Hotel Paradiso – Hotel Review

Paris already feels like a film set so it was only a matter of time before hotel and cinema combined in the city where the seventh art was born. Hotel Paradiso embodies movies in everything from its name, vintage posters and classic film collection to each of the rooms, which double as your own private theatrette. What’s more, this sleek, chic boutique hotel is built above an actual cinema. 

Where is Hotel Paradiso

Situated in the city’s cooler-than-cool east, the hotel is just 45 minutes by taxi from Charles de Gaulle airport and a few steps from transport hub Place de la Nation, which serves both Metro and RER suburban trains. The neighbourhood has open-air market Aligre, wide boulevards, artisan craftsmen under the Le Viaduc des Arts and Aimé-Jules Dalou’s massive bronze of Marianne amid gardens, pétanque and picnickers.

Room types

Generous, minimal in style and chic in palette, the blockbuster element is that all 35 rooms – as well as the two cinema suites – have a laser projector, professional-quality sound and three-metre screen. Pick a movie (from seven streaming platforms), then lie back in bed as the lights dim (or watch from the bath if you book the Junior Suite). The Grande Suite Cinema has two bedrooms and an oversized bathtub, with views of artist JR’s depiction of Charlie Chaplin from The Kid and a wide terrace that looks over the city’s rooftops.

Restaurants and bars

The leafy rooftop bar is the place to sip a cocktail, watch an open-air film (in summer) or gaze at the Eiffel Tower, Pompidou Centre and the golden dome of Les Invalides. The ground-floor café, run by local favourite Bob’s Juice Bar, offers breakfast, good coffee and fresh-squeezed juice, all-day snacks and a caviar menu from Maison Kaviari. Use the tablet in your room to order in from a curated list of local restaurants – or venture out to neighbourhood gems such as Au Petit Panisse (35 rue de Montreuil, 75011 Paris).

Travel for work

Every room has a desk and there’s free wi-fi throughout the hotel. To unwind after work or team-build with karaoke, book the “La La Land” room with its big screen, private bar and banquette seating.

Spa and gym

Runners should head to the elevated Promenade Plantée (where Jesse and Céline strolled in Before Sunset); go left to vast Bois de Vincennes or right to find an outdoor gym near the intersection of Rue Hector Malot. The hotel can organise in-room massages and beauty treatments.

Sustainability

The honey-scented bathroom products from eco-conscious French brand Nuxe come in large containers rather than single-use minis to reduce plastic waste.

What you need to know

La Loge, which lets you watch movies on MK2’s cinema screen, is soundproof so you can chat and crunch organic popcorn as loudly as you like without being shushed by the punters below.  

SEE ALSO: A Local's Guide to Paris