Hotel Montalembert

Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Throughout history, the left bank of the Seine, and particularly the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter, has been the intellectual center of Paris. It’s here that the first university, the prestigious Sorbonne was founded, and it was this same left bank that was home to thinkers and intellectuals.

The Café Procope, one of the city’s oldest café-restaurants was frequented by Voltaire, Diderot, D’Alembert and even Benjamin Franklin. During the French Revolution it was a meeting place for the Club des Cordeliers and the Jacobins. Later on, habitués included Musset, Anatole France and Verlaine, and closer to our era, it was a favorite of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Boris Vian, Jacques Prévert, Georges Brassens and Serge Gainsbourg.

And although many of today’s intellectuals have deserted the quarter, their ghosts live on, thus preserving the soul of a Saint-Germain-des-Près that was so dear to Parisian writers and thinkers.

The ideal literary hotel

The Hotel Montalembert in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter was the first 5 stars boutique-hotel on the “Rive Gauche“. Built in 1926, it was renovated in the early 1990s by a young interior decorator, the renowned Christian Liaigre, who transformed it into a contemporary luxury hotel with a rare elegance.

Now in the capable hands of Myriam Kournaf, the hotel’s chic and contemporary design has become an important literary address, thanks to the creation in 2006 of the literary Prize for a First Novel by a Woman which is awarded here.

In order to preserve its place as the first new genre palace hotel, Myriam Kournaf continues to innovate. Once again, she called upon Christian Liaigre to decorate the new suite on the 6^th floor. We find the same timeless style of the decorator as on the 8^th floor suites, with sycamore wood furniture, brushed oak, linen and Damascus cotton fabrics and leather to modernize the hotel’s historic armchairs.

Wherever one looks, there are tones of taupe, eggplant, caviar and gray, the designer’s favorite colors. The bathrooms are in white Carrare marble and chromium plated brass. The suites on the top floor offer guests an incomparable view of the rooftops of Paris.

The restaurant, with its comfortable gray cushions, beige tablecloths and oak tables, is a popular spot with the local antique dealers and offers the same comfort and warm tones as the rooms. Chef David Maroleau specializes in a light cuisine somewhere between earth, sea and plant life. Dishes include “half cooked prawns in a citronella bouillon” and a stunning “crisp soft boiled egg”, which can be enjoyed around the fireplace or on the sunny terrace, depending on the season. With a bit of luck, you might run into writer Philippe Sollers or the famous publisher, Antoine Gallimard, who are regular customers here. And if you travel in June, make sure not to miss the literary prize ceremony.

The Montalembert’s impeccable service makes it a hotel with a rare elegance, a typically Parisian spirit and a must on Paris’ Rive Gauche.

Writers Marc Levy and Philippe Sollers, and actor-director Yvan Attal are habitués of the Montalembert.