Tucked into the Marais area of Paris on Rue du Temple, Experimental Marais brings a New York edge to a very Parisian address.
The Rooms
Designer Tristan Auer, known for the Hôtel de Crillon and Les Bains, kept the building’s original neo-Gothic bones — soaring arches, and stained glass throughout the hotel— but filled its 43 rooms and one suite with the imagined life of a well-traveled collector. Every room features eclectic elements of books, framed souvenirs, record player, curios, and travel-worn objects are arranged as if their owner just stepped out. The spacious bathroom features his & her sinks, seperate toilet area and walk in rain shower. Expect the same maximalist decor throughout the property: rich color, brass fixtures, layered textiles.
The Restaurant: Temple & Chapon
Downstairs, under a glass roof that turns the whole room into something closer to a greenhouse than a dining room, is Temple & Chapon — the hotel’s answer to a bespoke dining experience. Designer Auer worked with artist Clovis Retif to fill the walls with hand-painted details, drawings and photographs that carry on the hotel’s traveler’s-collection theme, so that dinner comes with a sensory experience. At the helm is chef Mélanie Serre, formerly of Joël Robuchon in Monaco, Eden Rock in St. Barths, and L’Atelier Étoile in Paris. Her worldly experience comes through in a menu that features Oysters Rockefeller, a lobster roll as well as french classics.
The Bar: American Bar
The bar sits perched directly above the restaurant’s grand staircase on the lobby floor, and is outfitted with low-slung seating, an oversized sofas, and captain’s chairs. The cocktail program pays open homage to New York’s most storied bars — Please Don’t Tell, Attaboy, Raines Law Room — reimagined for a Paris crowd. The menu is split like a transatlantic conversation: a run of Experimental Group’s own classics on one side, a tribute to America on the other. Come Saturday night, the room shifts gears: a DJ takes over for the evening, and the low-slung sofas start feeling a lot less like a hotel bar and a lot more like a night out on the Parisian town.
The Spa
For all its energy, Experimental Marais also makes room for stillness. The hotel’s spa was developed with Austrian skincare house Susanne Kaufmann, and includes a Roman bath and hammam alongside a swimming pool — a genuine rarity for a hotel this size in central Paris. It’s the kind of amenity that rewards planning a slow morning after a late one at the American Bar: steam, water, quiet, before the neighborhood’s boutiques and galleries pull you back out the door.
Beyond the Hotel: The Haut-Marais at Your Doorstep
Part of the appeal of Experimental Marais is the location- the hotel sits right on Rue du Temple, steps from vintage shops and independent galleries that make the Haut-Marais one of the more design-focused corners of Paris. Merci, the sprawling concept store built around a good cause, is an easy walk, as are Rue de Poitou and Rue Charlot, known for small, curated fashion boutiques.
For a change of pace from shopping, the Musée Picasso and the Musée Carnavalet, Paris’s museum of the city’s own history, both sit within a short walk, alongside the Place des Vosges is the oldest planned square in Paris, and one of the prettiest spots in the city for a coffee. The Marché des Enfants Rouges, the city’s oldest covered market, makes a good lunch stop between stores, and the winding streets around it reward getting a little lost.
*Experimental Marais is located at 116 Rue du Temple in Paris’s 3rd arrondissement.*
