Hôtel Providence Paris
A material world
Hip, hip Haut-Marais
Pierre Moussié, the man behind achingly hip hangout Brasserie Barbès, is impressively au fait with Paris’s moveable zeitgeist: his boutique stay Hôtel Providence Paris – a deliriously decadent pied-à-terre wrapped in an elegant Hausmannian shell – sits at the centre of a menage a trois of desirable arrondissements. It's the sister stay of Smith-approved L'Eldorado, and its neighbours include cultured dining hotspots of the Haut-Marais, shabby-chic Canal St Martin, and gallery-blessed Beaubourg. But you may be inclined to stay in for the evening, once you’ve seen the serious in-room cocktail bar and kit at your disposal.
Facilities
Rooms
18, including three suites.
Checkout
Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm. Guests can store luggage at reception
More Details
Rates are room-only, but a Persian breakfast is available for €15 a person.
Also
The hotel is well-equipped for guests with mobility issues: public areas are easily accessible, there’s a lift to all floors (numbers are announced on each floor), and there’s a specially adapted room on the first floor.
Free Internet Access
Laundry
On-Site Restaurant
Room Service
At the Hotel
Free WiFi. In rooms: 27” iMac and Smart TV, fully-stocked bar and ice-maker, air-conditioning, and bath products designed by tastemaker Ramdane Touhami.
Our Favourite Rooms
It’s hard to pick just one of the personable rooms – vintage objets d’art, Seventies-style statement pieces and bonkers wallpaper (all lovingly scavenged from Parisian flea markets by Pierre’s wife Elodie Moussié and design-savvy friend Sophie Richard) are right up our boulevard. However, the Suite feels like the setting for a Nouvelle Vague party scene, complete with in-room bar and turntable. It has the biggest bathroom, too, and you can gaze on the Sacré-Cœur as you bathe. Superior Room 23 epitomises just-so Parisian style, with midnight-hued walls lined in velvet, a dramatic gold, art deco-style headboard and charming city views, encompassing the Théâtre de la Renaissance.
Packing Tips
Bring a few trusty cocktail recipes jotted down in a notepad, in case bar-keeping duties befall you. Stash some earplugs in your purse for in case you decide to snooze while the rest of Paris parties.
Also
As in the theatres close by, a lot of behind-the-scenes work has helped to create a cosy, welcoming setting here. Ramdane Touhami’s bespoke tuberose perfume mingles from the fireplace in the lounge and flea-market finds are picked to avoid pastiche.
Children
Although it caters to grown-ups, the hotel does welcome children. Extra beds and baby cots can be provided in some rooms (free for under-13s, €60 a night for anyone 13-and-up), and babysitting booked for €20 an hour, for a minimum of three hours.
Gallery
Food & Drink
Top Table
Watch the stylish clientele come and go from a cosy corner table by the brasserie window; avoid those near the door.
Dress Code
Take your cue from your surroundings – locals are draped in pieces from Sandro, Maje and Vanessa Bruno, topped off with an intriguing chapeau.
Hotel Restaurant
The informal brasserie spills out into the street, with a chatter-filled terrace. Interiors are dark and moody – the clubby downstairs dining room and bar is suitably soigné for date nights – and the owners’ impeccable taste is apparent in fashionable florals and elegant portraiture. Dishes are unfussy and typically French – meat and seafood fresh from the wood-burning oven, with puréed Charlotte potatoes or seasonal vegetables – with the option to add a sprinkling of truffle shavings. A slightly more decadent menu offers lobster rolls for lunch, foie gras with champagne-and-pear chutney for dinner and plenty of truffle-laced treats, and – from September to December – fat, flavourful oysters are a speciality.
Hotel Bar
The teeny lobby and reception leads on to the bar, so you can move swiftly from check-in to cocktails. A row of low-lit tables offers the romantic intimacy one requires in Paris within a setting that quickly fills with merry fellow guests and locals. It's wine list is frank – just four whites and reds – but this sparseness denotes a selective sommelier whose picks (an excellent Bourgeuil, a robust Bordeaux) will sate the fussiest and thirstiest of wine enthusiasts.
Last Orders
Breakfast from 7am–11am. Lunches can be stretched out from noon to 3pm, and dinner and drinks run from 7pm to midnight.
Room Service
Available from noon–3pm and 7pm–midnight. A member of staff will ascend to your room with a tray bearing snacks or the lighter meals on the restaurant menu (fine de claire oysters, foie gras, truffles on toasted farmhouse bread and cheese boards).
Planes
Paris Charles de Gaulle airport is a 40-minute taxi ride from the hotel; British Airways, EasyJet and Vueling fly direct from major European cities, and Air France flies direct from the US and major destinations in Asia. Orly airport is a 40-minute drive south from the hotel, for EasyJet and Vueling flights. The hotel can arrange one-way transfers from either hub for €50.
Trains
The Eurostar departs frequently for Paris Gare du Nord from St Pancras International, London; on arrival, the hotel’s a 20-minute taxi ride away. Direct trains from Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne also terminate here; book tickets via Thalys. Strasbourg Saint-Denis, less than a five-minute walk away, is the nearest Metro Station; from Charles de Gaulle, ride the RER B line to Gare du Nord, then hop on line 4 and head south. A Paris Visite pass allows unlimited Metro trips on all lines (from €25.85 a person, for one-day passes).
Automobiles
If you’re ready to face labyrinthine alleyways, madcap ring roads and largely theoretical parking rules, then we wish you luck. The Metro is far less nerve-rattling than navigating the city by car. If you must drive, there’s a car-hire booth at Charles de Gaulle, and parking a 20-minute walk away on Rue des Trois Bornes (€29 a day).
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
Overlooking Rue René Boulanger and the prop entrance of the Théâtre du Petit Saint-Martin, the hotel occupies a quiet corner of Le Marais, steps from the Porte Saint-Martin. Head east along Boulevard Saint-Martin to Place de la République where the Haut-Marais begins – or ‘Norma’ (a portmanteau of North Marais), as locals affectionately dub it. This constantly evolving neighbourhood is fast catching up with the – now a little too ‘bobo’ – Lower Marais; artsy and edgily cool, bon vivant pursuits are weaved into its tangle of alleys. Food, fashion and art loom large here; the Merci concept store stocks retro and au courant design pieces (pro tip: for more outré objets, head to Montmartre's L'Objet qui Parle) and Zoe Lee's shoes make moving sculptures of your feet. Pick up cheese at Fromagerie Jouannault and wine in Caves Bossetti then flop down on a grassy spot in Place des Vosges to enjoy. Paris’ oldest market, the 17th-century Marché des Enfants Rouges is laid out around Rue de Bretagne. Centre Commercial is another concept-store hero; stroll along Boulevard Beaumarchais (home to Merci, natch), Rue des Francs-Bourgeois and Rue de Marseille (where you'll find Centre Commercial), and you'll become slightly chicer by association. Revered labels – Maje, APC – display their wares in chic, atelier-style boutiques; and before you hit the Lower Marais, the Picasso Museum, and beyond that the Carnavalet MuseumCopp, present objets d’art in grand mansions. Canal Saint-Martin was eye-catching enough to earn a star turn in Amélie – cruises can be arranged through Canauxrama or Paris Canal. Beaubourg, in the 4th arrondissement, may lack the Haut-Marais’ oh-so-cool cache; however, as home to the Centre Georges Pompidou, Atelier Brancusi and bijou Passage Molière (home to the Théâtre Molière), it’s not to be overlooked.
Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt
This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .
