This summer, Paris will be the city on everyone’s lips. As millions descend on the capital from home and abroad, the city’s streets, pâtisseries and hotels will be bursting at the seams like overstuffed pain au chocolats. You’ll be hard pressed to find even a moment of calm amongst the Olympic madness. Or maybe you won’t want to?
Hôtel Dame des Arts, which opened on the Left Bank last year, is the perfect place to find a little bit of both. The rooms and halls of this chic, design-focused hotel are a quiet, calming refuge, while its dinner and party spaces are delectable and lively. And that’s not even mentioning its pièce de résistance: the rooftop, which is where everyone who’s anyone in the City of Lights will want to be as soon as the temperature breaks into the 20s.
Where?
While many visit Paris for the traditional Haussmannian, bouillabaisse-based, Sex in the City season six fantasy, this hotel is what cool, young Paris actually feels like, despite being so centrally located. Dame des Arts is within a short sprint of Notre Dame, as well as its gothic sister the Sainte-Chapelle, and the Seine.
The jury’s still out as to whether events will be allowed to happen in the Seine during the Olympics (will it be clean enough? Let’s leave that to the professionals to find out) but if they are, you’re in plum position to pop down early and get a spot on the riverside.
It may not be located in the trendy ninth, 10th or 18th arrondissement, but for an Olympics summer, would you even want it to be? You’re smack bang in the middle of the action, and not far from the Jardins du Luxembourg or des Plaintes, for some more relaxing park sunbathing. Plus, you’re surrounded by metro stations, with Saint-Michel Notre-Dame station just 50 metres away,
Style
Built in 1959, Hôtel Dame des Arts’ is a spring chicken compared to many of its distinguished neighbours. In keeping, its decor feels fresh and stylish yet grown up. Dame des Arts doesn’t need to oversell with bold colours or prints, it’s all muted hues and thoughtful, low lighting, brought to balance with a sunlight flooded courtyard and rooftop. The walls are panelled in light wood and the palette is neutral without being greige.
Many of the seats in its lobby and dining area are rounded booths, so couples can sit comfortably together. The rooftop echoes the colours of Paris’ cityscape, letting the colourful drinks and guests’ outfits speak for themselves. Oh, and it’s got the most stylish ashtrays you’ve ever seen. Apparently many non-smoking guests buy them just to put their house keys in. I’m still kicking myself for forgetting to stash one in my luggage.
Which room?
While Dame des Arts does offer a few Eiffel Tower-view rooms and suites, the small rooms are perfectly formed. Dame des Arts makes great use of small spaces in each of its 109 rooms, and even its 12 square metre classic rooms feel roomy and perfectly intimate.
In each room, you’ll find ecru and heather padded headboards accompanying luxuriously large beds, Diptyque toiletries and some of the most aesthetically pleasing hotel bathrooms you may ever set eyes on. Anyone looking into a London bathroom renovation: take note, this is how you style a small space.
Food & Drink
While the party might be well-publicised as being at the (roof)top of the hotel, the bottom floor is just as worthy of a visit, if not more. The restaurant, offering elevated Mexican cuisine is ideal if you’re looking for an alternative to classic French dining, especially if you’re looking to try an original fusion, as it blends Mexican, French and pan Asian. The flavours work perfectly together, bringing out power in even the simplest dishes. Classics such as guacamole are given more delicate tasting notes, and the red tuna and seabream tostadas are as good as it gets. There is nothing — nothing — quite like the corn tempura, though. I would buy a whole Eurostar ticket just to get back to that dish.
And with every punch the food packs, the drinks rise up to meet it. Enjoy a perfect Pamela, followed by a floral French spritz. The daring can even pair a shot of tequila with their pudding of lime and jalapeno sorbets. It works, trust me.
Best for…
Anyone looking for a young, fun weekend break without having to compromise on style. If you’re looking to hop to Paris during the Olympics purely for the vibes, this is a great place to soak up the sun and sit by the Seine, or join a park watch party. Dame des Arts also has its own parties each weekend, as well as events like Oyster Hour (nearly every Monday) and Comedy Club nights.
