When we went to Paris recently to visit makers and shows (such as Man/Woman) I had the chance to stay in one of the Cinabre suites, which I’ve been wanting to do for ages.
Some of the reasons for this are menswear-related. Most obviously, the rooms are above Cinabre itself, so you need no excuse for browsing some of the handmade ties, dressing gowns and vintage sunglasses when you check in.
Then there are the subtler touches in the suites: each has a brass-buttoned blazer in your size (they ask beforehand), should you need something a little smarter to go out and forgot to pack anything. OK, it’s unlikely any PS reader would find themselves in this situation, but you still have to love the idea – I imagine a whole set of tourists gradually being reminded of the pleasure of going out in a really good blazer.
The reading material in the rooms also has a menswear slant, with magazines such as Avaunt and a pleasingly niche selection of fashion books. In fact it’s probably fairer to say there’s a fashion angle, with some other craft and interiors mixed in.
But despite these menswear attractions, the bigger reason I wanted to stay at Cinabre (and indeed would want to stay anywhere) was that it looked beautiful, cosy and personal.
There are only two suites, and there’s a private entrance next door so you don’t have to go through the shop each time. If I could I think I’d always stay in small places like this, where the number of guests and staff means they always recognise you and you recognise them; though of course more than two rooms is fine.
In fact the more I think about it, we have quite a few opinions about hotels, yet it’s not something PS has ever written about. (I can’t stand windows that don’t open, for example.) Perhaps doing this more would be welcome, perhaps not; as ever I’m sure you’ll let us know. We certainly try enough given the amount the team travels nowadays.
The other advantage of small hotels is that the rooms often feel unique and characterful. Sometimes this is by design, sometimes just as result of age – members’ clubs are often a good example of the latter, where rooms just seem to accumulate random furniture over the years.
During the visit to Paris I stayed in Cinabre’s Suite 2, which we’ve pictured here. And it really is beautiful.
The lounge’s walls and ceiling are covered with fabric in a Pierre Frey print – one that Cinabre founder Alexandre Chapellier retrieved from Frey’s archive. The bed is from Hastens – not just because it’s now a fashionable name, but because the manufacturing is done in Koping, Sweden, where Alexandre’s family are from.
It’s all tasteful yet distinct, and even if the decor slips a little into louche now and again – the wave-like wall-to-wall sofa in the lounge being the obvious example – it’s all very comfortable. In that case due to serried ranks of cushions.
You can also sit on mint-green cushions around the bathroom (below) and talk to your partner while they have a bath. The big windows at the front of the suite open onto a quiet street. Or there are windows in the bedroom that look across a small courtyard into the kitchen opposite.
Yes there’s a kitchen; there’s also a separate toilet, a lounge, a dining room, a bathroom and a bedroom (the latter two divided from each other, and the lounge by curtains). The kitchen is stocked with quality drinks and food, as is the hidden bar, which is revealed when you push on a mirror in the dining room. It’s somewhere you could actually live – which I guess is how a suite should feel.
All this makes it very expensive, and I should emphasise that I was a guest of Alexandre’s during this visit. Still, I plan to bring my wife some time, probably for our anniversary later in the year. At €1150 a night it would have to be an occasion like that, though I know for some readers it wouldn’t have to be so special.
I know my wife would like how the suites are tucked away on such a quiet, pedestrianised street – Cité Bergere, in the 9th. It’s in the middle of Paris and close to Gare du Nord, but feels worlds away from the busy and touristy Grand Boulevards outside.
I would also take her to the restaurant on the corner – Les Invisibles. This is everything we like in a restaurant: small, friendly, unfussy, with great food. The PS team took Alexandre for dinner there one night and sat outside, despite the imminent threat of a storm. When it finally came poring down, everyone on the terrace crowded inside and carried on, as hail rattled on the windows.
For those that care about such things, a few celebrities and film stars (mostly American) stay in the Cinabre suites, usually for a week or two.
It’s honestly not a reason for me to want to go – if anything, I feel slightly annoyed that anyone else is staying in that room apart from me. But I can see how it elevates it in the eyes of others: it’s not just a strange little menswear thing. And I can see why celebrities would want to stay here, given its combination of luxury and privacy.
Cinabre, by the way, has expanded its clothing range recently, adding some nicely made tailoring and gowns to the silk accessories it started with. But I’ll cover those in a separate article some time.
The Cinabre Suites are available to book through their website as well as other booking platforms. The one I stayed in is Suite No.2. The floor below, Suite No.1, is a little bigger and more expensive. It includes a lovely glassed-in atrium (below) and a sofa-bed.
Prices start at €1150 and €1250 a night for the two suites respectively. Photography: Ludovic Balay / Alex Natt.
