Review: Hôtel Le Grand Mazarin

Why book?

This is a great option for design aficionados and food lovers keen on intimate bohemian spaces but not the usual Parisian grandeur. Le Grand Mazarin is an ideal in-between, smack in the middle of the spectrum of indie boutique hotels and palatial luxury hotels, plus plenty of opportunities to rub elbows with locals who come to drink and dine.

Set the scene

At first glance, it seems like a curious location for what is meant to be a grand hotel. The property sits on the corner of rue des Archives and rue de la Verrerie, directly across from the BHV / Marais department. The frenetic rue de Rivoli and the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) sit one block south and pedestrians scurry about in all directions. And yet, what you discover upon entering is a cocoon that breaks from the urban din, and one that looks markedly different from any other premium Parisian property. The whimsical design by Martin Brudnizki and his London-based Design Studio MBDS takes French classicism and boldly shakes it up with shocks of color (jade is a recurring and dominant hue) and mixed motifs. It all feels like Wes Anderson meets Alice in Wonderland to delightful effect. That extends not only to rooms and common areas but to the ground floor cocktail bar and the Michelin-starred chef Assaf Granit’s ode to Ashkenaze cuisine at Boubalé, the hotel’s restaurant (the name is a Yiddish term of endearment typically used by Ashkenazi grandmothers). Not only does it reflect the chef’s own heritage and that of the hotel group’s owners, Leslie Kouhana et Kimberley Cohen Pariente, it nods to the centuries-long Jewish history of the Marais neighborhood itself.

All of that combined has made Boubalé the hot-ticket table to book, with each seating packed full with families, sharply-dressed hotel guests and travelers, along with Isabel Marant-wearing 30 somethings who request seats at the chef’s counter to watch Granit and his precise but zenned-out chefs orchestrate the meal.

The backstory

Le Grand Mazarin is the fourth in a budding collection of high-profile properties from Maisons Pariente, which includes Crillon-le-Brave in Provence, Le Coucou in Méribel and Lou Pinet in Saint-Tropez, and the first urban hotel for the group. Atmospheric could suitably describe all of the group’s hotels but Le Grand Mazarin is the most eclectic and maximalist of them all—a result of the Swedish designer Martin Brudnizki’s singular touch. And while it would be fair to assume the hotel’s name or location were somehow inspired by Louis XIV's famous minister, Cardinal Mazarin, the connection is related instead to a feature of his time—the literary salons that proliferated during the 17th century and saw the era’s greatest thinkers, performers, and artists gather in lavish locales to dialogue and indulge.

Food, wine, and cocktails are major draws here but so is art, a clear leitmotif throughout the property. Among the 500 works of art intelligently selected by Amélie du Chalard and placed in common areas and guest rooms, guests will find pictorial art given particular attention: There’s the trompe-l'oeil windows of the patio, decorated with phantasmagorical drawings by the Minorcan artist Sophia Pega; there’s plant motifs by Ateliers Gohard on the bar and restaurant ceilings; and most strikingly, there’s an ethereal fresco by Jacques Merle that runs from the pool’s vaulted ceiling down to its columns, largely inspired by the world of Jean Cocteau.

The rooms

That Wes Anderson meets Alice in Wonderland literary salon vibe is most apparent in each of the 50 guest rooms and 11 suites, some of which boast private balconies with views of the BHV/Marais and the neighborhood. All are understandably different in shape and layout due to the historic, 14th century structure they occupy but that only adds to the charm. Brudnizki’s twist on French classicism uses disparate motifs, colors, and fabrics that sit comfortably together, further supported by the craftsmanship of the talented artisans he brought on to execute each piece, many of whom work for companies bearing the French Living Heritage label (Entreprises du Patrimoine Vivant). Manufacture Pinton 1867 is behind the plush carpets, Maison Pierre Frey for quirky fabrics, and Maison Lucien Gau, known for the bronze lighting it has produced for 6 generations, designed custom lamps with hand-decorated legs and shades designed by two different artists, Laura Horrocks and Claudia Cauville. The decor varies by room but there are a few common threads: the room setup is arranged around a grandiose bed over which an Aubusson-style tapestry, made by Art de Lys, provides a canopy. Mini bars feature locally-sourced snacks, coffee capsules from Café Joyeux—a French coffee shop chain that employs people with disabilities—and a selection of beauty products like Tata Harper and Augustinus Bader curated by the Parisian concept store Oh My Cream, all of which can be ordered and delivered by a butler service to rooms within 30 minutes. And Diptyque bath products line the vanity in each and every bathroom.

Food and drink

It’s hard to beat chef Assaf Granit’s award-winning team when it comes to food and wine. Already behind the one Michelin-star Shabour, Tekés (vegetarian), Shana, and the freshly reopened Kapara (formerly Balagan), Granit’s group JLM Machneyuda adds Boubalé to its mini global empire. It’s also the first restaurant in the group to attempt an Israeli take on ashkenazi cuisine (the menu takes liberties that couldn’t be considered truly ashkenazi such as seafood kneidlach or matzo balls) with a few other dishes inspired by Moroccan, Syrian, or Iraqi Sephardic cooking which many of his cooks grew up with eating and preparing firsthand. While you won’t see gefilte fish on the menu, you’ll find brisket paired with gnocchi, generous servings of challah with crème fraîche and tomato, yellowtail fish in a horseradish marinade, liver pâté, and a babka mousse that’s not to be missed. (The hotel breakfast is served in the same dining room and runs from Continental to Levantine, with babka French toast that can usually be ordered off-menu). But perhaps more interesting than the food menu is the drink selection which includes ultra creative cocktails and wines from Germany, Hungary, Austria, Armenia, and Slovakia.

The spa

A modest escape but an escape nonetheless, the wellness area can be found on the hotel’s lower level with its most memorable feature: the mosaic-tiled pool and jacuzzi. Both sit beneath a vaulted ceiling done up with a pastel fresco by Jacques Merle. There’s also a hammam and fitness room with Dynamo spinning bikes and training videos, along with a single spa treatment room for massages by Anne Cali, known for her special lymphatic draining massage method (advanced booking required)

The neighborhood/area

The hotel sits in the heart of the shopping section of the Marais, across from the BHV/Marais department store and a slew of high-end boutiques on rue des Archives, a few blocks from the Seine and within walking distance from the city’s best restaurants, pastry shops, and cultural venues like the Picasso Museum, the Centre Pompidou, the Carnavalet Museum, and the Sainte Chapelle.

The service

Service was attentive but not overbearing, featuring truly multilingual representation—a lot of English, Brazilian, Spanish, Israeli, and French.

Accessibility

Each of the public entrances, common areas and guest room floors are wheelchair accessible and with elevator access. Of the 61 total rooms and suites, three are adapted to guests with reduced mobility.

Anything left to mention?

Given the bustling neighborhood, guests in rooms on the hotel’s lower floors may find the street noise a bit disruptive. And by no means a major grievance but worth mentioning: despite all of the modern touches in rooms, from design to amenities, it’s a shame that the room telephone wasn’t given the same attention. It looked plucked out of a big box hotel chain from the 1990s with poor sound quality when I used it to dial reception. Silly but dommage!