Hotel Saint-Marc — Paris, France
By any standards, the Duc de Choiseul, Louis XV’s politically nimble chief minister, lived well – exhibit A being his five-storey mansion on Rue Saint-Marc in Paris’s then stylish second arrondissement. Built in 1791 as the Duc’s post-retirement digs on a corner block facing the Opéra Comique and a stone’s throw from the Opéra Garnier and the fashionable rue Vivienne, the handsome pile has gone through several hands over the years – most famously as the Italian restaurant Poccardi where, in 1914, one Raoul Villain steadied his nerves with a meal before heading out to assassinate the French socialist leader Jean Jaurès.
By the time Nadia Murano and Denis Nourry, the owners of the Christian Lacroix-designed l’Hotel du Petit Moulin, took over 36 Rue Saint-Marc in 2013 with the object of turning it into a bijou hotel, it was looking a little the worse for wear, its once stately grandeur hidden under almost two centuries’ worth of accretions and grime.
A two-year restoration led by the Milanese designers Dimore Studio has literally lightened up the building’s interiors though without the riotous excesses of the l’Hotel du Petit Moulin. A glass-topped, trellis-lined courtyard has been carved out of a central room, flooding with light the public spaces dressed with black and white marble, luminous Dedar velvet, Jim Thomson silks, and a mood board of blues, blush and dusky reds.
The hotel’s 26 rooms are casually varied in their permutations of bold Art Deco-inspired palm-print drapes and dressing tables, burnt orange sofas, Louis de Poortere rugs, Fontana Arte and Flos lamps, and O. Borsani brass headboards.
The basement has been reinforced for the insertion of a small heated swimming pool (with a counter current mode for laps) and hammam. Possibly as a discrete acknowledgement of what happened the last time the building had a restaurant, the hotel offers only room service and light snacks, though that’s not such a disadvantage – the Grand Boulevards with their little nooks filled with brasseries and wine pits are just steps away.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
ADDRESS
36 Rue Saint-Marc
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Maude’s Brâncuși-inspired sex toys go on display in a new Paris exhibition
Maude’s design-led vibrators are now on display at Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, as part of ‘Private Lives: From the Bedroom to Social Media’. Brand founder Éva Goicochea talks to Wallpaper* about partnering with the museum and opening up cultural conversations around sex
By India Birgitta Jarvis Published
-
‘I was captivated by the idea of merging two iconic brands’: Nigo on his collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz, which features a 1990s-inspired riff on the G-Wagon
Unveiled at Moncler’s ‘The City of Genius’ event in Shanghai this past weekend, Japanese fashion designer Nigo unpacks his three-way collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz, which includes a play on the G-Class alongside a fashion collection in his eclectic style
By Jack Moss Published
-
Cathay Pacific’s new business class Aria Suites take flight
Cathay Pacific raises the bar for business-class travel with the launch of the much-anticipated Aria Suites
By Lauren Ho Published
-
Dine at Paris’ historic Maison Baccarat, reimagined by chef Alain Ducasse
The newly opened Alain Ducasse Baccarat restaurant – at the crystal house’s Paris mansion – offers not just a culinary experience but a cultural encounter
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
Stylish Paris ice cream parlours for melting moments
Cool off with the best ice cream in Paris: Wallpaper’s favourite scoops span from classics at chef Alain Ducasse's ‘glacerie’ to ice cream sandwiches at JJ Hings
By Nicola Leigh Stewart Published
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
Taste Japan from the comfort of Hakuba at Cheval Blanc Paris Hôtel
New restaurant Hakuba offers an authentic omakase experience orchestrated by chef Takuya Watanabe and pastry chef Maxime Frédéric
By Nicola Leigh Stewart Published
-
Contemporary coastal design rejuvenates Hôtel de la Plage in Biarritz
Hôtel de la Plage in Biarritz resurfaces with fresh interiors by Olivier Granet and architecture studio Gardera & Pastre
By Imogen Green Published
-
Paris’ Hôtel de Crillon celebrates the art of skateboarding with a new exhibition
Hôtel de Crillon and The Skateroom anticipate skateboarding’s return at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a special collaboration
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Ridley Scott turns three French farmhouses into artful holiday villas
Ridley Scott and family transform French farmhouses into holiday lets, the latest addition to the filmmaker’s Provençal wine estate, Mas des Infermières
By Stephanie Gavan Published
-
Experience Paris like a local at Hôtel Balzac
Hôtel Balzac reopens its doors following a 1930s-inspired renovation by Festen Architecture
By Fabienne Dupuis Published