New hotel collections in Paris and Marrakech
Posted by Anthony on January 6th, 2009This month’s new boutique hotel launches are brought to you by the letters P and M, and by the number 14. 14 because there are, well, 14 of them, and P and M partly because January’s destinations of choice are Paris and Marrakech, and partly because our new hotels have been cherry-picked by the Smith hotel relations team of Peggy and Maggie. See what I did there?
In Marrakech, we’ve rounded up some romantic riads, including an antique-filled colonial gem in the heart of the Medina, Riad Tarabel, which comes complete with its own resident parrot, and which Maggie raved about on this very travel blog.
There’s also the smart, sleek and simple Riad Anyssates, which boasts some of the most attentive staff in the business, and the serenity-inducing India-inspired Riad Jahan. Just outside the city, Villa Margot is a glamorous Ibiza-style hideaway with Moroccan soul, and over in the lush and leafy Palmeraie district, Les Deux Tours boasts a hammam, a Michelin-starred chef and some of the most gorgeous gardens in Morocco.
Marrakech may rapidly be becoming one of the most popular honeymoon destinations on the planet, but Paris still reigns undisputed as the global capital of romance. Peggy picked out half a dozen boutique hotels so eye-wateringly fabulous that it’s a wonder we hadn’t found them before. Hotel Keppler, in particular, is a sophisticated glamourpuss of a boutique hotel, just a stiletto’s throw from the Champs Elysées. 
But, if it’s particularity you’re after, there’s no better option than Hotel Particulier Montmartre – just five rooms, each one quirkily designed by a different artist (where else can you say you’re staying in a room called ‘Tree with Ears’?). Fans of literature, witticism or sophisticated foppery should pay a visit to Left Bank bolthole L’Hôtel, where Oscar Wilde breathed his last – anyone else will love it for its underground pool, Michelin-starred cuisine and general air of louche luxury. As its name suggests, the nearby Hôtel des Academies et des Arts is a homage to the Left Bank artists who – still – live and work in the area, and is adorned with the haunting stick-figure designs of painter Jerome Mesnager. Finally, Montalembert resembles a classic Parisian apartment block – with a splash of demure elegance, arty insouciance, and unapologetic classiness thrown in. You can check out Smith membership queen Amber’s anonymous* hotel review here.
Oh, and Peggy and Maggie aren’t the only ones who’ve been gallivanting around in search of boutique-hotel bliss, I popped over to the chocolate-box ski resort of Adelboden to check out the Alpine pampering on offer at Mr & Mrs Smith’s first hotel in Switzerland, Solis Cambrian Hotel & Spa, a snow-sprinkled skier’s paradise with jaw-plummeting mountain views and a fantastic outdoor hydrotherapy pool. Trust me, there’s no experience quite like a Jacuzzi in a snowstorm…
I love the Hotel Des Acamedies et des Arts. It’s a very romantic place to stay in Paris.
By Marion
On January 9th, 2009
Yet to visit Marrakech, but a regular visitor to Paris. Are these hotels still available ? I have seen how fast the cheap hotels in Paris get booked out; by the way, these Parisian hotels look very nice indeed.
By Pen
On January 28th, 2009