Although the Marais is one of the most fashionable and progressive areas in Paris in terms of fashion, restaurants, and shopping, it lags in terms of luxury hotels. The Pavillon de la Reine on the Place des Vosges, opened in the early 2000s, was the only five star hotel in the central Marais up until last December.
9Confidentiel is a spiffy, chic hotel in the heart of the Marais near the Hotel de Ville/City Hall. Designed by Philippe Starck, it’s a departure from his usual futuristic style. Using the roots of the building constructed in the 1920s, Starck has created an intimate series of public spaces and rooms, using the Art Deco style as his inspiration.
Instead of the vast, open lobby space with ultra-modern décor usually associated with Starck, he has chosen to design a series of small, intimate, salon-like rooms in understated tones. Using a muted palette of tan leather on the sofas, vanilla and mint green on the club chairs, it’s offset with highly patterned rugs and bold-colored, Picasso-like throw pillows.
We indulged in the afternoon tea service, with a soothing Mariage Freres green tea and decadent pastries from Yann Couvreur, a nearby patissier, recognized as one of the best pastry makers in Paris.
Le Confidence Bar, a sexy, dimly lit cocktail bar open from 6PM to 1AM, is perfect for a pre or after dinner cocktail. Renowned drink mixologist Nico de Soto, voted Most Influential French Bartender at the Cocktails Spirits Paris Bar Show, conjures up a signature cocktail, Le Confidence, delicately mixing Citadelle Gin, rose, cucumber, basil, lime and albumin. Custom cocktails are also available upon request, along with an appetizing selection of snacks including the popular French Bellota-Bellota air-dried ham.
The 29 rooms, including 16 Superior, six Club, four Executive and three Suites, all have romantic rooftop views of Paris. In a clever move, instead having room numbers, each room is assigned a nostalgic female name, such as Lucienne, Odette, and Jacqueline. Bathrooms have floor to ceiling beveled mirrors made by artisans, natural stone floors, and marble basins. Starck designed the carpets specifically for the hotel, in cooperation with Pierre Frey, in symmetrical patterns.
Since the hotel couldn’t fit a spa, it went one better by providing in-room, customized spa treatments. Codage, a leader in luxury skin care products, offers 18 wellness treatments along with massages, manicure and pedicures, as well as hair and makeup services.
Another big plus of Hotel 9Confidentiel is the close proximity to major attractions in the area, including The Picasso Museum, Place des Vosges square, The Jewish Museum, the BHV department store, Mariage Freres tea boutique, the flagship store of fashion designer Azzedine Alaia, and a branch of the Pierre Hermé macaron shop.
58 rue du Roi de Sicile, 75004
https://www.hotel-9confidentiel-paris.fr/en
Tel. +33 (0) 1 86 90 23 33
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