La Fondation Hotel is a Hidden Haven in Paris

Serene yet full of surprises, this new hotel is your perfect retreat in the City of Light.

Just beyond the hum of the Batignolles neighbourhood in a part of the 17th arrondissement that’s trendy but flies under the radar, you’d never guess La Fondation was here unless someone told you. Tucked behind a glass and steel facade close to Villiers metro stop (lines two and three), the newly opened five-star hotel occupies what was once a garage and office block, now reimagined as a hub for design-minded travellers and savvy locals.

Inside, the mood is Brutalist bones softened by sensual materials. New York-based design outfit Roman and Williams has created understated interiors that feel distinctly modern: bleached oak, hand-glazed ceramics and textured travertine. The 58 guestrooms channel a serene, almost Japanese sensibility with blond timber panelling, clean lines and soft lighting. Every space tells a story thanks to Amélie du Chalard, who curated the hotel’s contemporary art collection.

Food offerings – led by executive chef Thomas Rossi, formerly of Jean-François Piège’s Mimosa restaurant – include the bright and lofty-ceilinged ground-floor brasserie La Base, which serves simple, seasonal plates from midday through to late evening for hotel guests and neighbourhood regulars. On the eighth floor, La Fondation restaurant (above) spins classic French dishes such as pan-fried foie gras with tarragon, fig and amaretto duck jus. Here, below a leafy solarium, green metal chairs, reminiscent of those in the Jardin des Tuileries, invite quiet moments with a book, while the rooftop bar has views from Montmartre to the Eiffel Tower and a signature cocktail, the Fondation Spritz, made with elderflower liqueur, prosecco, pink grapefruit soda, mint and raspberry juice.

A wellness offering you’d normally find in a high-spec private club rather than in the basement of a discreet boutique stay includes a moodily lit 25-metre pool, sauna, hammam, gym, climbing wall and spa treatments by Typology and Ho Karan. “You’d never expect all this to be hiding behind this facade,” says one guest visiting from Lyon, who was sent here by local friends. “It feels like Mary Poppins’ bag.”