The hotel entrance is perched in a tiny square dimly lit by retro lampposts, its quietness interrupted by the discreet coming and going of heavily bearded men and unmistakable parisennes carelessly clad in Chanel. The reception is joined together with the restaurant and bar in one single large space with the aspect of a homely parlour with flickering candles, a crackling fireplace and the faint scent of mint, leather and wood. Only months after its opening, the hotel is already being frequented by foreign dwellers and locals alike who come by for a trendy lunch, a candle-lit dinner or a cocktail on the ground-floor terrace.

Dating back to 1854, the building was formerly an hôtel de passe (a short-time hotel) before its complete renovation overseen by Parisian architect Philippe Medioni. The 18 rooms which are split across 6 floors include a suite occupying the attic floor with heart-stopping views overlooking the city’s zinc roofs and the Sacré-Cœur basilica. 

Co-owners Elodie Moussié and Sophie Richard curated the hotel interiors with painstaking attention to detail and an outright preference for the warm hues and hypnotic tropical patterns of House of Hackney and Madeleine Castaing-inspired prints. Velvet is the dominant feature of all rooms, ranging from yellow ochre and petrol blue, to fern green and kilim red —while addiitonal features such as French herringbone parquets, dark-coloured vintage woodwork and antique headboards only further accentuate the tradition of Paris’ upper-class Haussmannian apartments. Vanity desks are replaced by a fully stocked cocktail bar fitted with a copper shaking set, a built-in icemaker and an illustrated bartending guide.

Each room is equipped with a 27-inch iMac and a customised lighting system signed by French craftsman Meljac. Bathroom amenities and candles were conceived by Ramdane Touhami, the French-Moroccan creative behind the rebranding of Cire Trudon and the historical beauty house Officine Universelle Buly while room balconies are equipped with rattan furniture signed by the quintessentially French Maison Gatti.