The sumptuous Maison Proust hotel in Paris

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This article is part of FT Globetrotter. Paris guide

There are obvious complexities in dedicating a pleasure palace to the memory of Marcel Proust, a man who spent much of his life as a hypochondriac, invalid and recluse. There are added complexities when it comes to celebrating a writer whose extensive work most visitors may not have dared to read.

But the Maison Proust, a sumptuous hotel in the Marais district of Paris, doesn’t let those things stand in its way. It leans straight into Proust nostalgia. Its objective is to evoke the glories of the Belle Époque (the salons and the evenings) with the help of some works of art from the period. There are nods to Proust’s links with the Impressionists and the writers John Ruskin and Anna, Countess of Noailles.

When you enter, you find a quote written on the wood panels: an excerpt from volume two of In search of lost time, in which narrator Marcel’s much-desired Albertine promises to spend the night in his hotel room. She offers him the chance to “sit by my bed and watch me eat and then we’ll play whatever game you choose.” Well, quite a bit. The staff is available with other Proust crumbs as needed.

The hotel’s creators, Sylviane Sanz and Yoni Aïdan, also run the five-star Maison Souquet in Montmartre and the four-star Maison Athénée near the Opera Garnier. They say their designs favor the sensual over the ostentatious. At the Maison Proust, a bar and restaurant area with an intriguingly dark decor extends on the ground floor. A few dozen plush couches crave conversation. There is only space to accommodate a small library, whose round ceiling is hand-painted with sea monsters.

The crown jewels, however, are in the basement: a swimming pool and a sauna, surrounded by columns and mosaics, and inspired, we are told, by “Aunt Léonie’s orientalism.” salonswhere Marcel Proust spent part of his childhood.”

All guests can have the 10-metre pool and hammam to themselves for one hour a day. This has many advantages, especially for those travelers who have committed the age-old sin of forgetting their swimsuit (although be careful with security cameras). There are also three rooms for spa treatments.

Upstairs, as in many old Parisian buildings, the rooms have to be somewhat less spacious than those in a Proust novel. The 23 rooms and suites are between 20 and 100 square meters. But they make the most of the space with bold wallpapers and paintings by artists such as Leonardo Gasser, Paul-Albert Laurens and Proust’s friend Madeleine Lemaire.

From my fifth-floor suite I could see the top of the Eiffel Tower, as well as, in true Parisian style, the contents of the building opposite. Outside, the Rue de Picardie is quiet; The Place de la République and the old Jewish quarter are just a short walk away.

Proust is remembered for his idea of ​​involuntary memory: an experience, like madeleines dipped in tea, that will transport you to a precious moment. The Maison Proust bar offers cocktails such as “La Madeleine”, which includes vodka and Amaretto, and “Le Temps Retrouvé”, designed by bartender Colin Field, formerly of the Ritz Paris. The latter includes champagne, black truffle and a shot of Armagnac Château Laubade from 1922, the year of Proust’s death. Too many of these, and presumably the result will not be involuntary memory but rather involuntary lack of memory. Given the experience on offer at Maison Proust, it would be a shame.

At a glance

• Rooms and suites: 11 rooms, 12 suites

• Good for: Cozy luxury. A private bathroom

• Not so good for: Families. Your wallet

• For your information: The “Le Temps Retrouvé” cocktail will cost you €500

• Rates: Doubles from €1,000 (beginning of January)

• ADDRESS: 26 Rue de Picardie, 75003 Paris

• Website; Instructions

Henry Mance stayed as a guest at the Maison Proust.

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