In the heart of the 9th district of Paris between the emblematic neighborhood of Montmartre and the garden of the Palais Royal, Hotel The Nell is based perfectly in this location. It is an eclectic, artistic and intellectual neighborhood. With a 5-minute walk from Grands Boulevards Metro Station the Nell Hotel is the perfect urban retreat. From the very beginning the idea was to create a unique form of luxury and sophistication in a subtle atmosphere, discreet and warm, unlike any other five-star city.

The CovetED Magazine was there experiencing its welcoming comfort and charm with spaces and exclusive decorations inspired in the 50’s and 60’s. The Nell’s Operation Director Arnaud Valary received us personally and was kind enough to give an interview where he answered some questions and told us a little about the Nell’s History and his inspirations to create this Hotel, which remains his most precious achievement as we can see by the glimpse in his eyes during the conversation.

See also – INTERESTING SHOWROOMS AT HIGH POINT MARKET

CovetED Magazine – How would you describe your hotel? Has it a particular ambiance that you are proud of?

Arnaud Valary– “Easy Luxury”. “Luxury” because everything is custom-made, so nothing is coming from the edition. This lampshades we did for it, these chairs in the restaurant, lampshades, desk, everything in the room. I went to Turkey to choose the marble, make a hole in the marble and get the marble here. And “easy” just because the staff as you see hasn’t got any tie, no name tag. We do prefer to have a welcoming spirit from landscape, not a Parisian spirit of welcoming. So something much more warm, much more closer to the guest and with smaller spaces. Have smaller spaces, so you can have more intimacy and atmosphere with the guest.

CE- What do you think distinguishes the Hotel The Nell from the other hotels de “La Ville Lumière”?

AV- “French touch” for sure, because we have a French architect, we have got typically French kitchen and bar but we are still in a bistro style spirit everywhere. You will see on the restaurant or behind us, tonight everything will be crowded everywhere, even if it is Thursday, but it will be full. As the guests are constantly coming, we are serving the French patê with the bread, just to share the bread. But the difference will be there in something typically French resulting in rules here. If the guest wants to come in a bath robe to eat I don’t mind, we just have to follow him and give him service but he doesn’t have to follow any rules. Perhaps this differs us from the other five star Boutique Hotels in Paris.

CE- What about “The French touch”?

AV- We have “French touch”, but absolutely not a low profile. All of our staff has to be low profile with the guests, we don’t have to be so proud to be there. Hospitality, service, elegance.

CE- What are the most required services at Hotel the Nell?

AV- The restaurant. The guests are able to book a room and have a table.

CE- The restaurant is the main element.

AV- Yes, from the room service to the service on the restaurant. If you haven’t got any table and you check for a meeting, I just have to check first with the barman whether it is booked and at what time. He says” this table is not taken yet, it is free for another guest” and I say “Ok”. Next it would be the concierge, perhaps we are going to see him tomorrow, and he is my duty manager too. And another would be the car service. For example, we have got four Audi A6 outside waiting for the guests and they are totally available all night long for the guests.

CE- What are the main influences in Hotel de Nell interior decoration?

AV- 50’s and 60’s. This furniture is typically in the 60’s spirit, as the lampshades.

CE- Who was the most special guest you have ever had in your hotel?

AV- No information about the guests. We never give any information we receive.

CE- Tell us a little about the history of your hotel.

AV- Every visitor will understand it better from outside. This building was an old two star hotel. In the cellar, there was habitation and only private flats. The “facade” of the building is totally protected by the French government. So in fact, you have got one of the twenty four Windows of the hotel. We had to make a size of each one because we were strictly not allowed to touch the facade. They are protected due to the details you have got over there under the windows. This building is from the XVIII century. It was the first building here and there were only gardens around. So first it was the French Conservatory, the Jew Church, the Haussman and Hotel The Nell. And the Hotel de Nell is protected due to all this quarter. So we kept only this corner of facades there and created the hotel inside.The first things that we put in the hotel were the Japanese vase. The entrance was exactly the entrance of the habitation. In the district of Paris you only have doors of wood. So we had to ask to the French protection district of the building if we could change the door for a glass door and they eventually allowed us.  This part of the bar was the old building courtyard and there it was totally open. We decided to cover this entrance with this glass window so that every guest had to pass the reception, so that we can see everyone. To understand all the buildings and the history you had to see it from the outside.

CE- Can you describe more precisely colors, textures and forms domain in decoration of the hotel?

AV- Sand, deep blue and blonde for the wood everywhere.

CE- What was the most exciting experience that you’ve witnessed at your hotel?

AV- This question is not for me, but for the staff. Because we’ve opened two hotels in three years and it is an adventure to open an hotel. If I asked this the staff, they are going to tell you that we had only two salaries in the hotel. The hotel was closed, not finished and we were there with the furniture. It is much more than a team adventure which is exciting because they are still there three years later with the executive chef too. For example he was the office manager, my duty manager. So we lead this hotel as ours and it is amazing. It´s exciting to create human stories.

CE- If you were a client what would be the experience you would definitely choose?

AV- The Japanese bath with the white tea salt by Bulgari. Not the red tea or the green tea, but the white tea salt by Bulgari in the Japanese bath. Even when it is dry the smell is totally amazing, soft but still strong. When you put it in the bath, your bath becomes a little bit white and with the temperature of the water the smell starts to come out. It is not created to get the skin softer, it is only a smelling experience. That should be the best experience. Try it please.

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CE- Is there something you would like to add to your hotel? You’ve had already told us about it’s history, about the experiences we can have here. What more would you like to have?

VA- The beautiful thing is that the hotel opened the 13th September 2013, it is three years old and you can see the hotel is fully booked, the restaurant is full. The hotel is totally hidden, as you can see in the streets. This is not a passage for tourists, yet the hotel and its restaurant are full, so we are very happy about this adventure because we have been able to create something that nobody was waiting for. We created a place everyone is running after.

Hotel The Nell is definitely a place that should be part of your itinerary in Paris, a place to have a great time of leisure where you are always welcome and may experience some of the Parisian and luxurious way of living.