Hôtel Costes

Hôtel Costes took over an existing hotel. In the 1990s the Hôtel France et Choiseul, on the site the Costes now occupies, was bought and transformed, and the Costes brothers commissioned the new hotel from Jacques Garcia in 1991. It opened in 1995, built with Klay Robson as developer and construction consultant, and its design maxim was 'all things in excess'.

The house has since grown. Jean-Louis Costes bought the adjacent Hotel Lotti, which had opened in 1910, gutted it and turned it into a new wing fitted out by Christian Liaigre; it opened in 2020 and gave Hôtel Costes a new main entrance on Rue de Castiglione. A third, more recently built hotel on Rue du Mont-Thabor was also acquired to enlarge the establishment further, and the hotel now presents itself as an 'XXL Luxury Hotel' combining the original Costes, the former Lotti and the Mont-Thabor building.

Inside, the hotel describes Jean-Louis Costes' signature as a mix of styles, periods and atmospheres, moving constantly between minimalism and opulence, monochrome and lustrous hues. Jacques Garcia's decor is eclectic, opulent and theatrical; Christian Liaigre's brings the minimalism and sobriety typical of his work. In 2012 the MICHELIN Guide noted intimate corners furnished with pearwood confidants and crapaud armchairs, rooms refined down to the details in purple and gold with monogrammed linen, and a restaurant decorated by Garcia. The hotel's façade is protected as a historical monument, and between 2015 and 2018 the hotel hosted several exhibitions by the artist Louise Tilleke.

Beyond chocolates, scented candles and a fragrance by Olivia Giacobetti, French Wikipedia says the hotel's name is put to use above all on records. From 1999 lounge compilations bearing the Hôtel Costes label were released by Pschent and signed by the DJ Stéphane Pompougnac, who had worked with Jean-Louis Costes since 1997; the first volume took the name of the old Hôtel France et Choiseul. The series succeeded from the start, with two gold records by the fourth volume and 750,000 copies sold by 2001. In 2012 a new musical direction by Thierry Planelle and Frédéric Schindler took over after Pompougnac's departure, which followed the series' last compilation in September 2011, and in 2016 the hotel launched a curator channel on Apple Music, built around a monthly selection of 15 songs, premieres and unreleased tracks among them, that runs from electronica to 1960s French chanson.

The hotel's address is now 7 Rue de Castiglione, in the 1st arrondissement, where the Lotti wing gave it a new main entrance in 2020; the original house stands at 239 Rue Saint-Honoré. Place Vendôme, a square the hotel calls as elegant as it is dynamic, is close by.

Languages spoken at reception include French, English, Italian, Spanish, German and Norwegian, and the concierge helps with booking shows, restaurants and exhibitions. Transfers and a limousine with driver are available on quotation, and valet parking, with access to a parking garage, runs 24 hours a day.

Rooms have a digital safe, a Loewe flat-screen television and high-speed Wi-Fi, which is included. Sodas, mineral waters and fruit juices from the minibar are complimentary, and Costes welcome products are provided. Housekeeping offers a turndown service and a sewing kit, while feather pillows, an iron and ironing board and a hygiene kit are available on request.

Rooms and facilities for guests with reduced mobility are available on request, and housekeeping can supply equipment for guests with a mobility impairment: a telephone with large buttons, a remote control and an alarm clock.

Le Restaurant & La Terrasse unfolds as a succession of cosy dining rooms and long galleries bathed in light, where, the hotel says, guests can see without being seen, with a fireplace and a terrace laid out as an Italian-style patio. Meals are served at all hours of the day and night, to DJ sets that the hotel describes as relaxed and glamorous. Bookings are taken by telephone, on the day from 09:00.

Jean-Louis Costes created the menu around his favourite dishes, and the hotel describes the cooking as traditional gastronomy given a contemporary gourmet approach. Signature dishes use seasonal ingredients: asparagus for a light lunch, foie gras that two guests can share as a snack, and for dinner the marinated beef known as tigre qui pleure or a Limousin veal chop with full traceability.

The bar keeps going until very, very late at night, as the hotel puts it, with subdued light, a hushed buzz, private night-time festivities and chance encounters. Classic cocktails such as the Mojito, Caipirinha and Bloody Mary set the tone, and the music, a signature sound the hotel calls intriguing and upbeat, moves between electronic, acoustic and downtempo, mixed by a different DJ every night.

The gym is open from 07:00 until midnight, seven days a week, and private coaching is available on request. The hotel can also book massages and hairdresser appointments for guests on request.

For families, baby equipment, including a cot, a changing pad, a high chair and a bottle warmer, is available on request, and babysitting can be arranged. Room service runs 24 hours a day.

For work, access to the business centre is free and available 24 hours a day, a meeting room can be provided on request, and private lounges can be reserved at reception. A laptop, a printer and an electric adaptor can also be provided on request.

Packing and unpacking and a shoe-shine service are included, and reception handles currency exchange, wake-up calls, a luggage service and daily newspapers and magazines.