Hôtel So Paris

The building began life in 1966 as a high-rise municipal block. SO/ Paris opened in it on 6 September 2022 as the flagship of SO/, a brand of the Ennismore group, itself a subsidiary of Accor. The MICHELIN Guide notes that the redevelopment kept the building's imposing outline while adding features that make it a contemporary take on the Parisian luxury hotel, and it sees the interiors as Paris luxury at its most forward-looking, blending utopian optimism with classic Parisian elegance.

The interior architecture is by the agency RDAI, represented by Denis Montel, which set out to create a universe both sumptuous and radical. The lobby carries the idea into its details: imposing contemporary columns, marble paving laid in a peacock-tail pattern, amber glass panels inspired by the staggered stonework at the base of Haussmann façades, and terrazzo bases that reproduce the highest water level once reached by Seine floods. On the back wall, contour lines draw a geological map of the former Île Louviers, where the hotel now stands.

Art is everywhere, with 122 works spread across every floor. On arrival, guests meet Neïl Beloufa's 'Le phare de Paris', a luminous tondo of coloured resin, recycled packaging and LED, 3 metres in diameter, which brings a pop note to the warm lobby. Judith Darmont's digital installation 'Reflections of Love' begins there too, leading guests to the lift and on to their rooms. For the rooms and suites, Thomas Fougeirol produced 113 unique photograms and 5 photomontages from walks along the Seine between the Sully-Morland district and the Trocadéro.

Even the staff uniforms are part of the design. They are by Guillaume Henry, artistic director of Patou, who drew on the world of Wes Anderson's films, Le Petit Baigneur and the Kodakettes for a playful, comfortable wardrobe worn with sneakers. Knitwear enters the collection, which the hotel calls a first in hospitality. SO/ Paris also holds the Clef Verte, or Green Key, label for sustainable tourism.

The address, 10 Rue Agrippa d'Aubigné in the 4th arrondissement, places the hotel between Bastille and the Marais, with easy access to the place de la Bastille and to Notre-Dame, less than a kilometre away. It faces the Institut du Monde Arabe and the new Left Bank across the Seine. Height is part of the appeal: the suites are spread between the 8th and 14th floors of the building.

Sully-Morland station on metro line 7 is 150 metres away, about two minutes on foot, while Bastille, served by lines 1, 5 and 8, is 700 metres or roughly eight minutes. The Gare de Lyon, a TGV station, is a 15-minute walk, which is handy for guests arriving by high-speed train.

The Iconic – Paris Skyline rooms average 28 m² and sleep two in a King bed or two single beds, with views over Paris, the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. Leather and wood, from the parquet to the armchairs, warm RDAI's interiors. These rooms come with CODAGE Paris bath products, an Italian shower, a garment steamer, a complimentary non-alcoholic minibar, a Nespresso machine and tea, a 55-inch 4K television and a Bluetooth AeroBull speaker.

The Studio, a junior suite averaging 43 m² for up to three, looks over the courtyard and interior garden and adds a separate bathtub, a double sink, a Japanese toilet, a yoga mat and free weights. The Studio Panorama, a corner junior suite on a high floor, averages 46 m² with a King bed for up to three, adds a desk and looks out over Paris and its landmarks, while the Studio Balcony has two balconies. Every suite also comes with a daily bottle of mineral water and 24-hour room service.

L'Atelier is a corner suite of 57 m² for up to four, with five large windows over the rooftops of Paris that recall the glass roofs of Montmartre artists' studios, and views towards Bastille and Sacré-Cœur. It has a King bed, a large living area with a convertible sofa, and a hammam shower with a separate bath. L'Atelier Seine, which sleeps four, has a living room with a sofa bed, a hammam-style Italian shower and an Aeroframe HD speaker.

The SO/ Paris Suite averages 85 m², with two balconies, a separate living room and a dining area for four. The 2 Bedroom SO/ Paris Suite averages 128 m², sleeps five, and has four balconies and a 180° panorama over Paris, the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. For families or friends travelling together, there are also the 84 m² 2 Bedroom Atelier for up to six, with views over the rooftops, Bastille and Sacré-Cœur; the 2 Bedroom Atelier Seine, a panoramic suite with two separate bedrooms and views of the Seine; the 82 m² 2 Bedroom Studio over the courtyard and interior garden; and the Together connecting rooms, 70 m² for up to five.

Bonnie, the hotel's restaurant, bar and club, is run by Paris Society; Jordane Arrivetz of the agency Notoire designed its decor, with enveloping rounded forms, a floral-patterned carpet, warm vibrant colours and a homage to 1960s and 1970s design. The restaurant, on the 15th floor, is a creative brasserie with a New York twist, for which Notoire drew on Space Age design. Its menu, in a chic Parisian brasserie spirit, gives pride of place to seafood while keeping room for a few carefully chosen meats, and its terrace has a 360-degree view of Paris. Within The Seeing City, a horizontal mirror plane on the 15th floor duplicates and inverts the landscape, and on the 16th a series of kaleidoscopic boxes along the facade opens onto the sky.

At Bonnie, breakfast runs 07:00–10:30 on weekdays and 07:00–11:00 at weekends. Lunch is served 12:00–15:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00–15:30 on Saturday and Sunday. Dinner is 19:00–23:00 from Sunday to Wednesday, extending to 23:30 from Thursday to Saturday.

Bonnie Bar, its floor striped with navy blue carpet, serves cocktails against the panorama every day from 16:00 to 02:00; the signature is the Bloody Bonnie, and on Sundays DJs play at sunset. Bonnie Club, perched above the Seine, opens from Wednesday to Saturday, 23:00–05:00, with guest DJs under the stars, soft leather, clay-coloured sofas, bubble lamps, chrome tables, a backlit glass-brick bar, a pink smoking room and toilets with a view of the capital.

Downstairs, the Lobby Bar works with Lavazza 1895 on its coffee and also offers a wide choice of drinks, treats and light meals, daily from 07:30 to 21:00.

The spa is by Maison CODAGE, with tailored massages and treatments by CODAGE Paris, which the hotel describes as a pioneer of personalised cosmetology, and a large hammam. Art follows guests here too: Elsa Sahal's ceramic sculpture 'Isadora', from her 'Pole dance' series, stands in the spa, and Alice Guittard made two polychrome marble marquetry works for the treatment cabins, a bust titled 'Lisa' and a leg titled 'Jambe'.

The fitness room on the 7th floor is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with direct access for every resident. It is divided into a cardio area and a strength area and fitted with the latest Matrix Fitness equipment, while the suites have their own yoga mats and free weights.