The Saint James is a neoclassical hôtel particulier behind its own wall and garden in the 16th arrondissement, a short walk from the Arc de Triomphe and the Trocadéro. The house was built for the Thiers Foundation, created in 1892 on the site of Paris's first balloon landing field, and for a century it housed scholarship students. In the 1980s it became the Saint James Club, after the London gentlemen's clubs, and it has run as a hotel and club since 1991. Laura Gonzalez, the most recent designer to redesign the hotel, reworked it from top to bottom in 2021, and the 50 rooms, suites and garden pavilions mix Japanese wallpapers, Chinese antiques and modern fittings with real wit. The Library Bar is the heart of the place, used by guests, club members and neighbours alike, and weekend tea is served there. Chef Grégory Garimbay cooks at Bellefeuille, which holds a MICHELIN star, and in summer meals move to the terrace under the pergola. The Guerlain spa covers over 400 square metres across two floors and has an indoor pool, still a rarity in Paris. Next door, Villa Saint James adds four serviced apartments.
- Nearest airport
- Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG)
- Rooms
- 50 rooms, suites and pavilions, plus four apartments in Villa Saint James
Insider tip Book weekend tea in the Library Bar when you book the room. It runs from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and Parisians come for it as well as guests.
Why I choose it It is the rare Paris hotel with a private garden, a pool and the feel of a house rather than a palace, and Villa Saint James next door gives a family its own front door.
