HÔTEL WALLACE

Despite being within eyeshot of the Eiffel Tower and the gilded dome of Napoleon’s tomb, the 15ème arrondissement in western Paris has

always felt more like a neighbourhood than a destination per se. For the Wallace’s owners, Louis and Anouk Solanet, that was part of

the charm when they gave a coolly retro makeover to a derelict building which locals might vaguely recall was once a low-cost hotel. Now, it feels like the heart of a quietly hip village, in an area of little boutiques and specialist food stores. The Solanets maintained the

original structure but added several floors and a leafy terrace accessible from the third floor, with a Nordic bath, outdoor sauna

and classic view of Parisian rooftops. Among the 45 bedrooms, several on the first few floors have more of a motel vibe – small but comfortable, with windows looking onto an interior glass roof. The others, including the top-floor junior suite with a sizeable double balcony dotted with deckchairs and bedroom skylight, evoke the

elegance of an Orient Express-style night car. Headboards and shelves are sleek, in lacquered and varnished wood, while brass reading lamps, fringed light fixtures and Kartell nightstands add to the retro vibe. Striped coral-and-white curtains lend a hint of Riviera

colour, while the terrazzo floors and bathroom countertops are signatures of the interior designers, French-Italian duo Samantha Hauvette and Lucas Madani. There’s no on-site restaurant, but the glass-covered cocktail bar has a menu of local nibbles selected by the team at cult rotating-chef restaurant Fulgurances. LT

Doubles from about AED 580; hotelwallaceparis.com