The colourful Hi Matic Hotel is the latest venutre from French design guru Matali Crasset, protegee of Philippe Starck and creator of Le Nouvel Odeon cinema in Paris and the Hi Hotel in Nice. Five minutes from Bastille, in an area PR types are trying to dub EsBa (East of Bastille), the 5 floor hotel is in a slightly down at heel, residential area full of organic bakeries, highly rated restaurants and creative types.
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| Hi Matic Creator and Designer, Matali Crasset |
The 42 room hotel is part futuristic hostel, part Japanese Riokan. The cosy bedrooms feature comfy futons cocooned in wooden structures, in a bright palette of colours that you would expect from Crasset. The self check-in in the lobby, the designer vending machine selling travel guides and the self service breakfast room give the guest total autonomy and keep the hotel fuss free and simple. The hotel throughout is eco-friendly, with organic paint on the walls, recyclable coat hangers, REN bath products and organic food in the breakfast room (incidently breakfast is included in all room rates).
Hi Matic Hotel
71 rue de Charonne
75011 Paris
tel: +33 1 43 67 56 56
Rooms start from around €114
photos copyright Kim Laidlaw Adrey
Good to know! If the rates stay low, it's a worthy contender (especially with REN products - j'adore!).
ReplyDelete€130 still sounds quite high to me, but then again I haven't stayed in a hotel in Paris for around 15 years! I read some interviews with some of the first guests when this opened, and they said it was a bit of a cold and soulless experience. I guess it's a concept that needs a bit of getting used to.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Adam - it is steep! It's the kind of hotel that feels like a great find for a bargain price. Unfortunately the "bargain price" end of the deal isn't really there, but I fear that's a Paris thing - hotels here can get away with charging rates that are so much more than other capital cities. I still think it's a worthy contender (as Amy puts it above) for an "affordable" option in Paris - it's worth considering anyway!
ReplyDeleteI also agree that it feels slightly cold, but hopefully that's just because it isn't yet fully booked (when I visited, not all the rooms had been finished) - a half empty hotel can often feel a bit soulless. It really has a hostel-type feel, so I think a lot of the atmosphere is dependent on interaction between guests. Time will tell if the concept is a success!