Hotel La Maison Champs-Elysées

This stylish boutique hotel designed by Martin Margiela occupies a stately Haussmann-era maison particulier just steps from the Champs-Elysées.

• The surrealist “floating chairs” in the dining room of La Table du Huit
• The painstakingly restored gilded moldings and ornate mirrors in the Second Empire salon
• The townhouse, which once belonged to Princess Essling and later acted as a meeting place for students of the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, where Gustave Eiffel, André Michelin, and Peugeot studied

Inside the stately Haussmann-era façade of what was once the private residence of the Duchess of Rivoli, Princess Essling, is a stylish boutique hotel whose chic yet theatrical interior design is as intelligent and innovative as it is comfortable and luxurious. La Maison Champs-Elysée, which opened on a quiet street in the heart of Paris’s famed triangle d’or in 2011 is the first hotel project by Belgian fashion brand Martin Margiela.

Margiela, who previously worked for Jean-Paul Gautier and Hermès, has outfitted the hotel’s common areas, as well as seventeen Couture Suites, with an eclectic, but elegant, mix of classical 19th-century French décor—gilded moldings, ornate mirrors, and a grand staircase have been painstakingly restored to their original glory—and au courant design elements ranging from edgy contemporary art and concept furniture to state-of-the-art technology (there is Wi-Fi as well as a new iMac in every Couture Suite.)

Elements of trompe l’oeil appear throughout the hotel in a variety of subtle and striking ways. For example, the lobby’s White Lounge has been wallpapered with a to-scale black-and-white photographic replica of the baroque Second Empire salon on the hotel’s 2nd floor.

The Margiela-designed suites are the reason to stay at La Maison Champs-Elysée. Here you will feel like you are sleeping in a stylish friend’s fabulous guest room. Each spacious suite is distinctively styled with an impeccably edited mix of charming oddities—a floor lamp made from an oversized wine bottle, for example—and witty design references like Philippe Bestenheider’s ‘lui 5’ high-backed wicker armchairs.

Contemporary art aficionados and those looking for fashion-forward style near the Champs-Elysées. The property is not ideal for families or those who need a spa, gym or high-touch concierge team.