January 1959, Paris is in turmoil.
France is experiencing a period of unequaled prosperity, André Malraux has just been appointed Minister of Cultural Affairs and the cinema wants to be the mirror of society.
On the terrace of a café, we see François Truffaut and the young Jean-Pierre Léaud.
In a few months,
Les 400 coups
will triumph at the Cannes Film Festival.
But for now, all eyes are on the new building on rue Danton.
A jewel faithful to the architectural codes of its time, which we nevertheless forget to look at, stuck in its Haussmann environment.
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Sixty-four years later, designer Raphaël Navot has taken up the subject.
The geometry of the windows, reproduced on the double entrance door, immediately transports us to the past.
This was without counting the alignment of electric bicycles (the use of which is reserved for customers) and the elegant inscription in capital letters “Hôtel Dame des Arts”.
Proof of an establishment well anchored in its time, on the way to becoming the new essential address on the left bank.
Raw materials and skinning
The lobby of the Hôtel Dame des Arts, designed by Raphaël Navot.
Hôtel Dame des Arts / Photo press
This Monday afternoon, nomadic workers and promotional actors make up a joyful anthill in the lobby.
In its graphics as in its lines, the hotel extends the cinematographic spirit, freed from established codes in favor of a resolutely personal work.
From the fluted half-cylinder in solid oak that covers some of the walls, to the flame-charred wooden floor, signed Oscar Ono, elegance here is shrouded in non-conformism.
Selected by experts, 700 works of art show new facets of the Germanopratin atmosphere, its culture, its architecture and its personalities.
The woody notes of Arthur Dupuy's exclusive fragrance, the establishment's olfactory signature, lead us upstairs.
Because it is truly in its 109 rooms that the Hotel Dame des Arts comes into its own.
A third of them have a long balcony (on the 6th, 7th and 8th floors) and 17 keys have a direct view of the Eiffel Tower.
Three levels of light intensity are offered, for an atmosphere in line with the different times of the day.
The Hotel Dame des Arts in pictures
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As the light fades, the palette of cream and beige is warmed up with copper shades.
The ideal moment to put on your bathrobe, dive into the bathtub and let yourself be intoxicated by the scent of Diptyque products, another emblematic house in the 6th arrondissement.
Aesthetes will not be left out with the sumptuous fitness studio, its curved architecture and wooden equipment (Nohrd), which could well convince the most reluctant.
With black wooden sauna and treatment cabin to complete a discreet well-being offer.
Paris in cinemascope
From the hotel rooms, Paris seems within reach.
Hôtel Dame des Arts / Photo press
And if pleasure also comes through the plate, chef Othoniel Alvarez Castaneda, originally from Tenancingo (Mexico), has taken on his mission head-on to satisfy night owls with a short and well-sourced menu, highlighting the work of craftsmen from the left bank.
The fusion is honored with oysters from Brittany sublimated by yuzukosho, a Japanese condiment, and guajillo, a Mexican pepper, or pork ribs marinated in Achiote, to peck in a leaf of lettuce.
Residents of the neighborhood and foreigners find themselves there in a subdued atmosphere, with a level of service that has become so rare that we had forgotten that it could exist!
In fine weather, the terrace on the ground floor (45 seats) will offer a peaceful and green setting to customers, from breakfast to dinner.
But it is towards the 9th floor of the establishment that all eyes will be turned: the incredible roof terrace reveals a 360-degree view of the capital, the greatest Parisian monuments (Eiffel Tower, Invalides, Notre-Dame, Sacred Heart…) at your fingertips.
The signature wines and cocktails will be accompanied by pâtés en croute from Maison Vérot, Spanish charcuterie from Aitana and bread from Liberté, on an uplifting playlist by DJ Jez.
Want to stay in bed?
Every evening at 9 p.m., then at 11 p.m., the hotel simultaneously projects a film in all the rooms… The program, established in collaboration with Criterion collection, changes every month.
To take full advantage of this moment, popcorn cones can be picked up in the lobby.
Whether you are more Jean-Luc Godard or
Emily in Paris
, the Hotel Dame des Arts crosses the ages in style.
And deploys this je-ne-sais-quoi that makes the flair of the city.
