Hotel Marignan Paris is in the heart of French capital’s fashion district.
Hotel Marignan Paris
12, rue de Marignan, 75008, Paris, 33-1-40-76-34-56; 50 rooms from $456 (€319); Hotelmarignan.fr
Set in Paris's fashion district just half a block from prime Champs-Elysées, this modern, smartly furnished luxury hotel is a sanctuary from the city in the heart of one of its most bustling neighbourhoods. The design by Pierre Yovanovitch (he's a bit of a star around town) is modern and spare: light, calming wood, muted colours, soaring ceilings and just a few well-chosen pop accents. The building is small – there are just 40 rooms and 10 suites. The service feels friendly and intimate. And the location is hard to beat for convenience. Aside from its proximity to top-flight shops as well as the metro, the hotel is a couple minutes' walk from the Ladurée bakery, one of Paris's best sweets spots.
Nothing is ever simple in Paris – that's one of the things that makes Paris Paris. So remember that there are two Marignan hotels in the city: one in the fifth arrondissement, called Hotel Marignan, and the recently opened one in the eighth (where I stayed), which is often called Marignan Paris, but is sometimes called the Hotel Marignan as well.
Best amenity
In a city where the coffee is typically bitter and dreadful (it's one of Paris's dirty little secrets), the Marignan keeps automatic espresso machines and complementary pods in every room. WiFi and a not-bad continental breakfast are also included.
Second-best amenity
The Japanese electronic toilets are more fully featured than many mid-size luxury automobiles.
Room with a View
The €1,265 ($1,800) per night (and up) terrace suite, with its outdoor space and views across the Seine to the Eiffel Tower, is the jewel of the joint. That terrace is spectacularly romantic. You may never want to come inside.
If I could change just one thing
I'd kill for a bit more historical detail. Every single thing about the place feels brand new – unless you a) take the stairs and b) look up while you're doing it. The designer left just a taste of the stairs' former glory on their underside, in spectacularly detailed wood carving and fading paint. It's heartbreaking to imagine how much else is hidden beneath the drywall.
The writer was a guest of the hotel.