Hotel la Tremoille Paris Luxury Hotel

Detailed Review

Always one of the jewels in Paris' realm of traditional deluxe hotels, La Trémoille reopened its doors to the public in June 2002 after 15 months of extensive transformation.

This restyling has been a true renaissance for the hotel, a rebirth that succeeds in preserving the architectural heritage of the building and the site.

The space and volumes have been completely re-envisioned by Richard Martinet so that the hotel now offers 88 rooms and junior suites and 5 deluxe suites. Richard Martinet is a master of deluxe hotel transformations, and has also redone the Four Seasons George V and the Pershing Hall in Paris.

The building facade, in Haussmannian style and listed as an historical monument, was restored to its original splendor, with particular attention paid to the moldings and wrought iron balcony work. The roof was also refurbished so that the building now fits perfectly into its architectural landscape in the heart of Paris' 8th arrondissement.

Across the threshold, a decidedly contemporary styling dominates the atmosphere, even while certain of the 93 rooms and suites still proudly display the ceiling moldings and marble fireplaces of the original structure.

The lobby sets the tone for a particularly warm welcome: modern designer furniture mingles gracefully with the magnificent marble column at the base of the grand staircase with its wrought iron balustrades and flamboyant blue carpet.

The staircase takes guests up to room level and through porthole doors into hallways that are as warm and welcoming as the lobby.

The contemporary styling affirms itself in the guestrooms and suites, setting the tone without eclipsing the hotel's tradition.

Each of the 93 rooms and suites is individually air-conditioned and furnished with the latest technology: 16/9 cinema format cable TV, DVD players, high-speed Internet connections? all as discreet as possible for increasingly demanding business and leisure travelers. Cordless keyboards also provide Internet access through the TVs.

With 31 different decorating themes used in the 93 rooms and suites, room decoration is a cornucopia of creativity.

The mix of ochre, browns, maroons, grays and whites is harmonious throughout. The deluxe designer furniture and lighting fixtures blend perfectly with the Nobilis silks, imitation fur and mohair drapes.

In the bathrooms, wood and marble predominate in a mix of whites, blacks and grays. An ingenious triptych mirror decorates the wall above the marble counters, and the hand-woven basketry adds a warm note to the atmosphere. For additional comfort, the complete Molton Brown line of bath care products is available in every guestroom.

Unique in Paris: each room is equipped with a hatch, a sort of individual silent butler closet next to the room door, with keyed hall access for room service and housekeeping staff and room access for guests. Meals and laundry can be delivered through the hatch without disturbing the guests, who can opt for classic room service or for hatch service.

Certain rooms also have private balconies or bow windows that offer splendid views of Paris rooftops in the Golden Triangle quarter.

Press Quotes

"Swish and comfortable hotel in the Golden Triangle of Paris, not far from the Champs Elysées. Entrance on the street corner, with plenty of doormen and concierges, but with a boutique rather than imposing feel - just 93 rooms. The rooms are all individually designed. Mine had white panelled walls, thick luxuriant curtains, built-in wardrobes, all very tastefully designed and furnished. Comfortable leather sofas with huge fluffy mohair cushions, and lots of space.



The bed test: a big welcoming double, very comfortable, perfectly snug behind the sofas and out of sight of the desk. Bathrooms show the usual contemporary black-and-white marble design, but are very spacious with a large sink and the world's biggest shower-head, the size of a good pancake. Great selection of Molton Brown products in large refillable bottles, so eco-brownie points there.




The restaurant: Designed by Sir Terence Conran. By the look of the busy crowd lunching here in Senso, the French have accepted an English name in culinary Paris. Small and bright, with trademark Conran cooking in generous portions. Menus from €29 for two courses. Breakfast served at tables. There is also a chic cocktail bar; and a small basement fitness centre with gym, sauna and massage showers." The Guardian 04


"Hôtel de la Tremoille offers a mix of classic and contemporary, with traditional French panelling, Art Deco fireplaces and red-leather armchairs. Situated on a quiet street off avenue George V in the 8th arrondissement near Champs-Elysées and avenue Montaigne, the hotel has 93 rooms. 23 of them are standard rooms, 43 superior and 14 deluxe. There are also five suites and eight junior suites. Senso, Sir Terence Conran's 100-seat restaurant and bar, serves modern and classic French dishes and cocktails. The Eiffel Tower rises above the roofline opposite the hotel, and the gold dome of Les Invalides can be glimpsed to the left. The bedrooms are true boudoirs: some have fake-fur bed throws and matching headboards that stretch to the ceiling." Conde Nast Traveller 06

Independent Reviews

Hotel de la Trémoille
By Gemma Pitcher

A grand nineteenth century façade hides the newly modernised interior of the Hotel de la Trémoille, a trendy right-bank hideaway once favoured by the likes of Orson Welles and Sean Connery. The hotel has had a massive makeover in recent years, with the addition of state of the art communications and entertainment facilities, a gym, spa and a Terence Conran restaurant, Senso. The restaurant serves modern bistro dishes and is packed with appreciative locals at weekends.

Public rooms are clean and modern, with brown and cream armchairs, beige linens, and the occasional concession to the illustrious past in the form of thick red velvet curtains, Louis XVth chairs and gilt mirrors. A square of coloured light on the ceiling pulsates gently. The bedrooms are sensuous and romantic, with fake-fur duvets, black marble bathrooms and a special 'hatch' for oh-so-discreet room service deliveries - one can take delivery of one's champagne breakfast without the awkward need to put on one's clothes…

A welcome reappearance of an old favourite on the Paris hotel scene.

© Travel Intelligence. All rights reserved

• Hotel de La Trémoille
  By Jamie Dunford Wood

  This ex-Forte hotel has recently had a complete makeover – mostly inside rather than out – so the architects have had the luxury of being able to design rooms fit for the modern traveller rather than fit around what was there before. The result is a triumph of space, harmony and convenience, and in a great position – the hotel is in that area they call the ‘golden triangle’, just south of the Champs-Elysees near the Avenue Montaigne.
  
  The reception area is open and friendly – prints of guests from an earlier incarnation, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, adorn the walls, and the check-in desk of glass mixes well with more traditional townhouse décor, with black and red leather armchairs and some well chosen oils and prints. Staff are in buttoned-up black, to match the new tone of the place, but they are relentlessly friendly – with 43% American clientele, even post Sept 11th, they have to be.
  
  Upstairs, 93 rooms have been created from what were formerly more than 100. The standard category are a good size – 28-32 sq.metres – the largest and best of them with two windows and a sitting area, matching what other hotels sell as junior suites. Even the smallest room, 511 has a high ceiling and a split level to increase the feeling of space. Décor can be described as modern classic – modern but rich and not minimalist, a mix of traditional features, the cornicing for example, fabric walls, colourful bed spreads and designer lighting. Thick fabric curtains and squishy carpet add to the feel-good comfort. All rooms come with power showers, (9 of the 14 deluxes as well as the junior suites have separate stand-alone showers) and stuffed with Molton Brown product.
  
  They have also made a clever pitch for the single business woman – an innovative feature is the delivery hatch, so when you order breakfast in your nightie and curlers, or dripping from the shower, you need not run the awkward gauntlet of having to wait for that interminable minute as the waiter comes in, eyes you up, deposits the tray with a smirk, eyes you up some more, and hovers for a tip. No, shove it in the hatch my man, and now bugger off. The hatch doubles for shoe shine – no one need nick your Lobbs – and early morning paper delivery.
  
  Having started from scratch the hotel has all mod-cons like free high speed internet access in all the rooms – a first in Paris when it opened – and large screen TVs. Yes, the hotel is geared to business, but if you can do without the trendies and don’t need to be on the left bank, infinitely superior to the Montalembert. The staff, too, and highly trained – when the hotel was closed for 18 months for refurbishment they were all kept on the payroll, and they all came back afterwards, with 15 years being the average length of service. Downstairs Conran’s Senso restaurant is popular with Parisians from all over the city.

  © Travel Intelligence. All rights reserved

• La Tremoille
  By Chloe Loyd

  Just off the Champs Elysees, in the centre of the Golden Triangle, this contemporary design hotel is a welcome change from the many traditional hotels in the area. Under the same ownership as The Scotsman, this hotel was recently pulled down and rebuilt, apart from the exterior walls, to cater for those who prefer modern design. Despite the year interlude, the average employment time for staff is 17 years, a testament to the excellent management of this hotel reflected by the hospitality and service of those that work here. The rooms are elegantly furnished in sober colours, petral blue, rust and brown. Curtained bedheads crown the large comfortable beds. The decor is simple and tasteful. Facilities are excellent including free internet connection. An unusual perk is the hatch through which you can get room service, the epitomy of discrete service. A fitness centre, sauna and treatment rooms are available downstairs. A major draw is the Terance Conran restaurant, a worthy appendage to an excellent hotel.

  © Travel Intelligence. All rights reserved

• "Triumphant conversion of a classic hotel"

  Holding a coveted corner location within the Golden Triangle, the hotel is a landmark because of its formal belle epoque six-floor exterior with period doorway.