Amy Adejokun
Section editor
The Lumen hotel opened in September 2007 and is a unique establishment, decorated in a baroque revival style by Claudio Colucci; it has since made quite a name for itself.
Lumen Paris Louvre - ©Pascal Otlinghaus/Blind/2010
Lumen Paris Louvre - ©Pascal Otlinghaus/Blind/2010
The hotel is ideally located between Place Vendôme and the gardens of the Palais Royal. It is perfect for a night out with its numerous restaurants, or for a bout of shopping in rue Faubourg St Honoré and rue St Honoré. Otherwise, it is great for soaking up some of the culture of Paris, with the Louvre and the Opéra at a short distance from the hotel.
The interior has been carefully decorated and each of the 33 rooms and suites boast a baroque revival style: baroque fabricss, furniture with clean-cut lines, metal, crystal... All are very well equipped with individual air-conditioning, a flat-screen TV set, a safe and a mini-bar. The designer bathrooms have a hair-dryer, bathrobes, slippers and Lanvin hospitality products. A refreshing towel, a half-bottle of red wine and a half-bottle of water await you upon your arrival. Giuseppe Chierchia has recently been working on the interior of 5 new rooms in the hotel's extension; the style is in the same vein as the rest of the hotel, but different materials have been used (leather, glass...). The rooms and the suites either look out onto the street or onto the church, but both categories are suitably soundproofed. The suite on the top floor is superb with its mansard roof and its jacuzzi
With its discrete entrance on a busy street, the first impression you get of the building is not overwhelming, but the façade is a prettier than its neighbours. Step inside though and the difference is striking. The baroque revival style of Colucci is a rarely-seen thing in Paris: a style which is not too ostentatious, but which displays beautiful materials, splendid curves and clever lighting (the latter being the most important part of the decoration). The lighting is indeed soft (lumen is the Latin word for light), combined with varying tones of grey. In the lobby, a splendid hand-made chandelier shows the logo of the hotel. Free Wi-Fi access is also available. There is a public car park in the street and its exit is right opposite the hotel.
The Passage St Roch is where the hotel has its restaurants. It is open from 07:00am till midnight from Monday to Thursdays, from 07:00am to 01:00am on Fridays and Saturdays and from 07:00am to 08:00pm on Sundays; it serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as afternoon snacks. The style is that of a trendy brasserie (the interior is reminiscent of a boudoir), and the food served is revisited traditional cuisine, with dishes such as tartare, a foie gras Lumen Burger, or a simple plancha with potato mash. The dish of the day changes daily depending on the market. At lunch, the price of a meal ranges from ?18 to ?24 and the clientele is mainly made up of locals, whereas in the evening it primarily attracts the hotel guests. The main attraction of the restaurant is the huge terrace that guests can enjoy when the weather permits. It is very pleasant, especially the area that is on the side of St Roch church.
It stands in a very noisy street; during the day there are a lot of comings and goings and it becomes quite deafening, but in the evening peace and quiet settles in. So, if you arrive here in the afternoon, don't worry, things are going to calm down in a bit.
massage, beauty salon, spa, Turkish bath
gym, fitness
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