“Paris’s original boutique hotel is still setting trends after a recent refurbishment, in a discrete location on the Left Bank.”
The Montalembert was the first of the ‘boutique’ hotels in Paris and after its recent refurbishment is running once more alongside its imitators that had begun to overtake the original. The spirit remains the same but the décor is a seamless blend of modern design with the period art deco features of the 1926 building.
The facilities
The polished marble floor of the lobby reflects the attitude of the attentive Prada-clad staff. A salon area with low backed white leather chairs and an angular velvet sofa leads into the stylish café and bar, hung with large black and white photographs and furnished with dark wood. The fire burning in the intimate library draws guests. In summer months, the café also serves on the terrace at the front of the boutique hotel.
Two tiny Parisian lifts (each just big enough for three, without bags, if you breathe in) pass the pretty ironwork balustrade and the Deco windows of the staircase. Solid dark wood cupboards and high bed heads dominate the modern rooms at this boutique hotel, softened by the taupe, purple and blue fabrics. The traditional rooms have retained the pre-refurbishment Louis Phillipe antique furniture, and have a cream, cinnamon and olive color scheme. Both types feature imaginative, contemporary lighting.
The Montalembert’s 50 rooms and 6 suites have luxurious bathrooms with deep baths, marble floors, acres of mirror on the walls and tall pivoting ones. The combination of mirrors, downlighters and chrome can have you reaching for your shades early in the morning. Satellite TV, VCR, minibar and safe are discreetly housed inside the large cupboards and internet, phone and fax lines are standard. The boutique hotel’s turn down service also turns on the music system in the evenings, a thoughtful touch.
Popular with the fashion crowd throughout the year, reservations during the shows must be made far in advance. Impeccably placed just off the Rue du Bac and the Boulevard St Germain, the Montalembert is a 10 minute walk west of the galleries and boutiques of St Germain, south of the Musee du Louvre and south-east of the Musee d’Orsay.
Star rating:
Address: 3 rue de Montalembert, 75007 Paris, France
View rooms
Address: 3 rue de Montalembert, 75007 Paris, France
Booking info
Arrival:
Thu 21 Aug 2008
Departure: Fri 22 Aug 2008
No. adults: 2
Departure: Fri 22 Aug 2008
No. adults: 2
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Who stays here
The hotel is a beacon of Rive Gauche chic, and attracts fashion industry people, artists, writers and musicians - the band REM stays here when they're in town, as it's one of Michael Stipe's favourites.
Come for
- Showing off your sense of style
- An apartment-sized suite
- The courtyard garden
Not suitable for
- Those who like it quaint and cosy
Children
The hotel welcomes children, and the staff will leave a teddy bear in the room for young guests. They also offer interconnecting rooms as an option for families.
Eating in
The restaurant is a great concept, serving dishes in four categories (Ter, Mer, Vegetal or Soleil) and in either bite-size or meal-size. You can eat in front of the fire in the lounge, outdoors on the terrace in summer or in the broodingly chic dining room.
