Laura Gonzalez transformed an Haussmanian-styled office building into the east-meets-west interior of the Hotel Hana.
Photo: Robin Le Febvre
Hotel of the Week: A Foreign Love Affair Blossoms in Paris’s Hotel Hana
Japonism is what inspired Paris interior designer Laura Gonzalez when she designed the east-meets-west interiors of the charming retreat
Designer Laura Gonzalez chose floral Jacquard silks and pink velvet for the banquettes in the bar to the right of the black lava counter that serves as the reception desk. Photo: Stephan Julliard
The new 26-room Hotel Hana in the 2nd Arrondissement in the heart of Paris is a charming testament to the love affair between France and Japan, two countries that are flattered to recognize themselves in their mutual—if differently expressed—love of elegance, subtlety and refinement.
This artistic ardour began in the 1850s after the American admiral Matthew Perry sailed into Edo Bay and pried open a country that had remained resolutely closed to foreigners.
The arrival of the first Japanese textiles, ceramics, paper fans, woodblock prints and other objects launched a movement in France that came to be known as Japonism, or French art inspired by Japan, a charming example being Claude Monet’s 1876 painting La Japonaise, which depicts a blonde woman wearing a richly colored silk kimono and waving a hand fan (today it’s found in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston).
The 26 rooms come in a palate of earth tones and pastels and feature Japanese building techniques, like paneled partitions and straw-lined walls. Photo: Romain Ricard
Japonism is also what inspired Paris interior designer Laura Gonzalez when she designed the east-meets-west interiors of the Hotel Hana, formerly an Haussmanian styled office building, after being commissioned by hotelier Nicolas Saltiel.
“The streets around the Hana constitute a sort of Little Tokyo filled with sushi bars, noodle shops and Asian groceries that are much loved by Parisians but little known to visitors. This wonderfully central neighborhood never had a good hotel, however, so it made sense that its visual identity should have a Japanese aesthetic.”
The hotel features an indoor plunge pool, and a spa offering kobido facial massages and reflexology. Photo: Stephan Julliar
To convey this identity, Gonzalez chose floral Jacquard silks and pink velvet for the banquettes in the bar to the right of the black lava counter that serves as the reception desk. Upstairs, rooms come in a palate of earth tones and pastels and feature Japanese building techniques, like paneled partitions and straw-lined walls.
The hotel's Hanabi restaurant serves a Franco-Japanese inspired menu. Photo: Shirley Carrier
Japanese-style lacquered furniture contrasts with velvet headboards and rugs made by Pierre Frey. Terracotta marble baths come with Diptype amenities. The best rooms are on the seventh floor and offer views of the Sacre Coeur, the emblematic church of Montmartre.
The hotel’s Hanabi restaurant, with a rich décor of different golds and pinks, serves a Franco-Japanese menu including steak tartare with Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise, chopped pear and nori-sprinkled frites and several excellent seafood tartares and carpaccios.
There’s also a small but pleasant indoor plunge pool and a spa offering kobido facial massages and reflexology using green tea and yuzu-scented oils.
The hotel’s Hanabi restaurant features a rich décor made up of different golds and pinks. Photo: Stephan Julliard
Cover: Laura Gonzalez transformed an Haussmanian-styled office building into the east-meets-west interior of the Hotel Hana.
Photo: Robin Le Febvre
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