SAINT JAMES PARIS

If ever there were a reason to camp out in the elegant but sleepy 16ème arrondissement, it’s for this property, Paris’ only officially designated

château-hotel. Occupying what was once the site of the city’s first hot-air balloon landing field, this neoclassical former home of President

Adolphe Thiers became the site of the Thiers Foundation, a school and academic residence, in 1892. In the 1980s, the space was transformed into

the Saint James Club of Paris, a London-style private hangout. The hotel came about a decade later, with the decor handled by legendary designer Andrée Putman. Since then, it’s undergone two other radical transformations, most recently by Laura Gonzalez, whose affection for mixing antiques with modern furnishings has turned it into a romantic Parisian abode once again. Soaring volumes, decorative frescoes and

contemporary nods to old-world elegance abound, from the grand entrance to the library bar. That extends upstairs to 50 bedrooms and

suites done up with nature-inspired wallpaper, custom-designed carpets, stunning chinoiseries and a warm palette of earthy greens, mustards and terracottas, alongside a mish-mash of motifs and Pierre

Frey fabrics. Chef Julien Dumas plays exclusively with seasonal ingredients (sourced largely from the hotel’s organic garden) for an inventive menu at Bellefeuille restaurant, kitted out like a winter

garden. The most notable change comes one floor down with the addition of a three-room Guerlain spa, inspired by Greco-Roman thermal baths. It all seems decidedly more château than hotel, and entirely unlike any other getaway in Paris. LINDSEY TRAMUTA

Doubles from about AED 1,815; saint-james-paris.com