13 Boulevard du Temple (3e), Paris, France.
In 2004, a rundown apartment block and adjoining car park on the fringe of the edgy Marais district were transformed into a 52-room “urban resort” so ambitiously minimalist and aggressively modern it single-handedly changed the world’s perception of Parisian hotels. Lyon-based designer Raymond Morel obviously works on the principle that too much is never enough. Elevators are lined in hot-pink fur and corridors in muslin. In the whiter-than-white central salon, Morel placed a 7m white leather sofa in front of a cinemascopic wide-screen fireplace that seemingly floats in midair. Fingerprint access makes keys obsolete, while rooms are carpeted in white shag pile and fitted with Bang & Olufsen sound and a colour-selection lighting system. High on the wow factor is a bar stocking 140 different vodkas and a popular Mediterranean restaurant lit by dramatic “stalactite” lights. And if you think you’ve seen it all, two of the deluxe suites even have private lap pools.
See full article: Parisian hotels: Chic magnetSource: Qantas The Australian Way November 2008