The Review: Hotel Bastille Boutet MGallery by Sofitel

THE PLACE

Built in 1926, Hotel Bastille Boutet originally housed a wood manufacturer, then in 1944 the Maison Boutet Swiss chocolate factory. In 2015, the nearby Ecole Boulle school of fine arts helped renovate the building into its current hotel incarnation. Nods to the building's history are peppered throughout; from the black-and-white photographs of woodworking tools hung in-room, to the chocolate box wallpaper in the lifts, to the mixture of industrial and art deco design styles.

THE LOCATION

In the central 11th arrondissement on one of Paris' oldest thoroughfares, and just a 15-minute walk from Place de la Bastille where the French Revolution kicked off. Bastille's cobblestone passageways are home to cabinetmakers, chisellers, upholsterers and other craftsmen, as well as chic boutiques and restaurants representing every corner of the globe. A short walk from the buzzing Marais neighbourhood, it's where much of the creative energy in Paris is centred.

THE SPACE

Once you have finished admiring the restored art deco facade, the first thing you'll notice on entering Boutet's light-filled lobby is that the mosaic tiles behind the front desk mirror the pattern on the (very polite) staff's silk neck scarves. It's a sign of the level of attention to detail here, which you'll continue noting as you walk up the spiral staircase and through the wood-panelled corridors to your room. Before you do, though, there is a drink to be had at the small Bar du Boutet in the lobby – a cocktail, a detox juice, or an infamously rich Boutet hot chocolate. Downstairs in the skylight-lit blue and white-tiled wellbeing area you'll find an indoor pool, fitness centre, wooden sauna, hammam steam room, two luminotherapy showers, and two treatment rooms where you can indulge in a signature 90-minute antioxidising cocoa oil massage.

THE ROOM

Boutet's 80 rooms and suites include two signature suites designed by the Ecole Boulle students: the Ebony Suite, with bachelor pad vibes thanks to an abundance of dark wood and velvet, and the Teak Suite, designed as a series of interconnecting boxes. My suite, one of 10 opening onto a plant-smattered terrace overlooking Paris' rooftops, is flooded with light thanks to high ceilings and wide glass doors leading onto the terrace. The wooden floors, cupboards and bedhead combine with white walls and steel and glass accents to create an understated elegance. The minibar is stocked with Laurent Perrier champagne and Badoit water; there is a Nespresso machine, a JBL docking station and all the usual mod cons. I spend a delightful postprandial hour lazing in the bubbling bathtub, then melt into the signature Sofitel My Bed in dressing gown and slippers while munching the delicious truffles left at turndown. Sleep is deep: the location may be central, but this street is quiet.

THE FOOD