A well-known socialite and seductress, Joséphine de Beauharnais - Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife - was celebrated for her modern values, making her a fitting effigy of the Parisienne and the sole inspiration for Hotel de JoBo’s zany interiors.
Steps from the stately Place des Vosges, in the neighbourhood of Le Marais, the 24-room property rises from the vestiges of a former 17th-century convent just across from Hôtel de Chavigny, Paris’ oldest fire station, ironically built by Napoleon.
Eccentric and baroque, the décor by Bambi Sloan, also behind the city’s bewitching Saint James Hotel, evokes post-Revolution freedom and frivolity through stripy flower cockades and black and white toile de jouy wallpapers, re-edited from Georges Le Manach archives.
Exuberant rose parterre carpets symbolise Joséphine’s love for the flower, of which she had 250 planted at Château Malmaison, her residence on the outskirts of Paris. Meanwhile, bold patterned fabric wall coverings, such as Pierre Frey’s signature Somalian leopard print, represents her carefree, spontaneous attitude.
There is no restaurant, but guests can mingle in the hushed salon bar, among the playful oil portraits of Joséphine nursing a flute of champagne and smoking, for cocktails and ham and cheese boards.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
10 rue d’Ormesson
-
The Stuff That Surrounds, episode three: Inside the home of architect Glenn SestigIn The Stuff That Surrounds, Wallpaper* explores a life through objects. This episode, we’re invited inside an architectural gem – just what you'd expect from one of the most distinctive voices in the field today
-
Germane Barnes just transformed a humble Indiana parking garage into an enormous sub-woofer systemWith Joy Riding, the Miami-based designer’s installation at Exhibit Columbus, Barnes celebrates togetherness by evoking Black car culture
-
The best Ruth Asawa exhibition is actually on the streets of San FranciscoThe artist, now the subject of a major retrospective at SFMOMA, designed many public sculptures scattered across the Bay Area – you just have to know where to look
-
Sip in style at 30,000 feet with Air France’s new premier cocktail collectionThe airline partners with mixologist Matthias Giroud on three new signature cocktails for its La Première customers – here’s to a modern negroni, or a spicy non-alcoholic tipple
-
Discover Philippe Starck’s most surreal hotel yetAt Maison Heler Metz, brutalism meets bedtime story, with a 19th-century home perched on a concrete tower and a fictional host guiding the way
-
Locke unveils its most theatrical aparthotel yet in ParisDesign studio Fettle creates a layered and light-filled escape for the hospitality brand’s first Paris outpost, Le Jardin de Verre by Locke
-
The most stylish hotel takeovers to pop up at this summerFrom Capri to Ibiza, luxury fashion brands are taking over seaside resorts with exclusive boutique pop-ups and bespoke poolside accessories
-
Tour Eurostar’s sleek new lounges in Paris and BrusselsLondon-based Chris Bagot Architects has designed a stylish environment in which to work or unwind prior to high-speed rail travel
-
Taste a Louis Vuitton summer in sun-drenched Saint-TropezThe Arnaud Donckele & Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton restaurant returns to the White 1921 Saint-Tropez hotel for its third edition, now with a Michelin star
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Experimental Marais: a lush homecoming for the hospitality forceExperimental Group returns to its Parisian roots, where it opened its founding bar, to launch its first-ever flagship hotel, designed by Tristan Auer
-
Bon appétit! These are the best restaurants in ParisExperience haute cuisine at the best restaurants Paris has to offer, from a vegetable-centric menu at Arpège to alchemical cuisine at Plénitude
