On the edge of Paris’ bohemian Marais district, the gleaming white and silver lobby of Murano Resort Paris could be straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. In fact, the decadently retro hotel is named after the Murano crystal – chandeliers, sculptures and mirrors – that decorate the hotel.
The hotel is just one trippy light show after another, from the flickering of the Bond-like fireplace in the lobby, to the fluoro-shards of glass in reception to your individual mood light show which you can control in your room. Up in the rooms, you can crank up the music on the Bang and Olufsen sound system and create your own disco den with a rainbow of colours and effects.
Finding your way back after several vins rouge (or blissed out after a luxurious Anne Semonin treatment and hammam in the hotel spa) is an entertainment in itself – the corridors are black as a cinema screening room and thick as a padded cell, with just pinpricks of cobalt blue light illuminating the way. Then the door, as curved and heavy as a spaceship’s – opens at the touch of your digit. (How super-spy is that?) Drop into your giant white bed and dim those lights to pink, or green, or psychedelic… whatever takes your mood, basically.
What's hot?
- Fingerprint scanner room entry system
- Sensuous coloured lighting scheme which you can change at will
- The Anne Semonin spa
What's not?
- Finding your way back to your room along cinema-dark hallways
Need to Know: Murano Resort Paris
Number of rooms: 52
Check-in/check-out times: 3pm and 12noon
Room service: Yes
Swimming pool: Yes. In some of the suites
Spa: Yes. There’s a wonderfully indulgent Anne Semonin spa onsite
Dogs welcome: Yes. Pets are allowed on request with no extra charge
Eating and drinking: Edgy but beautifully prepared fare is served in the space-agey restaurant. Nightly house DJs and an extensive vodka menu are the order of the day in the tres chic bar.
Near to? On the edge of the bohemian Marais district, the hotel is surrounded by any number of quirky, one-off shops and independent boutiques. On the art front, the Musee Cognacq-Jay, the Musee Picasso and the Pompidou Centre are also not far away.
Getting there: Eurostar (eurostar.com) is always the easiest and most convenient way to get to Paris from the UK, with trains going to/from London King’s Cross or Ebbsfleet International in Kent. From the Gare du Nord, a taxi should take less than 10 minutes (depending on the traffic). Otherwise, Charles de Gaulle airport is 30-45 minutes away and Orly Airport is 45 minutes away. Oberkampf and Filles du Calvaire metro stations are within easy walking distance.
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