Style & Character
As with many Parisian boutique hotels, design is one of the strongest points of hotel Exquis that’s conveniently located in the 11th arrondisment of Paris. The retro décor and artwork displays that conform to the Exquisite Corpse concept are sure to send your mind buzzing. Words that best describe the look of the hotel are “imaginative”, “artsy retro” and “quirky”. Supposedly many artists have contributed to the creation of the hotel by integrating their personal styles.
There is a substantial use of bright colours, shiny tiles, colourful mosaics and lamps of various sizes and shapes apart from wall art, quirky wall paper etc. Each room has a distinct character with surrealism being a common theme. The theme of the hotel is inspired from Exquisite Corpse that’s a collaborative concept in which an artist adds on images and creations that are inspired from the last artist’s creation.
Here in this hotel the master creator and conceptualiser Julie Gauthron called the le MUR association and collaborated with 8 artists to create this dazzlingly artistic standalone boutique hotel.
Rooms
The 42 different rooms have been imaginatively bundled into 4 different categories; Intimiste, Intemporelle, Insolite and Adjacent rooms. The intimiste rooms are the smallest of the lot and they have courtyard view with windows that do not open. The intemporelle rooms are slightly bigger with a street view. The insolite rooms are the largest and most imaginatively decorated earning them the title “unusual rooms”.
Depending upon availability and preference a street side view or a courtyard view can be allocated. The adjacent rooms are actually 2 insolite rooms that are next to each other …these rooms are meant for 4 people.
The shower area opens right unto the bedroom in most rooms so if you want privacy then only a curtain is the option. The rooms are meant for people who are really comfortable with each other as they will have to stay in close proximity. Stay here if design means more to you than space. The quirkily designed furniture could easily have stepped out of a fashion magazine.
Common facilities include flat screen television set, desk and chair, huge mirror apart from a queen sized bed and safe. All rooms also have a hamper of welcome amenities and a telephone. Rooms are spread all over 5 floors and there is an elevator servicing the building.
Bathrooms are ultra-designer with shiny tiles, modern artsy open pipes, shower unit and hair dryer. Shower pressure is good and there is plenty of hot water and the twinkling red LED lights in the shower tiles are nice. All rooms are full of plugs, USB Docks and then there are so many little switches that help dim the lights and you can create lovely ambience.
As already mentioned, the most distinctive feature of the hotel and its rooms are its artwork and each floor contains artwork conceptualised by a different artist. So if you are an art aficionado maybe you should choose the room decked up by your favourite artist. Monsieur Lui (first floor), Thom Thom (second floor), Jean Faucheur and Surfil (third floor), Fred le Chevalier and Séverine Metraz (fourth floor) and Macay (fifth floor).
Services and Amenities
There is free Wi Fi which is sometimes sketchy and the whole building is air conditioned. The building is serviced by a fantastically designed small lift. Classical music keeps playing in the background and the back wall displays the local weather report and a daily message.
There is a super cute mini glass box elevator that services the building (can carry only two people at one time)… don’t miss the amazingly designed elevator shard…it has artwork by Chanoir.
There are no coffee/ tea kits in the room but surprisingly there is an electric kettle. Pop into the supermarket opposite the road and get your supplies. There is no private hotel parking but there is a decent sized parking lot at the nearby 21 Avenue Ledru Rollin (payable). Guests get a free mobile phone to make calls on request. Reception and help desk is active 24×7 and there is a luggage storage room.
Staff is friendly and helpful and special mention must be made of Florian, Sharif, Jean Baptiste and Tidiane who are super-efficient in greeting guests with smiles and helping out however possible. However some of the staff crack jokes and behave a bit too casually which everyone may not like. If you are lucky enough the team will let you check in early or check out late.
Food and Drinks
A daily breakfast buffet spread is available every day (payable). You will get meat, eggs, cheese, sausage, juice, coffee and mini pastry platters. There are lots of vegan friendly options like cucumber and tomatoes in olive oil, almond milk, fruit salad etc. if you don’t want to have breakfast from inside the hotel there is a patisserie as well as creperie next door.
There is a coffee machine in the breakfast room with an honesty box that suggests 3 euros as fair price for coffee. There is an honesty bar too…help yourself and honestly pay the suggested prices; no one will check up. There is not much point of using these as there are plenty of cafes nearby selling coffee for lower prices.
There are lots of nice restaurants a couple of minutes away like 1000&1 Signes (Moroccan food), Opalto (French cuisine) and Clamato (seafood). Try the baguettes at La Baguette on rue Basfroi and the pizzas at Louie Louie (rue Charrone). Also on rue Charrone are Septime (fine dining), Ravioli de Juin (exceptional Chinese dumplings), les Demoiselles, L’Amijote, Paris Hanoi (Vietnamese food) and Creperie Bretonne Fleurie (delicious crepes). Turkish food at Menekse (passage de la main) and sushi at Sushi Maki (rue Faidherbe) should be also on your food list.
Whatever you do, don’t forget to feast on chocolate after your meals (pick me up truffles, pralines and more) from Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse on rue de Roquette.
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Location & How To Reach
The Exquis Paris isn’t in a touristy location as such; this is where real Parisians live and play. There are plenty of lovely buildings here along with tiny parks and green landscaped patches like Bercy Park and La Coulee Verte and the rather well known Bois Vincennes (don’t miss the adorable medieval castle at its entry).
The rue de Charonne is a calm street that’s 10 minutes away from the chaos and bustle of Bastille. This isn’t an attraction hotspot but a place to sip a glass of wine/ cappuccino and pretend that you are lucky enough to live in the city of lights. Every Sunday an antique market lines up the street and that’s a perfect bargain hunting opportunity.
The Bastille area is filled with interesting historical landmarks. There is Place de la Bastille …the witness of the violent French revolution and the Boulevard Richard Lenoir with fruit, vegetable and cheese and seafood stalls (Sunday and Tuesday mornings). The Vaiduc des Arts with its promenade Plantee and many galleries and cafes is also nearby. Other interesting areas of Paris you can walk to from the Exquis are Marais (historical area 2.8 km away) and the Oberkampf (full of chic bars) besides the place des Voges.
The Bastille nightlife quotient is chic and local and the most intriguing night life haunts of Paris exist here. There is L Entre Potes (bar converted from upholstery factory) and the L’Atelier Charomme that offers superlative French cuisine and gypsy jazz in healthy doses.
For shopping there are less of malls and more of characterful Parisian boutiques like Isabel Marant on rue de Charonne. Then there is the 3400 seater Opera Bastille that hosts some of the best ballets and classical musical concerts in Paris. Other places to walk to from the hotel are the Pere Lachaise Cementery (13 minutes away) and the Ile Saint Louis (half an hours walk).
Proximity to Gare De Lyon (international trains come in here) is a big advantage for a tourist in Paris and the Exquis Paris is just 15 minutes of walking distance away from Gare de Lyon.
Easiest way to get to the hotel from the CDG (21 km away) airport is to take the RER Line B train and then change to the subway line and get down at Charonnes / Reuilly metro stations. If you are travelling with lots of luggage then beware of the flights of steps around the metros.
The nearest metro is Reuilly Diderot (1 km away) and Voltaire (600 meters away) and also the Charrone (800 metres away). So you get easy access to metro line 8 and 9 from the hotel. There is a bus stop nearby and you will get easy access to bus lines 76, 61 and 46 and this covers most of Paris.
71, rue de Charonne 75011 Paris
Phone: +33 1 56 06 95 13; Email: [email protected]; Hotel Website
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A travel addict. Still celebrating the day when he quit his high-profile corporate job to pursue his passion for travel writing.