A Decadent Dip Into a Parisian Legend

Les Bains is something of a Parisian legend. In the 1980s and ‘90s, the place (then named Les Bains Douches) was the French capital’s most iconic club, the place to be for stars, celebrities, fabulous people and all those who longed to bask in their limelight. At the door, the infamous Marie-Line would size guests up and down, all of them dying to cross the club’s threshold. She would then blink and utter the most dreaded sentence for partygoers: “Désolée... Ce soir, je crois que ça ne va pas être possible.” (Sorry, it’s not going to be possible tonight.) Inside, the likes of Roman Polanski, Catherine Deneuve, Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Andy Warhol, Linda Evangelista, David Bowie, Kate Moss and Yves Saint Laurent danced, drank and dove into the mosaic tile pool, from the late night into the early morning hours. Les Bains was Paris’ answer to New York’s Studio 54, and when it closed in 2010, it took with it a temple of freedom and a whole era of raucous revelry.

While it reopened briefly in 2013 as an artist’s residence, it wasn’t until 2015 that Les Bains took on its current incarnation as a dreamy boutique hotel, this time around tapping into the vibes of LA’s star-studded Chateau Marmont hotel. Filmmaker Jean-Pierre Marois, who’s owned the building at 7 Rue du Bourg L’Abbé in Paris’ third arrondissement since the 1960s, oversaw four years of renovations to transform the space into a stylish 39-room hotel.

As envisioned by interior designer Tristan Auer, the rooms and suites are plush cocoons of quiet decadence, with rust-red sofas inspired by the one inside Warhol’s Factory, green linens and mahogany furniture. Some of the courtyard-facing rooms have lovely balconies filled with a profusion of plants, adding to the leisurely vintage feel of the establishment. The bathroom is accessible via a shiny white door and disappears completely once the door slides seamlessly shut.

Les Bains’ previous life, as a glamorous and exclusive nightclub, is most evident in its bespoke spaces. To the right of the main entrance you have the Salon Chinois, a cozy boudoir with its own fireplace and reserved for hotel guests. Drinks are available here amid 19thcentury artworks under a soft light streaming through the China-inspired stained-glass windows. And if you want to hold an extra special event, you can reserve the Salon Secret, a stunning Parisian apartment designed by Auer and accessible via private elevator. For a complete change of mood, you can head to Les Bains’ underground wellness space, where you’ll find a vitality pool with massage jets and a steam room.

Back on the ground floor, Roxo restaurant and bar, which opened in late 2018, is one of Les Bains’ most visually pleasing spots. First the bar. This ultra-popular destination, where locals and visitors congregate after work hours and well into the night, has a sculptural bar in the center of the space, with golden lights emanating from a volcano-like red ceiling. Here, barman Eric Sablonière heads an all-star mixology team that includes current French cocktail champion Benjamin Cousseau. Some of Paris’ most inventive and delectable cocktails are served at Roxo bar, and they include a reinvented Bellini prepared with a red fruit purée.

The restaurant that’s part of the space operates under the culinary wand of Brazilian-born chef Bruno Grossi, who worked with the likes of Marcus Wareing and Guy Savoy. Open from 7am until 11pm daily, and serving all three meals plus afternoon fare, the restaurant is particularly charming at dinner, when revelers congregate around small dishes to share. Some menu highlights include green asparagus with candied lemon, filet of roasted quail with grape molasses, caper falafels and tapioca fingers with Comté cheese.

After drinks and dinner at Roxo, you can head to the club, located under the hotel. Although the space has been revamped, the famed swimming pool is still there, as is the original Philippe Starck-designed black-andwhite checkered dance floor from the ‘70s. With these vintage touches, the hotel draws a palpable timeline from its fabled past to its dazzling current incarnation.

Words Marwan Naaman