Maison Proust takes us back to the Belle Epoque and recaptures the splendour of the Parisian salons frequented by kings, princes, emperors and the nobility who lived in the Faubourg Saint-Germain district, as well as celebrities from the arts and politics.
On 18 November 2022, coinciding with the centenary of the death of Marcel Proust, French novelist and author of “In Search of Lost Time”, considered one of the greatest works of world literature, Maison Proust opened its doors in Paris.
Its privileged location, in the heart of the sophisticated Marais district, makes it the perfect place to discover, either on foot or by bike, the most beautiful corners of the capital. The Place des Vosges and the Louvre Museum are within walking distance, the gardens of the Palais Royal, the Ile Saint-Louis or Saint Germain des Pres.
Collection Maisons Particuliers
Composed of establishments designed as luxurious mansions, its founding partners, Sylviane Sanz and Yoni Aïdan, share the same passion for art, hospitality, the pursuit of excellence and attention to detail. It currently has three establishments in Paris: Maison Souquet in Montmartre, Maison Athénée near Place Vendôme and Maison Proust. All of them share common elements, they are confidential and intimate, reflecting the spirit and soul of the capital and their décor is sensational rather than ostentatious, inviting guests to live an extraordinary experience and enjoy a service that combines discretion and discernment.
When Sylviane and Yoni decided to undertake the Maison Proust project, they enlisted the help of the famous French designer Jacques Garcia, who had already designed Maison Athénée and Maison Souquet. This design genius, interior designer and born aesthete is considered one of the world’s greatest designers. Trained at the Ecole des Metiers d’Art, he has left his mark all over the world. Legendary hotels, grand palaces and splendid private residences bear his unmistakable stamp, which can be seen from Tokyo to Los Angeles, Marrakech, Doha, New York or London. In France he was involved in the remodelling of Louis XIV’s private flats in the Palace of Versailles and in the layout of the rooms dedicated to 18th century French furniture in the Louvre Museum.
To carry out Maison Proust’s commission, he focused his work on finding paintings, antique books, objects and period furniture, with the aim of restoring the splendour of the aristocratic interiors so brilliantly recreated by the novelist. and which can be admired in the salons, rooms and spa.
The supreme truth of life is in art
This quote by Marcel Proust is the maxim that Collection Maisons Particuliers applies when launching a new project. In the salons, rooms, suites and spa of Maison Proust you can admire an impressive catalogue of works of art ranging from a copy of “On the Road to Swann” autographed by its author to a letter from Marcel Proust addressed to Princess Soutso, as well as paintings by Jacques-Emile Blanche, Jean Beraud, Giovanni Boldini, Auguste Toulmouche, Paul-Albert Laurens, Léon Bonnat, Eduardo León Garrido, Jean Cocteau, Leonardo Gasser, Charles Hermans, François Schommer, René Forget, Madeleine Lemaire, Ernest Blanc-Garin, Agustin Feyen-Perrin, Paul César Helleu, Charles Lévy, Emma Lowstedt Chadwick, Alfred Emile Leopold Stevens, Eduardo Sánchez Sola, Jean Laudy and Eugène Verdyen as well as a portrait of Marcel Proust by Jacques Aymer de la Chevalerie.
Rooms and suites, a tribute to Marcel Proust
Spread over six floors, the first three are devoted to the characters of Parisian life, the fourth to the Impressionists, the fifth to writers and the sixth to Marcel Proust’s flats. The corridors, bathed in soft light and lined with Cordovan leather, lead to each of the twenty-three rooms and suites, uniquely decorated with paintings, fabrics and colours that perfectly match the spirit of the people after whom they are named. The paintings, the tapestries, the plush carpets, the moulded ceilings, the bathrooms also covered in Cordovan leather or the made-to-measure lampshades decorated with passages from “In Search of Lost Time”, all of which make the rooms a tribute to the characters that populated the universe of the French novelist, creating an atmosphere of discreet luxury and comfort.
Maison Proust offers a wide range of rooms: Deluxe room with a double bed and desk, Junior Suite, also with a double bed, seating area and desk; Two-bedroom suite with two double beds, seating area, desk and vanity area; Executive suite with double bed, sitting area, desk, library and vanity area; Two-bedroom Executive Suite also with two double beds, sitting area, dressing table and desk and finally, 3-bedroom suite: a De Luxe Room, a Junior Suite and an Executive Suite, each with a double bed, plus two lounges, bar, library, sitting area, dressing table, wardrobe and desk.
The different rooms have common elements such as a bathroom with bathtub or walk-in shower and private access to the Salon d’Eau and its swimming pool, steam bath and treatment area. In the Deluxe Room, Junior Suite, Executive Suite, Two-Bedroom Suite and Two-Bedroom Executive Suite, the guest is in for a pleasant surprise, welcome gifts scented with Maison Proust fragrances, orange blossom water and almond milk.
The stays at Maison Proust offer other interesting options if you are travelling with your family or a group of friends. The Deluxe Room is located next to a Junior Suite and an Executive Suite, the Junior Suite, adjoining a De Luxe Room and an Executive Suite; the Executive Suite, attached to a Junior Suite and a De Luxe Room and the two-bedroom Suite next to a Junior Suite and a De Luxe Room.
Salons of Maison Proust, a romantic journey back to the Belle Epoque
From dinners to theatre premieres and from musical evenings to poetry evenings, Marcel Proust was, in the first part of his life, a regular visitor to the Parisian salons. Interesting nightlife and social life was a source of inspiration for the novelist. At the end of the 19th century, the city’s salons were intended to bring together high society figures, artists and writers in soirées whose prestige depended on the fame of their guests. Reputation, which, as Proust said, also came from the names that were not invited, whether they were bourgeois, Dreyfusards – defenders of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, convicted of espionage and anti-Semitism, an event that shocked the society of the time between 1894 and 1906-, boring “chocarreros” with their sayings or jokers rude or provincial jokes.
With decorative elements that are Belle Epoque heritage, Maison Proust has three lounges: bar, library and winter garden and are open to guests at any time of the day, while non-residents can access them at certain times.
With a monumental fireplace adorned with atlantes and amidst warm wood and rich draperies, the Bar offers a menu of small plates and a wide selection of spirits and signature cocktails that have made it one of the most reputable and beautiful hotel bars in Paris. Enjoy a pleasant moment in this space while admiring the watercolour Le Printemps by Edouard Manet.
Every Friday, the Maison Proust Bar welcomes a luxury guest, Colin Field, for a unique and refined experience. Recognised as the World’s Best Bartender by the prestigious Forbes and Travel + Leisure magazines, he has shone for almost three decades at the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. Just as Marcel Proust captivated the Parisian elite with his novels, Colin charms the contemporary world with his cocktails. Delicious creations such as Serendipity, Picasso Martini, Highland Cream, Clean Dirty Martini, Le Temps Retrouvé, a creation inspired by Proust’s famous Madeleine and, associated with the year of the author’s death, Armagnac Château Laubade in 1922, with the rich aromas of black truffles from Périgord. and the sparkling freshness of a Champagne Barons de Rothschild Brut Nature.
In the Winter Garden, dames and dandies of the Belle Époque represented in wonderful paintings illustrating Proust’s universe, walls covered in Cordovan leather, the golden canopy of the ceiling and the ornamental tasselled lights recreate a subtly elegant yet warm atmosphere where you can enjoy a game of backgammon, chess or dominoes or a book borrowed from the fantastic library.
The library is the architectural jewel of the rooms at Maison Proust. A rotunda with a starry gold leaf ceiling, reminiscent of the sunny rotunda of the Opéra Garnier, the favourite festive place of the Parisian aristocracy of the time, holds a hundred books that take us back to Proust’s world, a rare handwritten letter and a first edition.
Spa Le Mer, the most magical part of Maison Proust
Refinement versus ostentation and discreet luxury versus opulence, this is the result of the perfect match between Le Mer and Maison Proust; excellence and authenticity to offer the best of their savoir-faire, in homage to the beauty that, as the novelist said, “can be the noblest of signatures“.
Under a wooden ceiling shrouded in shadows, where lanterns provide a subtle play of light that reflects off the marble floors and makes the water in the pool sparkle, the spa is Maison Proust’s most secret and magical place. With the subtle fragrances of a forgotten Orient wafting through the air, Spa Le Mer features a ten-metre pool set between elegant tiled columns, a steam room and three treatment suites. nspired by the orientalism of Aunt Léonie’s salons, where Marcel Proust spent part of his childhood, all guests can enjoy private access to the Salon d’Eau.
Maison Proust is much more than a hotel, it is a space that comes to life. in which they have managed to revive the very spirit of Marcel Proust.
