Saint James Paris
Is it a prestige hotel in a park? A hide away in the heart of Paris? A private club? It is all of those things, and much more! Part château, part family townhouse, a blend of grandeur and intimacy, of classicism and extravagance. Highly Parisian yet decidedly beyond fashion.
The Saint James Paris is a unique formula, a cocktail of elegance, humour and fantasy, to be enjoyed without moderation!
In 1892, the widow of former President of the Republic Adolphe Thiers commissioned the construction of the Thiers Foundation in tribute to her husband, as the location of the first Paris airfield, where Montgolfier balloons used to depart from.
From 1985 to 1991, the building was purchased by various British companies and was turned into a private club, very much in line with the traditional Gentlemen’s circles so famous in London.
In 1991, The Bertrand Family, who already owned the 4-star Relais Christine Hotel in Saint Germain, acquired the Saint James Club and proceeded to develop it into a hotel. Then in 2008, while planning a complete makeover of the building, the Bertrand Family was entranced by the poetic, wild-eyed vision of unorthodox interior designer Bambi Sloan. So much so that they gave her unconditional carte blanche to stage the new spirit of the Saint James Paris: the scene was set – it was to be an extravagant Family Townhouse!
In 2011, the new Saint James Paris opened its doors, revealing special kind of hotel.
Named after a doe, busy as a bee and brimming with Anglo-Saxon imagination, Bambi Sloan, the interior designer, is the kind of outlandish character that can only stem from a succession of different lives: raised in New York City from a French/American family, she is an artistic oddball. Bambi has had a pronounced taste for mix-and-match reused items in decoration, as well as a leaning towards bohemian and surrealist themes.
Her first decorating assignment for Harry’s Social Club in London was opened to the public in December 1999 and gained her instant fame. Every time Bambi takes over the premises, she gives them a special kind of spirit, and creates a wholly unexpected universe sprinkled with eccentricity and humour. She succeeds in inventing a new and striking equation, full of wit and originality, and invariably convivial.
Taking Napoleon III style as a starting point, which she describes as a “pile-up of all styles”, the designer has blended reality, and historical, movie and literary references. Accordingly, we note the inspiration from My Fair Lady and Ascot races in the lobby, Visconti’s The Leopard for the velvet drapes and damask, a nod to Thiers Foundation students with the “literary marble” bookbinding-style wallpaper on columns and walls, the Montgolfier balloon wallpaper reminding us of the locale’s early origins, and the panther carpeting as a reference to Josephine de Beauharnais, the first eccentric to have used such a motif as decoration.
Sloan’s highly personal vision shakes up all styles, periods and sources of inspiration. The decoration at the Saint James Paris is an inimitable, unexpected and delightful cocktail, providing a timeless, unclassicable ambience.
As with a private house, Bambi has dressed up the rooms one by one, choosing the appropriate fabric, furniture, paintings and special adornments for each one, often bargain-hunting across France and abroad to find that rare piece. Blending charm and treasures, originality and sentimentality, authentic pieces and second editions. Mixing fabrics from pre-eminent manufacturers, Lelièvre, Pierre Frey and Designer’s Guild. Assembling an entire family of ancestor portraits in the dining room. Taming the panther motif so it runs along the library floor and the lounge’s armchairs. Manipulating trompe-l’œil with exclusive “Burgundy stone” or “herringbone parquet” carpeting, guaranteed to take you by surprise. Sprucing up the 300-m2 terrace with painted metal plant furniture, mini-greenhouses and Montgoler balloons.
The entrance to the Saint James Paris causes the first visual shock, plunging you into some other world, beyond space and time. The lobby is all black and white, every bit a chic tuxedo jostled by pop art. Then there is a deliberate optical play on mirrors multiplying special effects of randomly-striped balusters, black-rimmed mouldings like so many velvet-lined frills all drawn into a dizzying kaleidoscope of floors rising to infinity. Dead centre, a “chaos of chandeliers” splashes its cascades of light across the entrance, while the red-carpeted stairway provides a touch of movie festival glamour, completing this madly theatrical lobby.
Behind each identical red-lacquered door, there is a unique décor. Each suite is designed to represents a tale. The designer has invited her familiar characters to come along, inventing a world that measures up to their charisma. Among the guests, we have John Steed of Avengers fame, whose room is all striped flannel and English fabric, with a nod to Magritte. The last Queen of Scotland, whose décor mixes tartan and panther patterns. The Leopard and its princely quarters.
With a slew of references, hints, highly personal items bargain-hunted during trips to the Paris Flea Market or elsewhere, every room is a small, sentimental theatre, worked out into the smallest details, right down to the customised light switches. Humour is an added bonus.
The Saint James Paris combines all of the services of a château-hotel, the privileges of a private club and the charm of a pre-eminent family home. It is a fabulous venue and a true feast for the senses. For the mind and for conversation, follow the mythical library and the bar, lounges and meeting rooms. For gastronomic pleasures, visit the gourmet restaurant. For a breath of nature, the large terrace in the centre of the park. For fitness and beauty care, indulge at the Guerlain spa with, hammams and fitness centre.
43 avenue Bugeaud 75116 Paris, France . phone +33 1 44 05 81 81
https://www.saint-james-paris.com
