HotelParis · Newly completed
Vincent Darré designs Hôtel Le Magnifique in a former Paris theatre
On Rue de la Gaîté in Montparnasse, a 19th-century theatre becomes a hotel of frescoes, myth-themed floors and a Greek-style pool.
Hôtel Le Magnifique sits on Rue de la Gaîté in Paris's 14th arrondissement, behind the façade of Les Mille Colonnes, a theatre dating back to the early 19th century. Hotelier Jacques Blanc, who already owns the Christian Lacroix-designed Bellechasse, started the project in 2024 and asked Vincent Darré for something deliberately unconventional. Darré, born in the 14th and a lifelong Left Bank resident, took it as a chance to revisit the landmarks of his childhood.
The entrance hall sets the tone: columns reworked in homage to La Coupole and the old Saint-Germain-des-Prés drugstore, a hand-painted circus-inspired fresco with white plaster birds, and a reception desk hung with antique keys. Stair railings recall musical scores. At the centre is Le Picabia, a wood-panelled bar lit by rows of bulbs, which shows local showtimes and rings a bell before curtain-up and at the end of intervals, with a grand piano for impromptu playing.
Darré's ideas grew to include a swimming pool, ringed by columns and classical mosaics and opening onto a patio. A glass lift decorated with mermaids and seahorses climbs five themed floors, from the Garden of Eden to the Milky Way, and each room has its own bespoke furniture, lighting and textiles.
One for theatregoers and anyone who prefers their hotels with a sense of mischief; check booking details directly.
Our summary of a story from designboom, published 20 October 2026. Read the original
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From designboom