Hotel Massé
Pigalle has become an IYKYK spot — still deliciously louche, less travelled, brilliantly handy for Eurostar visitors and stocked with Haussmannian blocks like the new Hotel Massé. Interiors conceived by the sibling-owners nod to the area’s bohemian history with a flophouse aesthetic of lived-in upholstered furnishings, casual linens and veneer-like wall panelling (though everything from the muddy palettes to the retro porcelain sanitary ware is bang on trend). A new late-hours restaurant called Trente, at the adjacent 30 rue Massé address, opens soon with a reclaimed-wood bar and outdoor terrace serving plenty of Ricard.
L’Aventure
Refurbished by Thierry Costes on the ‘etoile’ of the Arc de Triomphe, this decadent property appeals to Zoomer children of the Gen Xers who frequented Hotel Costes in the ’90s (or listened to the curated CDs). The design by Vincent Darré subverts familiar period touchstones with cheeky contemporary furniture in unexpected colours and hand-drawn murals on fabric walls, penned in situ by Darré himself. The 15 spacious guest bedrooms sit atop a legendary nightclub redesigned in sparkles and velvets by Martin Brudnizki, who also threw himself into the scheme of the intimate dining room. It’s all fabulously flamboyant and tremendously exclusive — a true Parisian adventure.
Saint-Germain I
Karl Lagerfeld collaborated with Marc Newson on the web-like steel banister in his two-bedroom Rive Gauche office. The three-level pied-à-terre served as the designer’s creative refuge until his death in 2019. Now the property’s new owner has installed complementary retro-futuristic furnishings, brightened the high-ceilinged spaces and reopened them as a short-stay let. The fashionably neutral palette emphasises wood tones and steel greys with a focus on oversized amorphous silhouettes and original art; the master bed emerges from an entertainment ‘capsule’ and the lower level features a full wellness area with a sauna and hammam. The space seems to have inherited its starchily tailored look from the kaiser himself.
