Les Bains – Paris: “Crazy” luxurious new age chic

With the great media attention and presence of numerous foreign and domestic celebrities, a new hotel was opened in Paris, which does not belong to any global hotel chain – Les Bains Hotel, to the joy of those who like retro but also "crazy" luxurious new age chic.

The history of Les Bains Hotel began 130 years ago. It was a public bath, but when, in the 1960’s, the French began to build bathrooms in their apartments, there was no longer a need for a public baths and this building turned into a famous nightclub. And what a nightclub it was!

Decadent club for the world’s jet set

In response to New York's "Studio 54", Professor Maurice Marois opened a discotheque in the "Baths" which instantly attracted the world's jet set. There used to come the most famous worshipers of the god of Bahus and Roman emperors: there was Jack Nicholson an actor, Carla Bruni a model, Andy Warhol presented there his protégé Jean Michel Basquiat, and the great impact left French singer Serge Gainsbourg, whose private bathroom with orange tiles was copied in the club... This place was loved by David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Grace Jones... DJ David Guetta met here his waitress Cathy... Before all of them, the famous French writer Marcel Proust used to come here for a bath once a week! This created a place where there were no rules. People could do whatever they wanted, according to former visitors.

Mr. Marois’s son – Jean-Pierre decided to open Les Bains Hotel at the place of the decadent club. His double profession, hospitality and film („South of the Border“ with David Lynch and satirical film „American Innocence“) provided him a different view on hospitality.

Like in a film

- Looking for a hotel is just like looking for a script, and searching for an architect is just like choosing a film director. Everything must be in harmony, a camera must be supplemented with acting, montage should highlight a material, and design should highlight a nature of the building and give a new life to hotel – used to say Jean-Pierre.

On this behalf, architect Vincent Bastie and interior designers Tristan Auer and Denis Montel transformed the hotel into a live, international club and a hotel with the restaurant, bar with a domed painted ceiling, private salon, while corridors, covered by black plush carpet with ochre flower design, as it should be in the time of the „Flower Children“, lead to 39 bright rooms, sizes from 20 to 80 square meters. Scratched walls and carpets, shabby chic, retro orange sofas... Nevertheless, rooms look like they have always been like this.

In the woods of bloody red pillars in the restaurant rules three Michelin stars chef Michael Rees. Restaurant floor is covered in tiles with a bathroom theme: set in a way that it appears like they splash the bar. Tables and chairs are in Danish style, of simple lines. On the walls there are numerous fluorescent posters from the seventies of the last century. From the discotheque’s ceiling hangs well known ball that turns and splatters colourful rays throughout the space – punk time homage.

Jean-Pierre Marois believes this is the right building for a hotel.

- I wanted when people enter here to simply feel this is Les Bains Hotel, to feel how much is it charged with history, incredible stories and life that was going on in it – says Jean-Pierre.