Hôtel Saint James Paris

The building began as the home of the Fondation Thiers, created in 1892. For more than a century the private mansion served as a residence for scholars from Parisian universities, a foundation funded by the widow of the former French President Adolphe Thiers in tribute to her husband. A statue of Thiers still stands in the garden. Architecturally, the house is a neoclassical hôtel particulier, and its scholarly past survives most clearly in the bar-bibliothèque, which keeps the original leather-bound books, spiral staircase and coffered ceiling of the foundation's library.

In 1986 the building was sold to a British businessman, who turned it into the Saint James Club, with decoration by Andrée Putman. In the early 1990s the French Bertrand group acquired it and transformed it into a hotel. The club has endured: the MICHELIN Guide describes the Saint James Club as an English-style social club. Between 1987 and 1989 the bar-bibliothèque served as the set for the television programme L'Assiette anglaise. The hotel joined Relais & Châteaux in 2011.

The present look dates from spring 2021, when the hotel reopened after a renovation by the interior architect Laura Gonzalez, with the gardens and terrace redesigned by Xavier de Chirac. Gonzalez redesigned the interior entirely, yet in the bar-bibliothèque she preserved the woodwork, the velvets and the patinated leathers. The décor mixes Japanese wallpapers, Chinese antiques and contemporary fixtures and furnishings by leading French talents, which the MICHELIN Guide says enhance the neoclassical atmosphere. Outside, a white marble bar on the terrace carries a fresco by Pierre Mesguich.

The hotel stands in the 16th arrondissement, in the Trocadéro area, behind a wall and a garden that give it the air of a country château. The Arc de Triomphe, the Trocadéro and the boutiques of Avenue Victor Hugo are all a few minutes away on foot, so the house works as a quiet base with the city close at hand. The garden has a green pergola and plants that blossom in every season.

Public transport is unusually close. Porte Dauphine station on Metro line 2 is 200 metres away, Avenue Foch on RER line C is 350 metres, and the Vélib' bicycle station at 1 rue Crevaux is 150 metres from the door. By car, Charles de Gaulle airport is between 24 and 35 minutes away.

Junior Suites have a separate salon, are on one or two levels, and those on the top floor have a winter garden under a glass roof. The Junior Suite dernier étage pairs a salon with that glass-roofed winter garden. Prestige Suites are set on one or two levels, either with a garden view or, on the top floor, a winter garden. Junior Suites include a large sofa bed, and communicating rooms are available.

The apartments sit in a separate villa immediately next to the hotel. Appartement Lamoureux occupies the top floor, with a bedroom under the eaves and a bathroom with Italian shower. Appartement Courbet, on more than 70 m², adds a dressing room and a living room with winter garden. Appartement Victor Hugo ranges from 45 to 80 m² for two to four guests.

Appartement Longchamp has a living room with sofa bed, a winter garden, a kitchen and a bedroom. For larger groups, La Villa Saint James joins four apartments into 340 m² for up to 12 people.

Bellefeuille is the gastronomic restaurant, led by Chef Grégory Garimbay, who obtained his first Michelin star in 2022. It occupies the château's original dining room, which Forbes Travel Guide likens to a winter garden, and is decorated with 18th-century panoramic wallpaper and plants. The pastry chef, Coline Doussin, also creates the weekend tea time, served on Saturdays and Sundays from 15:30 to 17:00 in the Bar-Bibliothèque.

The Bar-Bibliothèque is a galley-shaped room to the left of the dining room, furnished with Persian rugs, velvet and leather club armchairs and towering shelves of books from the house's boarding days. It is open to the public daily from 19:00 to midnight, with last orders at 23:30 and no reservations. The outdoor bar before 19:00 is reserved for residents and club members. Room service runs 24 hours a day.

The Spa Guerlain covers 400 m² and is reached by a grand staircase in Burgundy stone. Its vaulted spaces carry Greco-Roman details, and a 15-metre bas-relief by François Mascarello runs alongside the 15-metre swimming pool. There are three treatment rooms, one of them a double, along with a whirlpool, hammam and sauna. The signature treatment is called Le Jardin Parisien. The spa is open from 09:30 to 19:30, while the pool and wellness area are open to residents and club members from 08:00 to 21:00.

The fitness room is open around the clock to residents and club members. It holds two treadmills, an elliptical trainer, a recumbent bike and an upright bike, plus an adjustable bench, a multifunction bench, a power rack, a disc set, a wall pulley, jump ropes, weights and yoga mats. Personal trainers are available for private lessons.

Xavier de Chirac designed the gardens to be fragrant and colourful throughout the year, and they shape the hotel's sense of seclusion. Beyond the walls, bicycles are available on loan. Guests arriving by car have the use of electric charging stations, and electric cars can also be rented through the hotel.

The concierge team holds Clefs d'Or membership, and the MICHELIN Guide gives the hotel Three MICHELIN Keys (as of 2026). The hotel also has rooms adapted for guests with reduced mobility.