This hotel is on our list of The 15 Best Hotels in Paris.
For years, the easternmost section of the Marais, one of the city’s most beloved districts, was a sleepy, underdeveloped neighborhood. That all changed for L’Arsenal in July 2022 with the arrival of the design-driven SO / Paris, located at La Félicité, a massive urban revitalization site overhauled by British architect David Chipperfield. The hotel occupies one side of the 1960s-era complex (which includes the Terroirs d’Avenir green market and bakery and the Atlas art gallery). The design from Paris-based architects RDAI is retro-futuristic, with rounded couches and soaring ceilings, while decorative touches are nods to the neighborhood (the tiles of the hotel entrance mimic cobblestone streets).
You’ll find terrazzo floors with marble inserts and amber glass pillars, along with contemporary artwork on the walls, like a vibrant painting by French-Algerian artist Neïl Beloufa. Staff are kitted out in uniforms designed by Guillaume Henry, the artistic director of French fashion company Patou. The 162 guest rooms and suites are done up in colorful tones and warm woods; thoughtful details include coffee tables that double as tray tables, a spirits cabinet, and a minibar stocked with local gourmet snacks.
The views are the reigning star of a stay here, and they’re dialed up even further at Bonnie, the très sceney restaurant-bar-nightclub run by the Paris Society group. (Be sure to check out the mirrored Olafur Eliasson art installation, The Seeing City.) It’s no wonder this spot has quickly become a Paris Fashion Week destination and magnet for celebs such as Dua Lipa and Janet Jackson.
