotel Particulier Villeroy
The Collection group’s first hotel opened in January in the affluent eighth arrondissement. Housed in a 20th-century private mansion, it has 11 spacious apartments, suites and rooms serviced by butlers. Décor is sophisticated, with natural colours and Calacatta marble fireplaces, and there’s a spa, a gym and a classic French restaurant. hotelvilleroy.com
JK Place Rive Gauche
Italian hotel group JK Place debuted its first international hotel in Saint-Germain-des-Prés last month. Located in the former European consulate, overlooking the Seine, its 29 rooms and suites combine marble fireplaces, signature geometric rugs and cashmere throws with items sourced from Parisian flea markets. There’s also an Italian restaurant, spa and gym. jkplace.paris
Le Grand Quartier
This new development opened in November in the hip Canal Saint-Martin neighbourhood and comprises an 83-room hotel, café, meeting rooms and pop-up shop surrounding a large courtyard. Interior designers Joyce Urbanus and Dax Roll have created contemporary areas filled with natural light and modern furnishings. The all-day café serves Mediterranean food, and there’s also a rooftop terrace. legrandquartier.com
Les Jardins du Faubourg
This foliage-strewn hotel counts luxury fashion boutiques as its neighbours in the Champs-Elysées area. Located in a renovated Haussmann townhouse, the 36-room hotel opened in June last year, retaining the building’s spiral staircase. There are Parisian rooms with high ceilings, mouldings and draped curtains, and Contemporary ones featuring geometric lines and brass elements. It has a glass-roofed restaurant overlooking an exotic garden, a spa with a 15-metre pool, and a gym with a suitably lush living wall. jardinsdufaubourg.com
Cours des Vosges
French hotel group Evok launched this intimate hotel (below) in October last year in a 17th-century residence in Le Marais. There are 12 rooms and suites over four floors, with four-poster beds, candelabra lamps, and windows overlooking the regal Place des Vosges. There’s also a tearoom, a patisserie and, on the lower-ground floor, a guest-only Roman bath. courdesvosges.com
Mama Paris West
In January, the Mama Shelter group opened its second Paris property, in the 15th arrondissement, minutes from the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre. The 207-room hotel has colourful interiors, a restaurant and rooftop terrace, and 11 meeting rooms. A La Défense property will open next year. mamashelter.com
Monsieur George
This 46-room hotel, set across six floors of a Haussmann townhouse, opened near the Champs-Elysées in January. Anouska Hempel was behind the elegant interiors, with a décor characterised by mirrors and emerald greens. There’s a contemporary restaurant, a bar and a spa. monsieurgeorge.com
Simons Hotel
This 67-room boutique hotel opened in December in the 18th arrondissement, near Gare du Nord. The design is contemporary chic, and the hotel has an Ice Bar, with thermal jackets and gloves provided to keep out the cold. simons-hotel.paris
Sinner Hotel
Evok’s gothic 43-room hotel opened in June last year in the Marais. Interiors appeal to your dark side with a black and red colour palette, candle-lit hallways and ecclesiastical features, such as a crypt on the ground floor. Rooms are equally dark, with velvet furnishings. A restaurant combines North African and South American cuisine, and there’s a spa inspired by Greek and Roman baths. sinnerparis.com
Novotel Paris Porte de Versailles
This new hotel located by the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Park opened at the start of the year, with a rooftop restaurant launching in May. The hotel has 245 rooms, a gym and four meeting rooms. novotel.com
Hotel Banke Autograph Collection
Marriott’s Autograph Collection made its Paris debut in May last year with this 90-room property in Opéra (pictured right) , located in a former bank headquarters. Rooms are decorated in a palette of cream and chocolate, with marble bathrooms and plaited leather rugs, and the hotel has an impressive art and jewellery collection sourced from around the world. There are two restaurants – the gold-heavy Josefin and more minimalist Banke – and a bar with an extensive list of cognacs. The Salle des Coffres meeting room has 460 of the bank’s safes on display, hence the name. hotelbanke.com
Renovated
Le Meurice
Dorchester Collection’s palatial property unveiled 29 restored suites in September, including the avant garde Pompadour Suite and the seventh-floor Belle Etoile penthouse. Located opposite the Jardins des Tuileries, the historic hotel has hosted Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso in rooms with opulent 18th-century interiors. The revamped suites have panoramic views and mimic what a modern-day Versailles might resemble today – which means silk, damask and velvet fabrics, bespoke furniture and artworks depicting the hotel’s illustrious past. dorchestercollection.com
Hotel du Louvre
Originally opened in 1855, this 164-room hotel in the Palais-Royal district reopened last year after a two-year renovation. Part of the high-end Unbound Collection by Hyatt, the hotel has retained its 19th-century grandeur with restored high ceilings, mouldings and a period glass roof, while illustrator Emmanuel Pierre has provided artwork. The Brasserie du Louvre, under chef Paul Bocuse, serves traditional French dishes, and L’Officine du Louvre offers herbal-based cocktails inspired by Napoleon III’s love of botany. hyatt.com
Pullman Paris Centre-Bercy
Following a complete refurbishment led by designer Tom Dixon, this 392-room hotel in the 12th arrondissement reopened last year. It now has a private cinema and an artist “playground” showcasing a rotating selection of works. Adopting Pullman’s “Junction” concept, the lobby has been transformed into a multifaceted meeting area. There’s also a wellness space, 21 meeting rooms and a bistro. accorhotels.com
Pullman Paris Montparnasse
Following a three-year renovation, the 957-room hotel reopens in September with five restaurants and bars (including a rooftop spot), and three floors dedicated to events. accorhotels.com
Hotel Grand Powers
This 1920s property (pictured below) in the eighth arrondissement reopened in January last year after a suitably grand renovation. A Small Luxury Hotels of the World member, its 50 rooms and suites have chic interiors – some feature period fireplaces, oak flooring and moulded ceilings. Materials pay homage to its history, with lavish velvet and silk fabrics along with lacquered paint and aged brass furnishings. There’s an all-day restaurant, a bar and a marble-clad spa. hotelgrandpowersparis.com
Coming soon
Cheval Blanc Paris
Cheval Blanc will debut in Paris next month in the 1920s art deco La Samaritaine building in the regal first arrondissement – the former department store has undergone a €750 million renovation project by LVMH. It will have 72 rooms and suites, plus a single private apartment. Dining options include a restaurant by three Michelin-starred chef Arnaud Donckele, and a contemporary brasserie with a terrace overlooking the city. There will also be a spa in partnership with House of Dior. chevalblanc.com
Chouchou
This 63-room hotel, named after a French term of endearment, opens next month in Opéra. It has a “Bar Guingette” (a bar-cum-dance venue), and three pools in the basement that can be rented by the hour. Room interiors embrace the Parisian style, with mouldings, herringbone parquet flooring and striped sailor-style duvet covers. chouchouhotel.com
Canopy by Hilton
A 123-room hotel will open in Trocadéro in the 16th arrondissement in the middle of this year, close to Palais Galliera and Palais de Tokyo museums. This will be followed by a 150-room Canopy in summer 2022 in the Latin Quarter, in a renovated historical mansion featuring a living wall façade, a garden, a restaurant, bar, tearoom and gym. hilton.com
Bulgari Hotel Paris
Bulgari Hotels and Resorts’ seventh hotel will open later this year in a Haussmann building at the crossroads of the Champs-Elysées and Avenue Montaigne – the “Triangle d’Or”. It will have 76 rooms, a spa, pool, a restaurant and a bar with courtyard garden. bulgarihotels.com
Kimpton Paris
The IHG brand’s first hotel in France is expected to open in the Opéra district at the end of this year. The property will have 149 rooms and 24 suites, with facilities including a rooftop terrace cafe, a gym, pool, sauna and five meeting rooms. kimptonhotels.com
MGallery
Architect Jean Nouvel’s mixed-use Duo skyscraper complex, composed of two asymmetrical towers, is set to open in the 13th arrondissement in 2021. The second tower will house a 139-room hotel from Accor’s upmarket MGallery brand on the top ten floors. The complex will also have a restaurant and panoramic sky bar. mgallery.accor.com
Radisson Collection Hotel and Suites, Paris La Defense
Radisson Collection will make its French debut in 2023 in the mixed-use Sisters Towers development in the city’s business and commercial centre. Radisson Collection Hotel and Suites, Paris La Défense will have 309 rooms and apartments, as well as a bar and restaurant on the 26th floor, a gym and spa, plus an indoor infinity pool on the top floor. radissonhotels.com
