A shady, forgotten avenue just a stone’s throw from the bustling Place d’Italie, a hidden alleyway, and, at the end of it, a surprise. Hidden within this house—which resembles a patrician villa and is attached to a characterless building—is a hotel that redefines the urban, sustainable, and socially responsible hotel experience. The vision of Joris Bruneel, co-founder of the MyHotels group, is clear: to constantly engage with all the vibrancy of the neighborhood—and, more broadly, of Paris. Students from the nearby École Estienne have created works of art that adorn the 60 guest rooms; another neighbor, the Gobelins Manufactory, is featured in a photo series. The hotelier also wanted to bring nature back into this heavily concrete-filled environment: from the lobby, guests can access a stunning two-level garden; through a hidden door on the third floor, they discover the “Secret Garden,” a terrace entirely landscaped by the Merci Raymond collective. Free-spirited and unbound, architect and designer Marion Mailaender chose to combine furniture by the Bouroullec brothers and Gae Aulenti with a William Morris print and fabrics by Maison Thévenot, while also designing indoor/outdoor furniture made of galvanized steel. The result is clever, ingenious, thoughtful, and meticulous, offering a new vantage point from which to discover the capital.
