LWSY ARCHIVE POST >> LE GRANDE PIGALLE, PARIS, FRANCE
Paris had just welcomed the Spring weather when I visited Le Grand Pigalle last April 2015. A 10 minute cab from Gare du Nord, you’re there in no time.
A city made for naughty weekends, and a hotel that will indulge you in late nights and cocktails to die for. Leave London after work on a Friday night, hop on a Eurostar and be in Paris for aperitivo time.
Inspired by a lifetime of friendship, Romée de Goriainoff, Pierre-Charles Cros and Olivier Bon (Experimental Group) have spent the better part of the last decade dedicated to hospitality in cocktail bars, wine bars and restaurants.
Opening onto the villas of the avenue Frochot, the private estate where Toulouse-Lautrec once lived, the 37 rooms of the Grand Pigalle Hotel choose liveliness over nostalgia.
The ground floor, a space for a reception and wine/cocktail bar, which transforms throughout the day to capture the moods of the city. Here, the spirit of “Bed & Beverage” reign.
The neighbourhood’s contemporary history has been used as a referenced in the interior design by Dorothée Meilichzon (CHZON). The founder of the Parisian design agency CHZON, Dorothée Meilichzon, is a woman of culture. Educated at Strate Collège de Sèvres and the Rhode Island School of Design, she sharpened her talent in trends in international design before founding her own studio in 2009.
CHZON are also responsible for the design of Joyeuz Bordel in London, ECC in Ibiza, Hotel Paradis in Paris, Beef Club, Fish club,and the Compagnie des Vins in London, New York and Paris.
We arrived into a buzzing, elegantly low lit bar. A swift check in, we whizzed up to the 5th floor to our ‘Grand Pigalle’ category room, wrap around corner terrace with beautiful views, and very spacious bathroom with bath.
Bluetooth speaker system, mini bar complete with pre-mixed and sealed Negroni’s and chilled cocktail glasses, a great AV system, beautiful linens on a super soft bed, and great black out curtains, perfect. Brass plated plug sockets, a deep sink, space to store everything you need in the bathroom.
The bar downstairs is open until 2 and filled with locals, but as a guest there’ll always be room for you when you want to head on down.
Our view from the terrace
The view over the former home of Toulouse Lautrec.
Notice the carpet motif throughout the hotel…
Breakfast is buffet style, and all you need. Great coffee and tableware.
Montmartre is close by, offering a great morning walk to see the sights
Cocktails in bed on a Saturday afternoon, I challenge you to find a better way to spend an afternoon.
The Wine Bar
The rooms by night come into their own, all moody and cosy, this is my kind of place. If you don’t fancy heading out for dinner, the hotel offer great plates of truffled hams and buratta, all you need with a good glass of red.
Sunday morning there’s no better place than Marche aux puces de Saint-Ouen before lunch at the Stark designed Ma Cocotte.
For dinner that evening I had a date with my laptop in the bar, and being too lazy to head out for dinner I ordered a couple of plates from their bar menu, truffled ham and buratta. I couldn’t have been happier.
…As Monday morning arrives, and finally time to check out.
Thank you to Romee De Goriainoff for so kindly inviting me to visit, and to General Manager Valeriya Savchuk & your team at Grand Pigalle for such a wonderful weekend in my favourite city. Grand Pigalle is just magic, it’s rare to discover somewhere new, busy yet intimate, and so perfect for anyone who’s used to hopping from city to city on a regular basis. You’ll fit right in here.
Grand Pigalle Hotel
GRAND PIGALLE HOTEL, 29 RUE VICTOR MASSÉ, SOUTH PIGALLE, 75009, PARIS
Hotel: +33 1 85 73 12 00