Hôtel Marignan Champs-Élysées, Paris

It could have been just another period renovation in yet another typically Parisian building. After all, when tasked with turning the 18th-century townhouse into a luxury hotel, the most obvious thing would be to crank up the 18th century. The Marignan Champs-Elysées didn’t—and that’s a good thing.

This is not to say the designer Pierre Yovanovitch did away with the old completely. He retained some valuable, original elements of the historical building—such as parts of the lovely staircase—but otherwise has transformed rather than adapted the interiors.

The result? A smooth black-stone façade, glossy floors, custom-made furniture, contemporary light features, and original artwork. More like a contemporary pied-à-Terre or private apartments, the spaces at the Hotel Marignan Champs-Elysées have an invigorating vibe, simplicity—and a touch of glamour.

Simple and classy by the Triangle d’Or

One of the best things about the Merignan is its 8th Arrondissement location—the hotel is tucked away in a quiet street connecting the famous Champs-Élysées with the shopaholic’s mecca of Avenue Montaigne. Close by is the Grand Palais, and so are many esteemed art galleries. It’s the heart of Paris, in many respects.

We only visited for a day, and sadly, the main restaurant was closed, occupied by an artist painting bespoke murals high on the walls—but the hotel’s ground floor bar was a great place to hang around, and the food served was excellent.

The bar is very much a focal point of the Marignan. It is its own space, zoned into two areas with very different moods: a warm and airy main area, and a dark and funky back cavern.

Rooms follow the neutral contemporary style, with clean lines and a light decorative touch. Spacious and airy, with bright ensuite bathrooms and all mod cons, the rooms are unpretentious and comfortable.

in our opinion

It's difficult to come up with something new on the Paris hotel scene, with its plethora of high-end hotels, the few grand dame palaces and plenty of edgy, if not to say over-the-top experiments.

Hotel Marignan Champs-Elysées manages to combine restraint with just the right dose of fashion and contemporary style to make it stand out from the luxury hotel crowd. Add great service and excellent location and you have a winner.

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What we love

• Location—a side street off the Champs Elysees;
• The fusion of contemporary decor with elements of an old townhouse, especially in the staircase: this thoroughly modern space has vintage stained-glass style windows, making otherwise nondescript space interesting;
• Every member of staff we interacted with was thoughtfully proactive, efficient and friendly;
• Very nice bath products with a full shaving and manicure kits as standard. It's the kind of nice touch we always pay attention to;
• Very nice ambiance, with chill-out music in the main areas helping to create a soothing atmosphere to come back to after a day of shopping or sightseeing;
• Great bar and bespoke drinks menu.

What you should know

• This is Paris, so it comes as no surprise that the Premium and Deluxe rooms are on a small side. Book a higher-class room if you can afford it;
• The hotel has a private cinema screening room, though we haven't looked inside;
• The mini bar is included but in ours, there were only two cans of soft drink and two bottles of water;
• Breakfast included in the room rate was a bit of a let-down when compared to other Parisian hotels in this price range. It's a small continental buffet, and à la carte eggs, etc will induce extra cost.