Savour country chateau elegance in the heart of Paris’ beyond-bougie residential neighbourhood the 16th. The Eiffel Tower and chic local businesses are your neighbours – but you may never want to set foot outside the dreamy grounds of Saint James Paris.
The best thing about Paris, like any world-class city, is her versatility. She can be whatever you want her to be – a party-forward den of urban iniquity, or a place of semi-bucolic quietude. Those preferring the latter will love the Saint James Paris, a country-style chateau plopped on the city’s metropolitan fringe, just two minutes’ walk from the Porte Dauphine metro station. It almost surprises you on approach, hiding its resplendent self behind perimeter walls on a corner in the residential 16th arrondissement.
Beyond the gravel driveway and fountain, the main door opens onto neoclassical interiors. There’s a grand marble staircase and a secondary staircase lined with mirrored wall panelling that enhances the sense of space as it zigzags to the upper-floor galleries. This 19th-century building began as the private residence of former president Adolphe Thiers before becoming the Thiers Foundation, a boys’ boarding school, in 1892. It then became the Saint James Club, a private members’ establishment in the 1980s before its current iteration under Relais & Chateaux management. Laura Gonzalez was enlisted to zhuzh up the 51 rooms and suites individually. Her designs strike a balance between stately yet homely, a warm mixture of luxurious carpets, parquet flooring, and floral accent walls with zesty oriental or tropical floral prints in palettes of green, sage yellow and terracotta. Rooms contain minibars while bathrooms are stocked with Guerlain products and feature marble, walk-in showers which we particularly liked.
There are elevators to all floors but steps leading up to the entrance door means staff require advance notice to ensure accessibility for guests with mobility issues.
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| While you’re Out There |
| Check out the Fondation Louis Vuitton in the northern part of the Bois de Boulogne. Housed in a glass and steel building by starchitect Frank Gehry that evokes a huddle of vast, space-going yachts, it hosts contemporary art exhibitions and retrospectives by artists including the likes of Rothko, Basquiat and Warhol as well as concerts, performances and screenings. Its permanent collection includes classic sculptors like Alberto Giacometti and contemporary photography stars like Zanele Muholi. |
The hotel has several beautiful shared spaces to chill in, including the striking Library Bar, which has retained many features from its former life as the Thiers Foundation library. While sipping on Sudachis (Mezcal, Grand Marnier and lime cocktails) we sank into leather chairs, enveloped in the low-lit richness of its wood-panelled walls, original spiral staircase and a wooden coffered ceiling. Guests and Saint James Club members take lunch, snacks and craft cocktails here or in the adjoining dining room, which is a picture of contrasting brightness – high and pale walls, and scenic floral wallpaper that brings guests and non-guests (with occasional dog in tow) to dine at its Bellefeuille restaurant. Here, Michelin-star chef Grégory Garimbay (a former student of Alain Ducasse, among others) devises three- or six-course tasting menus. His spring selection, which we relished experiencing, included langoustine caviar, asparagus and almonds, turbot shellfish and turnips and veal sweetbreads with leeks and mustard. The restaurant strives to maximise the use of the seasonal and local, sourcing produce from its organic farm in the French town of Nonville, south of Paris, for which efforts it has earned a Michelin Guide 2024 Green Star.
Pastry chef Coline Doussin’s creations made it difficult for us to focus on the other items at breakfast, but if you can tear yourself away from her spicy and herby cakes and croissants, there is also a cooked menu, served by staff with unobtrusive, friendly efficiency. Meals can be taken under the pergola in the gorgeously landscaped garden — another of the hotel’s unique selling points — adjacent to the dining room.
Below ground is the spa, featuring a lap pool with white bas-relief walls and three treatment rooms where Guerlain products are deployed for facials, massages, hand and feet treatments, and body and face sculpting.
The hotel is not far from the Eiffel Tower. Neighbourhood strolls take in stylish fishmongers, bakeries and florists of the 16th arrondissement. Hotel guests can whizz around on complimentary bicycles or in an electric SMART car (for a small fee). Those with their own electric cars can charge them for free. This place has thought of everything.
Photography courtesy of Saint James Paris
