Business as usual: Hanging Five at the Hi-Matic Hotel in Paris.
So, we’ve been meaning to blog about the Hi-Matic Hotel in Paris for a while now… But we’ve just come across this little video (below), and we reckon it pretty much does the job for us, so perhaps it will do for now? The 42 room Hi-Matic Hotel by Matali Crasset, Patrick Elouarghi and Philippe Chatelet in the fashionable 11th district is reasonably priced (think around the €100+ range), is in a cool neighbourhood (bobo central) and promotes a green ethos.
The Princess and the Pod, at the Hi-Matic Hotel, Paris
The hotel plays around with interesting ideas, such as rooms that fold away Japanese-style during the day and funny, chopped up living spaces reminiscent of cubby houses or half-built lofts with jewel-like colours. The costs are kept down due to the DIY (auto-’matic’) of the check-in procedure etc – there’s no staff, you simply collect a key and let yourself in. Perks: Vending machine offering snacks, books and toys. A dainty (read well-chosen, if not copious) organic (‘bio’) breakfast served on trays a la ‘in-flight’. Tips: Note that sleeping/bathroom arrangements are small and, for lack of a better word, ‘intimate’. Room to Improve: There do seem to be some issues with clothes/luggage storage and overall practicality of the design. Approach in the spirit of weekend’s living experiment! (And enjoy!)
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If you’re staying at the Hi-Hotel, definitely try to book a table at the lovely Septime. If it’s too pricey or you can’t score a table, the tiny Le Mouton Noir (‘Black Sheep’) Mouton on the same street is pretty good and reasonably priced, but do ask for on street level (downstairs is damp,while the mezzanine is claustrophobic).
Booking: Hi-Matic Hotel
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One of the hotel’s collaborators, the rather whimsical designer Matali Crasset known for her colourful and playful takes on furniture, is currently responsible for an odd little installation at the Pompidou Centre; Blobterre, a sort of growing greenery installation in the children’s section. We reckon a Hi-Matic Hotel + Blobterre could make a suitable quirky machine-for-living meets the Triffids sort of weekend. (Especially right now with Paris in full art swing with FIAC, and off-events such as Slick Paris and some amazing shows on at the Pompidou etc.)
