Sat metres from the Saint Germain des Près church and the famous Café de Flore, famed club Le Montana, has relaunched as a hotel. The iconic building has undergone a redesign that revives its vibrant history, whilst offering an utterly unique modern style.
At the heart of the audacious revamp of Le Montana are architects Elisabeth Lemercier and Philippe Bona, and designer Vincent Darré – a partnership that provides proof that opposites attract. The entire design rests on the idea of a happy juxtaposition between the architects’ severity and the designer’s unrestricted baroque interiors.
Architecturally, the project aims to achieve a synthesis of urban, environmental, accessibility, health and safety constraints in a non-hierarchical manner, whilst protecting the aesthetics and comfort of the building. The external insulation provided an opportunity to create a new facing and thus radically transform the façade whilst remaining fully in tune with the quarter’s history.
The distinctive black façade of the property stands out in the Saint Germain neighbourhood. Elisabeth explains: “It was designed to be an inverse or opposite, a sort of negative of the typical Parisian façade in its tone.
“The idea was to reveal the interiors by contrast, a little like discoveries in a theatre, and to clear the alcoves behind each window so it is possible to sit there and contemplate the activities of the Saint-Germain quarter.”
Behind the black façade of the building lie six exquisitely eccentric apartment-style suites, each of which is located on a floor of its own and is directly accessible via elevator.
The six suites offer six completely different worlds, each bursting with chic extravagance in vibrant colours, textures, and amenities of various kinds to preclude any boredom.
The room designs are all linked by their homage to the surreal, with Le Corbusier-esque palettes, 50’s furniture, various curios and collaged mirrors. Suite names are representative of the unique interior design, such as Bleu Acide, which stuns with a swatch of rich blues and Picasso-inspired artwork.
Le Montana has some of the most spacious rooms of any hotel in the Saint Germain des Près quarter, each measuring over 515ft2. The rooms are fully equipped with WiFi, bars, coffee machines, direct-line telephones, 55 inch flat screen televisions and in-room service at any hour, from breakfast to snacks.
On the first floor, in house restaurant, La Gauche Caviar, delights the palette with dishes such as succulent salmon and Petrossian Caviar eaten in traditional Russian style, all set in a hushed atmosphere evocative of a private library.
As would be expected from the night-time hub, Le Montana’s famous club still welcomes guests to the exclusive downstairs venue from midnight onwards and cocktails are available in the bar on the ground floor from six pm.
