Hotel Amour 8 rue Navarin
75009 Paris
France
Tel: 00 33 1 48 78 31 80
www.hotelamour.com (don't bother it hasn't worked in months).
Date of stay: 13th October, 2008
Hotel Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
Food Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
Hotel Amour caused quite a stir when it opened a couple of years ago by graffiti artist Monsieur André (of super hip Le Baron and Le Paris Paris night clubs) and his friend Lionel. This hotel has appeared on hot lists (Conde Nast Traveller’s 2007 Hot List) and Hip Guides.
Outside the hotel quietly buzzes a pink neon “Amour” sign in a quiet street only a stones throw from La Pigalle, in the very much up and coming South Pigalle (SoPi) area of Paris. There are 20 rooms in the hotel each designed by Artist or designer friend of the owners ranging from lime green with a wet room to glossy black with a baths at the end of the bed. These include the Artistic styles of Sophie Calle and Pierre Le Tan, and it must be noted that there are no phones nor TVs. On entering the hotel the reception is just about the smallest you will have ever encountered in a hotel, about the size of a postage stamp, or a broom cupboard complete with photocopier where the receptionist might stand.
Our room had glossy black floors, walls and ceiling, with a bath at the end of the room (in the room) and a tiny WC which doubled as a wardrobe. The bed was comfortable and warm, the shower whilst a pain to use in this open plan configuration, it was powerful and hot, and you are provided with good quality plush towels and luxury Kiehl’s goodies. You cannot help but notice the Yanagi butterfly stool and other designer items around the room and the hotel as well as the dodgy pornographic books in the rooms and images on the walls all over the hotel.
I felt the highlight of the hotel experience was the lively bistro on the ground floor which was busy with Parisians as well as guests. During Spring and late Summer the little courtyard at the back is perfect all night parties and lazy afternoons drinking coffee. The food here is simple but good French home cooking with staples such as Steak Tartare and Argentinian Steak frites over lunch and dinner and standard fare over breakfast.
For dinner, at 11.30pm, I ordered the grilled Onglet of Veal, with shallots, haricots verts and mushrooms. EUR 17. The veal was beautifully tender and cooked exactly to spec. Rare and the second Veal of the day for me! The bistro was so dark I was unable to tell by looking at it at the time but the photo below is testament to this. Even the vegetarian on our table admitted to being jealous. Even the butter was delicious.
Breakfast at 9am consisted of oeufs brouillés – three eggs scrambled and a coffee. EUR 11. A little too “wet” for me but very good when compared to the standard lumpy heat lamp hardened hotel scrambled eggs. The butter again was delicious, I wanted to a massive chunk home with me!
I had a good experience here making good use of the bistro and the bar until the very early hours of the morning much to the displeasure of the barstaff. The staff are young and as trendy (and thin) as the clientele who seem to be a mixture of fashionistas, singletons and artists. I would recommend this to open minded single travellers or young couples and to these, Hotel Amour is a great place to drink, eat, sleep, and meet interesting people. It is certainly not for everyone though. Rooms are from EUR 105 for a single and EUR 140 for a double.
