The Best Hotels to Network and Chill in... Paris, From High-Tech Lounges to Complimentary Hammams

By Nicola Williams Apr 25, 2019 4:38pm

by Nicola Williams, The Telegraph, April 25, 2019

Be it budget-smart lifestyle venues, conference-centre crash-pads or chic five-star palaces, hotels in Paris understand how to take care of busy people on the go. For FTSE 100 CEOs, digital nomads and millennial office drones alike, a new generation of exciting business hotels in the French capital are breaking through the corporate clutter with designer co-working lounges, liberating meeting venues, healthy food and drink on tap 24/7, and creative high- and low-tech play.

Bob Hôtel

BOB is an acronym for ‘Business On Board’ and this four-star hotel in Montparnasse delivers with colourful co-working lounges – open to nomadic city workers too – and liberating meeting rooms with eclectic furnishings and black chalk-board walls. A hammam steam room, free to all hotel guests and their co-workers, brazenly challenges conventional work spaces. Cocooning hotel rooms work hard to disconnect guests after hours with impeccably curated book collections and framed black-and-white photography.

• 48 hours in Paris, an insider guide to the City of Lights

CitizenM Paris La Défense

This CitizenM markets itself as the 'most unbusiness-like business hotel Paris La Défense has ever seen' and it has a point. Bar the handy location among skyscrapers in Paris’s modern business district La Défense, CitizenM breaks every boardroom rule: think funky lounge and co-working spaces, automated check-in, 24-hour food and drink, and in-room disco lights (optional). Creatives keen to work hard, play hard and be woken up by the sound of stampeding elephants (one of the morning alarm options in the high-tech rooms), this is your address.

Read the full review: CitizenM Paris La Défense

• The best hotels to network and chill in... London

Fauchon L’Hôtel

Food for thought sums up rather nicely Fauchon’s sophisticated gourmet offering for new-gen foodies in town on business. Beautiful state-of-the-art suites come with a designer larder, stuffed to the gills with champagne, macarons, foie gras and other complimentary products from the luxury Parisian brand. In-suite chefs provide the ultimate exclusive business dinner and guests can network over Fauchon tea-based cocktails at a nightly 'Glam Hour'. Chef-led 'Delicacy Discovery' workshops and backstage visits entertain after hours.

Read the full review: Fauchon L’Hôtel

• The best restaurants in Paris

Mama Shelter Paris East

Practically a veteran these days, visionary Mama Shelter Paris East inspires business travellers with urban-cool lounges, playful co-working spaces, on-trend dining à la Guy Savoy and clever meeting rooms sporting iMac video booth, Bose sound system, Wii console and pool table. Hotel rooms are equally tech-smart. The wayward location in the 20e arrondissement is not overwhelmingly practical, but Mama Shelter Paris West – to open later this year at conference and exhibition hub Porte de Versailles – will fix that.

Read the full review: Mama Shelter Paris East

• The best boutique hotels in Paris

Okko Hôtel Porte de Versailles

It’s all about location and community at Okko – a 10-minute walk from the city’s premier exhibition and conference centre at Porte de Versailles. The fast-growing French hotel chain ditches traditional lobby and meeting rooms for The Club, an open-plan lounge with designer canapés, inspirational books and all the tech-wizardry one would expect of a forward-thinking lifestyle brand. All-inclusive rates include 24-hour drinks and snacks, and a networking aperitif each evening. Non-guests can pay to access The Club.

Read the full review: Okko Hôtel Porte de Versaillles

• The best nightlife in Paris

Brach Paris

Brach Paris is the sassy new favourite for performance-driven CEOs who like to work out when they globetrot – or breakfast on eggs from the rooftop hen house, or zip around town in an electric BMW i3. Brach’s location – in a 1970s postal sorting office redesigned by celebrity French designer Philippe Starck in the 16e – means easy access to surrounding conference centres. The huge pool and gym (trapeze bars, gymnastic rings, aqua pole dancing, yoga, boxing, you name it …) delivers far beyond any regular gym.

Read the full review: Brach Paris

• The best things to do in Paris

Hôtel Joyce

A bold contemporary décor inspired by the Eiffel Tower and other iconic monuments in the capital places this small mid-range hotel by Parisian hotel group Astotel squarely in Paris – ideal for roving office drones seeking a break from the ubiquitous business hotel. Complimentary all-day drinks are available in the hybrid lounge-co-working space (equipped with high-speed Wi-Fi), and guests receive a card giving them free access to smart lounges in 17 other Astotel hotels in central Paris.

Read the full review: Hôtel Joyce

• The best hotels to network and chill in... San Francisco

Mandarin Oriental, Paris

The utterly gorgeous, no-holds-barred Mandarin Oriental goes well beyond the traditional reach of a Parisian palace in its holistic care for millennial execs. Guided meditations, yoga, breakout stretching sessions, digital wellness tips and mindful spa time – not to mention a comfy pair of slippers and fantastic fatigue-busting organic cuisine – are among the wellbeing treats it brings into the meeting room as part of its 'Mindful Meetings' initiative. Pineapple and cucumber smoothie or grilled sea bream with avocado anyone?

Read the full review: Mandarin Oriental

• The best luxury hotels in Paris

Terminus Nord

For urbanites pulling into Gare du Nord the latest experiential opening by the 25Hours hotel group is hard to resist. Right by the train station, design-driven Terminus Nord fuses the 10e arrondissement’s exuberant cosmopolitan vibe with provocative street art, Mediterranean-Israeli cuisine and a cocktail bar. Guests can trade in the briefcase for an upcycled Freitag or Canvasco messenger bag (provided in each room for guests to use during their stay) and zip between business meetings by Mini or Schindelhauer bike.

• The best budget hotels in Paris

Moxy Paris Bastille

France's first Moxy hotel by Marriott has rocked up in one of Paris’ hippest neighbourhoods, creating another playful low-cost venue for globetrotting worker bees. Guests can check in remotely, communicate with hotel staff via a well-designed app, network over welcome mocktails at the bar on arrival, and work-hard, play-hard in several communal 'plug & meet' spaces. Food and drink are there to grab 24/7 and the surrounding Marais and Bastille neighbourhoods cook up infinite dine, drink and play possibilities.

This article was written by Nicola Williams from The Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].