BlackBook First Look Your Own Private Paris The newly opened Maison Montespan offers a country-house experience within the City of Light. By Alexander Lobrano The verdant kitchen terrace A s befits one of the most luxurious and confidential new places to stay in Paris, the three-storey Maison Montespan does not announce itself when you arrive at the gates to the private pedestrian passage, located between the Avenue Victor Hugo and the Rue de la Pompe, two of the chicest streets in the elegant 16th Arrondissement. Occupied by a single client at a time, this assiduously discreet 350sq m private villa is sumptuously equipped with all of the trappings of a top hotel, including two private terraces – one on the roof and the other off the kitchen – a heated indoor pool, the depth of which can be adjusted (the same space can also be turned into a home cinema with the flick of a switch that covers the pool and lowers a movie-screen), a fully equipped fitness room with treadmills, yoga equipment, weights and a punch bag, and a hammam. Fully staffed, the villa, which has a lift and features interiors with custom-made contemporary furniture by interior designer Thomas Lange, offers two suites and three bedrooms, all of which have private Carrara marble-faced bathrooms with amenities by Frédéric Malle, one of France’s leading fragrance artisans. The huge living room with herringbone oak parquet floors comes with a Steinway grand piano, and the adjacent dining room has a table that seats ten and can be extended to accommodate 16. More casual meals can be served at the island in the kitchen. There’s also a television room, and the property comes with a private parking space. “The real luxury of Maison Montespan is that it offers the opportunity to live like a Parisian in one PHOTOS LOUIS THOLANCE 18 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM CONTACT CENTURION SERVICE FOR BOOKINGS
of the city’s most charming and untouristed residential neighbourhoods,” says Alexandre Schivre, the general manager of the property, who worked at several five-star hotels before taking on this project. His role is as the amiable and refined host who takes care of everything from restaurant reservations, ordering groceries, arranging at-home appointments with masseuses and beauticians, and anything else one needs, including babysitting. The day begins at Montespan with a breakfast of bread and pastries baked by chef-pâtissier Benoît Castel, one of the best in Paris, served by the in-house butler. For lunch and dinner, several of the city’s leading young chefs, including the brilliant Matthias Marc from the nearby restaurant Substance, are available to cook privately for guests. Wines come from the property’s own exceptionally well-stocked wine cellar, and tastings and visits to the cellars of the greatest French wine and champagne houses can be arranged by Gabrielle Vizzavona, Montespan’s oenologist and spirits expert. As with all the great Paris hotels, Montespan is oriented towards guest satisfaction, personalised to the upmost here. “Our goal,” says Schivre, “is to cater to and satisfy even the most whimsical requests and desires of our guests.” These might include plucking the pieces of contemporary art from the walls of the villa: curated by artist Benjamin Loyauté, almost all of it is for sale. Or it might be a private recital by pianist Ali Hirèche, a young virtuoso who is a laureate of various national and international competitions and fills the air with sonorous sounds as elegant as the space itself. maisonmontespan.paris • Artist Laureline Galliot’s rendering of the house’s eponymous Madame de Montespan hangs in the entrance area The art-filled living room, and its Steinway grand piano (right) CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 19
