Travel & Leisure

Which was your first hotel project:
The adventure began twelve years ago with Le Verneuil, right opposite Serge Gainsbourg's house. The building is 17th century, close to the Musée D' Orsay, antique shops and art galleries.

And the second?
Well that was interesting because it's on the Right bank, and everyone told me, you're crazy, don't cross the Seine, stay with your left-bank roots! OK so I'm crazy but I had the confidence with the success of Le Verneuil. Hotel Thérèse quickly became the Paris base of many professional, journalists, fashionistas, models and, of course tourists. It's luxe for less, just around the corner from the Louvre and close to the Garnier Opera House.

So why did you need Hotel Recamier: are you playing Monopoly?
No, but I always dreamed of finding a little left-bank bijou, in a perfect location, where all the experience I acquired during the first hotel years could be fully expressed. My heart is on the left bank, it's where I live, jog, eat, buy my cheese, macarons, fabrics. When I discovered the narrow limestone building that is Hotel Recamier I said, right, this will be like a very chic home. She was a sleeping beauty, in a dream location, that needed awakening, hidden behind trees on Place Saint Sulpice (the church features in the da Vinci Code, integral to the plot).

So where did you begin with Recamier's awakening?
I immediately contacted architect-designer Jean-Louis Deniot who has worked all over the world and is famous for his Coco Chanel suite at the Paris Ritz. (www.deniot.com) His ideas gel with mine, they're chic, fresh, witty and young, but you always feel his understanding of the classics. His priority is to create a defined interior architecture framework – his work is discreet but there's always a sense of opulence. Working down to the raw bones of the Recamier, he made it perfect; he says all the inner workings must be invisible and cohesive with the interior, he even moved the lift!

How many rooms are there and how long did the transformation take?
Twenty-four and Jean-Louis insisted that each one would be different, it took about a year of major work. There are six floors with six different colour schemes, 150 different fabrics!. The Recamier is named for MadameRecamier, a 19th century beauty and muse of many wirters and politicians. So on each floor is a recessed niche displaying a bust of Madame Recamier dressed in the style of contemporary artists such as Daniel Buren, Nikki de Saint-Phalle, Christo, Picasso, Lichtenstein, Yves Klein.

And the reception rooms?
They are designed in classical French style, mixing Directoire period signature motifs and style elements from the 1940's. Jean-Louis juxtaposed some eclectic custom-made furniture that he designed, inspired by the French 40's, 50's and 60's. On the walls are witty references from Galerie Lumas (www.lumas.com) which make people smile, and that's important. There's no restaurant, there's a salon that divides into two (useful for private interviews) where breakfast and afternoon tea (which is complementary) is served. There's always food on the sideboard, I love making cakes so often bring them in, and jugs of freshly squeezed juices. Lots of books on the shelves, including my bible, “Luxe” by Hermes' head-honcho Christian Blanckaert. “An Outsiders Inside View of the Luxury Industry.” This room leads on to a small terraced garden, wonderful for warmer days.

What does the client want of a hotel in 2010?
No nonsense, good service, there's a small but chic room-service menu and we'll send out for anything required, we have a very efficient concierge service. Clients want high quality, detail and designer accessories such as the Fragonard bath and beauty products we offer. I know from my world travels that the savvy traveller expects Egyptian cotton sheets, towels and bathrobes. There's wi-fi and Loewe flatscreen TV's with Ipod docks, and the lighting is excellent. In the basement there's a small fitness room and I think we give a unique service, for me the client is a close friend visiting our beautiful home.

Margaret Kemp