Photo : A. Schoenert/Hôtel Gabriel
At the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Odéon districts in Paris, the Villa Madame, a new hotel renovated in August 2008 offers an exceptional environment. After long sessions in the nearby Senate within the Jardin du Luxembourg, female senators can spend a night in this little gem on the tranquil Rue Madame, in a chic and pricey district. Interior architect Michel Jouannet has made the most with limited space: 22 m2 twin rooms come with two single beds, a charming méridienne couch, and a desk with a pull-out drawer for your computer keyboard. A range of Hermès beauty products lie atop the marble bathroom surfaces. “We wanted to create something refined,” explains Gilles Delfau, both owner and manager of the hotel. The result matches his expectations: the Junior Suite has a terrace offering a typical view over the historic district’s rooftops. The lobby and the breakfast hall may seem small, but the melange of décor, blending furniture, objects, plants and books, will allow women to feel at home.
Those on the lookout for glamour and romance will necessarily be seduced by the urban concept of the hotel Sublim Eiffel, just next to the Champ de Mars and the Eiffel Tower. In this establishment that opened in Autumn 2008, atmosphere specialist Sandrine Alouf has sought to “bring the city into the hotel” for an urban experience. Opposite the hotel, the above-ground metro brings a touch of extra charm to the ensemble, and to the bar overlooking Boulevard Garibaldi. Behind the metal chain curtains at the entrance, the hotel floors are covered with carpet printed with pavestones, drainpipes and maps of Paris. Rooms look like lined jewel cases, green, fuchsia or blue with playful touches: the glass desk, black toilet paper, transparent wardrobe and well-stocked minibar. In this boutique hotel, women with a zen for wellbeing can treat themselves to abyanga massages to stimulate energy, or relax thanks to Californian treatments. The basement holds the tiny but very original fitness room decked out like a metro station.
In Montparnasse, at the Apostrophe Hôtel, the manager Isabelle Lozano, daughter of the owner Christian Gatien, goes to lengths to please her clients. “We want to be playful, poetic and light,” she explains. And she has carried this off so far in this “poem hotel”, once again designed by Sandrine Alouf who offers luxury and practicality in the limited space of an area where buildings reach the price of 10,000 euros per m2. The hotel façade is no other than a monumental painting, creating an illusion of tree shadows. Here begins the poem recited by the Apostrophe, a type of ode to writing, not out of place in this district thronged by editors, bookshops and intellectuals. The open bathrooms are original and effective. After her Jacuzzi, the romantic woman is just a step away from bed. Here, clients are called to live, to lunch, to read, to work in bed, thanks to a canny rolling desk. Feminine tones of all types are also found in the brand new Radisson Blu Le Metropolitan Hôtel Paris Eiffel, in the Trocadéro district.
“Everything has been done so that you feel at home,” emphasises Alexandre Fougerole, manager of this very contemporary hotel, constructed in a Hausman-nian building from 1884, restored by renowned designer François Champsaur. The key Parisian icon appears, like a film backdrop, from the window of the Eiffel suite. The Metropolitan restaurant serves refined and contemporary Mediterranean cuisine. With a breathtaking view over the Eiffel Tower light show, the subdued bar on the first floor is a place to observe without being observed. In the minimalist lobby, everything is in white, whilst an impressive 4-metre high fireplace in black and bronze is favoured as a fashionable meeting spot.
The new Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hôtel, on Avenue de Wagram, on the former site of the Théâtre de l’Empire and the Salle Wagram, allows clients to have a unique experience in a spot drenched with exoticism, at the heart of Parisian elegance. Its façade featuring glass by architect-urbanist Christian de Portzamparc sets the tone of a hotel where contemporary design is at the fore. In an uncluttered décor, punctuated by touches of lively colours, the rooms are ideally conceived to guarantee optimal comfort, a gauge of absolute relaxation. Businesswomen cannot go wrong here: spacious suites behind rounded windows, glass walls from floor to ceiling, rotating desks with director’s chair, coffee machines, flat screens that can be hooked up to portable computers and deck chairs on the terrace will be much appreciated. This four-star hotel is the new elite Parisian address.
Luxury and design are also spreading to popular and cosmopolitan districts. This is the case of the Mama Shelter Hôtel, a three-star hotel in the 20th arrondissement, the place to stay for fashionable urban women. Designer Philippe Starck, the ex-owner of Club Med Serge Trigano and philosopher Cyril Aouizerate, an unusual trio, are behind this pleasant and intelligent hotel. The young reception team speaks around ten languages between them. The info of the day (weather or concerts) is marked on a large mirror on every floor. If single female clients do not wish to dine alone in the restaurant, they can be served at the Highlander, the central bar where the hotel life is centred. In her room, Madame can hang up her keys and bag in a small column expressly for this purpose, she can heat up meals in a microwave and hook up to the 24-inch Mac that allows access to TV, radio, CD-DVD player and Skype.
Women after the latest thing will not be disappointed by the Hôtel Gabriel. At the heart of the trendy Marais district, this is a hotel to detox in, a temple of wellbeing, interior ecology and regeneration. Anti-oxidant drinks, cleansing treatments and devices stimulating the sleep hormone await fashionable women in a little road between Bastille and Place de la République. At the minimalist lobby-bar, mineral water originating from Canadian icebergs and detox Kusmi Tea from the Kousmichoff teahouse in Saint Petersburg are on offer. In the rooms decorated in natural acrylic stone, the desk opens with a click. The television hides behind the mirror. In the bathroom, natural products regenerate the body, before your sleep is accompanied by birdsong or the gentle noise of waves, emanating from the bed head.
At the Color Design Hôtel, young female clients can dive into a world of colours. Situated on a calm road in a hip part of Paris, close to the Bastille and the Gare de Lyon, Color Design stands out from the outside with its clean geometric lines, its play on lights and colours. This is a concept that continues inside. Each floor has its colour, each night its aura. Rooms feature lively colourful touches, as well as no-nonsense tones and transparency: plexiglass desk, silver blanket, footrest, flat screen, satellite iPod... Subtle lighting, dazzling mosaics, and refined comfort will win over guests, called to linger in the large lobby. So get out your maps and let yourselves be drawn into the new concepts in luxury Parisian hotels.
Like the Parisians
In 2006, David Loquin began renting out his own studio to tourists, while friends lent him their apartments… Today, his company ApartmentParis.fr, specialising in the rental of independent apartments, offers over 60 charming apartments that can house between 2 and 8 persons. Prices are comparable to those of most of the city’s hotels, with the added extra of the total freedom ad comfort of a real apartment in the heart of the city. And the concept works! These centrally located apartments are found in traditional buildings with courtyards. All have been redecorated, often with a touch of style. The range offers studios and two-roomed apartments to luxurious 90 m2 four-roomed homes in the Marais. Services may include a modern kitchen, dishwasher, washing machine, television, Internet, laundry service and on-call service in case of problems. A minimum stay of 2 nights, from 55 to 229 euros per night.
www.apartmentparis.fr.
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