It’s officially the year of maximalism. If you’re reading this, you probably knew that already.
This pattern-layering, colour-clashing, eye-catching whirlwind of a trend has been building for several years and, at the beginning of this year, Pinterest reported a staggering 300 per cent rise in searches around maximalist decor.
For many of us, design-led hotels are becoming the primary inspiration for our holiday plans, and there’s perhaps no better city to live out the fantasy than Paris. Synonymous with design, after a flurry of recent openings and colourful refurbishments over the last 24 months, it’s clear that Paris is flying the maximalist flag.
Including brand-new names, like La Fantaisie, a Wes Anderson-esque five star hotel in the 9th, and Touriste hotels, who invite on-trend designers to make their signature mark on new openings, Paris is filling up with vibrant, dynamic places to stay.
But, it’s not just fresh faces; iconic luxury hotel Saint James (the only château hotel in Paris, no less) underwent a huge redesign in 2022, adding wall murals, patterned upholstery and a rich colour palette for a more ‘magical’ feel. So what are you waiting for? Let your inner maximalist break free and book that trip. Paris is always a good idea.
Hotel Les Deux Gares
If you’re looking for a cheat sheet on maximalist stays, let us direct you to Touriste; a boutique hotel chain which offers reasonably priced rooms in designer-led hotels. Their USP – or perhaps it’s more fitting to say, je nais se quois – is that each hotel is totally unique. The reins are handed over to an emerging designer and, crucially, it’s always someone who has never embarked on a hotel project before. The result? One-of-a-kind design schemes that reflect the signature stamp of each designer, with a no-holds-barred attitude. For pure unadulterated maximalism, our favourite is Luke Edward Hall’s Hotel Les Deux Gares, which sits a short walk from the Gare du Nord. Known for his quintessentially English eccentricity, Hall mixes blue walls with yellow ceilings, striped headboards opposite checkered bathrooms, and geometric carpets with chain-patterned wallpapers. Having a poke around the lobby is a must, as this is the largest space Hall had to play with and sees not only one of his own works hanging on the wall, but a fabulously bold, cobalt-blue velvet sofa with red fringe trip.
Soho House Paris
While Soho House is known for many things, from networking events to Cowshed Spas, it’s globally recognisable thanks to its just-so aesthetic. Considered interior schemes carefully layer fabrics, patterns and colours, alongside unexpected design moments and special touches, often referencing the building’s history. While every House tells its own story, Soho House Paris has a particularly interesting tale; it resides in the former home of famous French poet, playwright and artist Jean Cocteau, who was known for his portraits and a particular focus on faces. Soho House Paris brings this to life with hand-painted murals across bedroom walls, while protecting original features such as the mosaic floor in the reception which has stood for over a century. In the club spaces expect oversized artworks, textured walls and checkered flooring, taking inspiration from the 1940s and the Art Deco movement. For a real maximalist fix, though, head downstairs to the subterranean cocktail bar which also doubles as a cabaret club. Taking its cues from the Moulin Rouge with a gathered, fabric ceiling and ruby-hued furnishings, it’s bursting with character.
Saint James
Saint James is one of the most exclusive addresses in the city so is perhaps more of a honeymoon stay than a last-minute booking for a gals weekend. But a drink in the bar or dinner on the terrace? That’s a must. Originally built as a private residence, this sprawling neo-classical building will not only, quite literally, stop you in your tracks with its beauty, but it’s the only chateau hotel in the city – aka your chance to be a bonafide princess, if only for a few hours. Built in 1892, Saint James started life as the first air-balloon landing field, and became home to the Thiers Foundation, founded by French President Adolphe Thiers’ widow. Today, it boasts a Guerlain Spa, span of suites, pavilions and villas, and three dining options. In 2022, the entire site received a luxurious redecoration helmed by French interior designer Laura Gonzalez, who imbued the space with personality. The Bellefeuille Restaurant imitates its gardens outside with wallpaper from IKSEL, hand-painted with nature-inspired scenes. Winding branches and floral motifs also work their way across the banquettes, seating and rugs, weaving layers of pattern and texture, which bring the outside in and connect both spaces. Don’t miss The Library Bar which, with majestic windows, a wooden, carved ceiling and a spiral staircase, feels like a film set.
The Hoxton Paris
When it opened, The Hoxton proclaimed their new Parisian outpost was “the grandest one yet,” and it’s easy to see why. At home within an 18th-century townhouse built in high Rococo style for one of Louis XV’s most trusted advisors, the space is chock-a-block with original features, from the cobbled courtyard to the 300-year-old staircase which greets you in the lobby. Each Hoxton is known for blending vintage finds with a rich colour palette and made-you-look design moments, but in Paris it goes the extra mile. For us, it’s all about Jacques’ Bar tucked away out of sight on the first floor. Inspired by French painter Jacques Majorelle, this space draws influences from his famous Majorelle Garden in Marrakesh, most notably through the floral wallpaper complemented by pink footstools and deep-mustard velvet sofas. We particularly love the marble hexagonal mosaic flooring, which was one of the most challenging elements of the bar to get right. And, don’t forget to look up either, where design-minded guests will notice ornate cornicing across the original ceiling.
SO/ Paris
We dare you to find a better spot to marvel at Paris in all her glory than at Bonnie, a space age-inspired restaurant on the 15th floor of SO/ Paris. This five-star hotel opened in 2022 and – like the other sites across the group’s portfolio – it’s grounded in fashion, art and design, boasting a stand-out lobby, in-house art installations and a panoramic restaurant. From the moment you step through the door, you’re greeted by futuristic white pillars rising from the floor, metallic wall panelling and a ménage à trois of rich tangerines, sunshine yellows and shiny copper tones. The jewel in SO/ Paris’s crown, Bonnie restaurant (with bar and nightclub just upstairs), takes inspiration from design styles of 1968, showcasing a psychedelic carpet and statement lighting inside, and plush burgundy seating with contrast piping on its wrap-around terrace outside. If chintz and florals aren’t your thing, SO/ Paris succeeds in packing a maximalist punch without being twee.
Hotel Amour
Looking for the quirkiest hotel room in Paris? How do inky-black lacquered walls finished with a ceiling of 200 mini disco balls sound? Or, perhaps a fluorescent pink colour scheme decked out with an iconic Ettore Sottsass floor mirror, fan-girled for its wavy silhouette and backlit frame. Now, that’s an opportunity for a fit check, if ever there was one. After 13 years between Pigalle and Montmartre, Hotel Amour feels like part of the area’s furniture and is a well established favourite with celebrities, influencers, tourists and locals thanks to its typically French, laissez-faire attitude. Within its stylish walls you’ll find 29 uniquely designed rooms including a roomy duplex (quite a feat for a hotel of this size), an exotic garden, plus a restaurant with a focus on small plates and natural wines. Its design was inspired by Japanese love hotels and throughout you’ll find risqué nods to this, from erotic black and white photography lining the hallways to banana-shaped pillows on the beds. The outlandish scheme often feels retro, and is imbued with a sense of humour, being careful not to take itself too seriously. This is, of course, what makes it so attractive – the freedom to have fun and embrace a more-is-more feel, and what’s more maximalist than that?
Hôtel Barrière Le Fouquet's
There was no era better to embrace sheer glamour than the 1930s, when minimalism just wasn’t a thing. Back then, Fouquet’s was an up-market restaurant on the Champs-Élysées, known as the place to be and be seen; movie stars rubbed shoulders with writers, directors and artists, all soaking up the opulent atmosphere. When a hotel of the same name was built nearby some 106 years later, its legendary interior designer Jacques Garcia decided to hark back to the brand’s luxurious beginnings for inspiration. Extravagant to the point of joyful gaudiness, you only need to enjoy a coffee in the lobby to appreciate the sheer flamboyance of Hôtel Barrière Le Fouquet’s. Think wall-to-wall red velvet, punctuated by deep purple sofas finished with crimson-fringed tips. Instead of doors, archways are swathed with lashings of crushed velvet, pleated and cascading down the walls. As for lighting, accessories nod to the turn of the 20th century with more fringe detailing, while mantle pieces are laden with huge, golden candelabras. It’s not just like stepping back in time, it’s like stepping into the silver screen itself. Rooms and suites favour a more neutral, calming colour palette but still offer some gorgeous original features and 1930s-inspired accents, such as black and white photography of starlets of the time. If you want the full Fouquet’s experience, book a table in the original brasserie, which feels like a rite of passage for those who want to live large.
La Fantaisie
Flying the flag for the new wave of Wes Anderson-inspired maximalists, La Fantaisie is bursting with saturated pastel hues and layers of pattern, from striped walls to flowered ceilings. The site spans a hotel, lobby, restaurant and bar, all designed by Swedish interior architect Martin Brudnizki, who has been sprinkling his magic across the interiors scene for more than 20 years, but made his debut onto the Parisian hotel scene here. For those who saw, and loved The Grand Budapest Hotel, this is the closest you’ll get to it in the City of Lights. Bedrooms are a kaleidoscope of sugary pinks, icey blues and buttery yellows, accessorised with cocktail chairs upholstered in zig-zag patterns and donning little skirts, alongside scallop-edged bedside tables and wiggly-framed mirrors. Even if you’re not staying the night, you should sip a cocktail in the playful Bar Sur Le Toit, offering views out to the Sacré-Cœur. Between the raspberry-coloured, seashell-shaped bar stools and ceilings covered in climbing roses, it’s an aesthetic heaven. The overarching scheme is said to be inspired by nature, and this comes through nowhere better than at the in-house restaurant. Here, framed botanicals and bamboo chairs, reminiscent of garden furniture, bring the outdoors in – as does the glass conservatory with views of the garden and pepperings of potted plants.
Hotel Rochechouart
If you think you should have been born in a time when decorative flourishes and fancy façades were the done thing, take a trip back to the Jazz Age at Hotel Rochechouart. Built in 1929 and located within one of Paris’ most-storied neighbourhoods, this Montmartre hotel still retains its Great Gatsby glow today thanks to architect-decorator duo Festen, who had a contemporary vision of the Belle Époque style. It’s the bedrooms which really get us going; all olive-green walls, over-sized headboards and statement bathrooms, but dinner in Maggie Restaurant is a must, too. Like everything here, there’s a story behind its being, and in this instance the name comes from Marguerite de Rochechouart, a nun and well-known character of the area who ran a convent close by in the early 1800s. With a wry smile, the team immortalise her in the restaurant’s title, deliberately contrasting her pious nature with the diner’s revelry. Where she abstained, the team encourage you to have fun, drink up and let loose.
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Lead image: La Fantaisie
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