How is it that the French have cornered the market on cool? The Gallic capital has insouciance down to a fine art; where high fashion and high culture rub shoulders while nonchalantly downing a bottle of wine and their bodyweight in bread at a corner bistro.

So naturally, it takes a little je ne se quais to establish a new property in Paris. Luckily the SO/ Paris, which opened just over a year ago, has this in spades. Mere steps from the Seine, it’s the flagship of the newly revitalised SO brand, which makes fashion core to the DNA of every property. 

Paris style by the Seine

The design-savvy hotel comes out swinging from the lobby, where local architectural firm RDAI embraced metallic accents and flecked terrazzo marble in warm tones of cream and orange underneath swooping pillars. Although part of the global Accor family, every detail of SO/ Paris is a love letter to its surroundings. The team uniforms – breton polos in pops of orange, pink and yellow; ironic sailor hats and sculptural faille puffball skirts with crisp white shirts  – are the creations of French designer Guillaume Henry of house Patou. NFT art by French creatives flickers on elevator screens, available for purchase with a scan of a QR code; a handful of the 122 artworks scattered throughout. 

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Eiffel views and retro hues

Of the 162 guest rooms (including 22 suites), many boast views out over the sluggish river, across a sea of famous landmarks including the spire of Notre-Dame to the Eiffel Tower. The light-saturated rooms are done in a bang-on-trend palette of ’70s burnt siennas and jewel blues, with warm-hued wood panelling. Every day brings a little surprise – a pastel trio of handcrafted marshmallows from local confectioners Maison Carrousel after turndown service one night, a vial of lip oil by Maison Le Rouge Francais the next.

In-room facilities include both the whimsical and downright practical – from the French bulldog-shaped AeroBull XS1 bluetooth speaker, to the amenities by Maison Codage Paris, the co-conspirators in the gorgeous on-site spa. Even the complimentary sparkling water kept stocked up in the minibar becomes part of the charm, when you realise what the average Parisian bistro charges for one.

SO/ Paris is the crown jewel of the La Félicité development, a vertical village which includes social housing, a gallery and Parisian necessities such as a providore, butcher and patisserie. From the front door in the 4th Arrondissement, it’s a short walk into the plucked-from-a-postcard Île de la Cité and Latin Quarter across the river, the bustling Bastille, or to the atmospheric Marais district where some of the city’s best shopping awaits.

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A très bon rooftop restaurant

The glass crown of the building, which glows like a lighthouse at night from the riverbank, houses restaurant and bar Bonnie, managed by French hospitality heavyweights Paris Society. Rooftop restaurants are hot property in Paris, and you’ll find yourself fighting with coiffured rivals to secure a table on Bonnie’s wrap-around balcony when the weather is fine – book well before you touch down. 

Scenes of the city below and the psychedelic interiors are bounced back at diners from the mesmeric installation The Seeing City, 2022 by Olafur​ ​Eliasson of Studio Other Space and Sebastian Behmann – a mirrored ceiling wrapped like a skin around the building. Hotel guests can greet Paris from 15 stories up each morning with a classic a la carte breakfast menu (including a daily-changing viennoiseries basket, in true French style). 

For lunch and dinner, Bonnie dishes up French brasserie classics with a soupçon of New York flair, tiptoeing that fine line between rib-coating richness and finesse. Upstairs on the 16th floor, The Bonnie Bar stretches along the length of floor-to-ceiling glass windows, with boucle stools and armchairs dotted about under a kaleidoscopic ceiling, and a playful cocktail and bar bites menu on offer. If you’re not quite ready to retire, head next door to club Bonnie, a space dripping in ’70s-inflected glam, and claim one of the rotund brown leather sofas to watch Paris light up.

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