Set in the heart of Paris trendiness, Hôtel Hoxton has a vast range of bedrooms and a lovely bar

I was overly excited to go to the new Hoxton Hotel for lunch and brought with me an architect and a shrewd journalist so we could all give our opinion. Four years in the making, the old courtyards and different buildings of rue du Sentier, opposite where Madame du Barry used to live,  have become a 172 rooms hotel set in an 18 th century house, in the heart of Paris. And I was not disappointed. The great atmosphere is created with a mix of old furniture, design sofas and old books, fun vases, wicker chairs, two fabulous staircases: it all makes you feel relaxed and the mostly charming staff was fun and very attentive.

The vegetal wall was made by Jardins de Gally for the courtyard

The menu at brasserie Rivié (the name of the owner in the 18 th century) is very short : cheeseburger, salads, soup, minute steak with stilton and a coquelet which was huge today ! but everything we had was good and unpretentious.

Ripié has a lot of light and is super confortable

Desserts with an excellent light lemon tart and an average chocolate mousse with dried cranberries, were fine. The trendy beer IPA  (India pale Ale) Gallia, made in France, was excellent. And the check was very reasonable at 30€ per person.  Customers are all in their fourties, and both courtyard and restaurant were full from intense word of mouth, three days after the opening. A true miracle!

The original staircase and reading corner in the entrance of the hotel

Every Thursday night, there is music. And different activities are taking place this week with new musical talents presented by Universal on Wednesday from 4 to 11 pm, a cocktail Blitz with DJ Nicolas Sorel on Thursday, a workshop on digital creativity on Wednesday, a market of local food producers on Sunday from 9 am to 4 pm.  And on Sunday night, pétanque and rosé will transport you to Provence in the center of Paris… Jacques’s bar is only open at night but worth a visit by itself.

From the hallway, you can see the courtyard and the 18 th century façade

This hotel is  a sort of miracle. Abandoned for 20 years, the buildings were patiently restored by a team of architects including Soho House architect and interior designer Tala Garagozlou, who was in charge of all public spaces and furniture and created a wonderful mirror and glass roof in Rivié, Jealous Studio who found all the artwork and Humbert et Poyet from Monaco who designed the rooms.

As it was before

Four sizes of rooms with garden view or not, range from 99€ to 500€ depending on the season and the size. The smallests are called “shoe box” and are under the roof, a typical Paris set out.

When you walk into the building, you find a huge spiral staircase in wood from the original structure and a large transparent glass verrière that shows through to the garden. The atmosphere is jolly and Mathieu, head of food and beverages, is a darling. As is Julie, the hotel manager, who was very attentive.

The Guardian, le Monde and other style and fashion  magazines lie around for you to read. The atmosphere is close to that of a club inspired by Soho House, the International group of very private houses and hotels, who created the restaurant and is partners with the Hoxton group in London.

All the rooms have the same slick furniture

I have a feeling that this is going to be the new hot spot this winter, where cool and young “macronists” will meet and think  the world over. I’ll let you know how it evolves ! 30 rue du Sentier. (Hoxton Hotels are in Amsterdam, London and Paris.)