HOTEL REVIEW: EXPERIMENTAL MARAIS
A lukewarm experience during a heatwave
The best way to describe EXPERIMENTAL MARAIS is to say it is the marital home of a 70’s California flower child and a modern Parisian flaneur; it’s eclectic, imprecise, casual, and performative. It showcases a playful, ironic balance of digital and analog lifestyles where one finds an acrylic DJ stand in the lobby and vintage vinyls in the hotel room. It’s where modern technology burrows in a shell of retro style. It’s all flavor, no calories.
If that brief introduction seems complicated or at odds, it’s because that’s how I feel about this hotel. To figure out why, I’ll break down my thoughts into a few sections: the hotel overview, room review, service assessment, value eval(uation), and, finally, answering the most telling question- would I stay there again.
HOTEL OVERVIEW
To set the stage for my stay, I’ll let you in on a few key details, namely the who, what, where, when, and why. So, who was on the trip? Me, my boyfriend, and our two mothers. What did we do? All the classic things that foreigners do in Paris: sipped beautiful wines, exploited the VAT tax refunds, and plotted ways to uproot our lives and move to Paris. Where? If you’ve read this far and still don’t know, then you have the comprehension skills of a pre-schooler. When did we go? In late May. Now, if you’re a fan of racquet sports, you might be able to piece together the ‘why’ based on the time and place… Roland Garros!
All that being said, on top of the few requirements I have for any hotel room (air conditioning, clean bathrooms, and spacious enough to comfortably open my bi-folded check-in suitcase), we required a few additional things from our hotel. It needed to be a welcoming reprieve from the heat, a walkable distance to all the best shops, and a comfortable base for people in their 20s as well as their 50s.
Onto the hotel itself. EXPERIMENTAL MARAIS is a five star boutique hotel situated in the vibey Le Marais district on the Right Bank. To be honest, there is nowhere on Earth that this hotel would be more appropriately located. It perfectly echoes the cool, avant-garde energy of the streets surrounding it. Within a two block radius, one can find numerous jewelry stores (French women don’t play when it comes to jewelry), art galleries, and even a teeny cafe complete with a singular bartender and techno music bumping at 7:30 AM (The Coffee).
The sidewalk outside the hotel’s front door is lined with a collection of royal blue bistro tables and chairs, which are used mostly in the evenings for aperitifs and smoky conversations. The lobby features the ‘American Bar’ which appears to be straight out of a Hollywood Hills home, stained glass in sunset hues, and 70s furniture design which tickled my Californian heart. Interestingly, Experimental’s website identifies the hotel as a mix of New York and Paris. Having spent my life between New York and LA, I’d say it’s undoubtedly Californian. More Chateau Marmont than Bemelmans.
The (debatably) retro Californian lobby overlooks a sunken restaurant, ‘Temple & Chapon’ one floor below. One floor above the lobby sits the hotel’s spa, which is open daily and offers a variety of massages, rituals and facials.
Swedish fragrance brand L:A Bruket supplies the toiletries that adorn every bathroom and perfume the lobby. If it is of particular interest, the lobby is enveloped by the brand’s ‘Hinoki’ diffuser. The shampoo and conditioner are fragranced in ‘Birch’ while the hand and body wash are ‘Bergamot / Patchouli.’
The hotel is bookable through its website, Hotels.com, and Booking.com and offers check-in starting at 3:00 PM and check out at 12:00 PM.
ROOM REVIEW
Our stay included two room types: the Deluxe Room and the Suite. My partner and I stayed in the Suite on the fifth floor, while our moms both stayed in Deluxe Rooms on the first floor.
The Suite was quite large and styled more like an apartment than a hotel room. The collection of artifacts in the space felt extremely personal; from the multilingual books on the bookshelf to the well-worn vintage leather sofa in the living room, my boyfriend and I had the sensation that we were staying in a well-traveled Parisian Creative Director’s pad. This, right off the bat, is a divisive choice. My boyfriend’s mom originally booked the Suite, but was uncomfortable staying in the space by herself. You could chalk it up to bad feng shui or a difference of design preference, but she reported feeling like she was intruding on someone else’s space and asked to swap her suite for our Deluxe Room. We, of course, agreed. By contrast, the Deluxe Room felt more like a traditional hotel room: stylish yet impersonal. Not too big, not too quirky.
I, on the other hand, appreciated the Suite’s unusual energy. Aside from the toilet being way too dark (I had to use my phone as a flashlight in there… seriously) and placed right by the front door, I was fine with the apartment-like layout. Upon opening the door, a small hallway led to the coffee machine and mini fridge. To the right of the makeshift kitchen sat the spacious bedroom. To the left was the living room, complete with a sculptural sofa, statue of an aspirational 6-pack torso, and a narrow desk/ vanity space. Off the living room was the sizable bathroom that featured a maroon-colored bath tub, separate his and hers sinks, and a tile-enveloped shower room in the same maroon shade.
Let’s talk about the details. In lieu of doors, black velvet curtains hung from the tall, vaulted ceilings to separate the wings of the suite. A collection of empty crystal decanters decorated the coffee table alongside a fresh bouquet of flowers, a complimentary bottle of champagne, and a soft chocolate chip cookie. A noticeable feature is the lack of televisions in the space; projectors were camouflaged between books and screens descended from the ceiling with the click of a button. On the other hand, some of the choices felt unintentional and lazy, as if the designers just kept what was preexisting because it was cheaper. By that I am referring to the maroon carpet (I personally find carpets in hotel rooms to be tacky and feel dirty), lack of sufficient overhead lighting (I don’t recall any overhead electrical), and popcorn-textured walls.
Perched on the top floor above Rue de Temple, we were given the timeless, breath-taking view of Haussmann rooftops. While it was definitely a treat for the eyes, it wasn’t a treat for the ears. The soundproofing was not as efficient as I would have hoped from a five star establishment. As luck would have it, we were in Paris when Paris Saint-Germain won the UEFA Champions League title. In case you missed it, anarchy followed. Nearly 900 people were arrested in the demonstrations of… joy? Fortunately, there were no violent displays in or around the hotel. There were, however, numerous drunk men singing and chanting the PSG anthem in the street below our window at three in the morning. The inadequate soundproofing meant that I was awoken by the celebrations.
SERVICE ASSESSMENT
A main benefit of staying in a five star accommodation is the superior service. We were fortunate enough to have something go wrong in order to test the effectiveness of the staff and hospitality. After showering in the Deluxe Room, my boyfriend’s mom noticed a strange odor enveloping the space. I’m no architect, but it appears that the bathroom construction or design was faulty in that it lacked proper ventilation in the massive shower room. As such, a heavy mildew scent quickly spread through the room. Upon noticing this, I called the front desk and asked to change her room (the smell really was that bad). While the hotel worker claimed they were at full capacity, and thus unable to accommodate a room change, they did offer to come into the room and deodorize the space as often as we requested. While the gesture was appreciated, a room that stinks of sweaty mildew is not something one wants to put up with on vacation, particularly when one is staying in an expensive hotel.
Another snag in the stay was the ability to get a car to pick us up at the hotel. According to the lovely and patient bellhops, a recent law has turned Rue de Temple into a pedestrian street on certain days. Some rideshare drivers have misinterpreted this to mean that cars cannot use the road on any day.
If you were to order an Uber (and I say Uber because that is the app we used during our stay), you would notice that the drivers will accept your ride request, but will continuously drive away from the hotel or make incorrect turns until you cancel. Evidentially, this is a strategy they employ so they don't have to incur a cancellation penalty on their account.
The workaround is simple enough, but requires a bit of planning; you should have the hotel call for a taxi instead of rolling the dice with Uber (particularly if you are heading to the airport or are in a time crunch).
VALUE EVAL
For reference, I booked our hotel rooms 4 months in advance through Hotels.com. Below is the price breakdown for two different tiers of rooms in late May during the first week of Roland Garros:
Deluxe Room
2 nights x 1 room - €1,430.82
Taxes on fees - €143.08
Mandatory fees - €46.80
Total - €1,620.70 ($1,900.22 USD)
Suite
2 nights x 1 room - €2,304.26
Taxes on fees - €230.43
Mandatory fees - €23.40
Total - €2,558.09 ($2,999.29 USD)
When looking to objectify something as personal as value, I generally take into account a few factors: location, price, price inflation (if applicable), amenities, service quality, and room design.
The location was pretty great for our shopping and dining escapades, although there are plenty of local hotels that offer this benefit. (Therefore, I have a neutral sentiment regarding the location).
In comparison with other five star hotels in the same arrondissement, the prices at EXPERIMENTAL MARAIS were on par. I believe there was a slight inflation to the price of most hotels in Paris due to the fact that it was the tail end of spring/ start of summer and during the Grand Slam tournament. (More neutrality).
During our brief stay, we didn’t utilize the amenities of this hotel; that’s neither a tally for or strike against the hotel. (If you’re keeping track at home, that’s currently a score of 0).
The service was fine - nothing to write home about. I was disappointed that our request to change rooms due to the unignorable odor went unaccommodated. The bell hop team was wonderful: super friendly and expertly juggled our embarrassing amount of luggage and shopping bags. (You guessed it, still a goose egg).
Then, the most important deciding factor comes down to design. Now that I’ve articulated my thoughts about the hotel more, I understand how I feel about the aesthetic choices. For the price and hotel class, I don’t want to feel like I’m staying at someone’s house. A stylish three star is a different experience to a well-conceived, charming boutique hotel with five stars. While I appreciate most of the design elements, I didn’t feel like the price reflected the level of comfort I would expect from an expensive establishment in a world-class city. Some of the retro-inspired aesthetics in our room felt more retro than inspired. The carpet felt a touch musty, the textured, popcorn-like walls were dated and the moldy odor in the Deluxe Room was just outright unacceptable.
So now, the most important and difficult question…
WOULD I STAY THERE AGAIN?
Eventually, maybe. There are too many exciting hotels in Paris to go back to one that was sort of an indifferent experience. While nothing went terribly wrong, nothing was exceptional either. From a five star hotel, I call that a disappointment.
The design was the most enjoyable and unique attribute of EXPERIMENTAL MARAIS, but that’s not enough for one to feel happy staying there. If you want a taste of the design, I’d recommend visiting the bar or restaurant over committing to the hotel.
In the end, our stay ignited my interest in Le Marais more than the hotel. I am inspired to test out different lodging options in that district, but I wouldn’t say I’m in a rush to return to EXPERIMENTAL. It is ironic, then, that during a Parisian heatwave, we had a rather lukewarm experience.
EXPERIMENTAL MARAIS is located in the vibrant 3rd Arrondissement:
116 Rue du Temple, 75003 Paris, France
Contact details can be found below:
Phone: +33 (0) 1 42 72 20 00
info@experimentalmarais.com
Activities: experience@experimentalmarais.com
Spa: spa@experimentalmarais.com
Events: event@experimentalmarais.com