Here - design hotels

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THE NEW YORK TIMES, THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015
THE NEW YORK TIMES, THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015
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D7
FIRST PERSON
A Temple for Night Life, Reborn
Les Bains, a legendary Paris
hot spot, has been revived as a
club, restaurant and hotel.
By CHRISTINE AJUDUA
PARIS — Perhaps only in Paris would a past-
its-prime nightclub be brought back from
dereliction. But to Parisians of a certain age,
Les Bains Douches was not just any old
boîte de nuit.
“Oh, there was no other nightclub,” said
André Saraiva, 43, the graffiti artist and
night life impresario behind the exclusive
Le Baron clubs in Paris and around the
world. “It was like a place of freedom. A
temple for night culture. And it was cool.”
There were other clubs in that golden age
of Paris night life, but perhaps none of them
were as era defining. Opened in 1978 on the
site of a 19th-century bathhouse in the Third
Arrondissement, Les Bains Douches made
stars of its designer (Philippe Starck) and
‘Oh, there was no other
nightclub. It was like a
place of freedom.’
resident D.J. (David Guetta), who were unknown at the time. Joy Division recorded a
live album in the basement, where Prince
performed impromptu and Depeche Mode
played years before selling out stadiums.
And then there was the crowd. Jean-Michel Basquiat, Yves Saint Laurent, Mick
Jagger, Johnny Depp and Kate Moss were
there, indeed. But it was really about the
cross section of clubgoers and creatives,
highbrow and low, glamorous and underground, big names and nobodies, all mingling by the mosaic tile pool.
“We would come with our runway makeup on and whatever beautiful couture
things we put together,” said Dianne Brill, a
former model and “It Girl” of 1980s New
York (Andy Warhol called her “Queen of the
Night”) who now has her own cosmetics
line. “It was very, very glamorous, but it
was not slick.”
It is today. You will still find the face of
Bacchus sculpted into its Haussmannian facade. The original David Rocheline frescoes
and double-faced clock are still in the foyer.
And the circa-1983 Futura graffiti, created
while on tour with the Clash, now adorns a
patio beside the restaurant, where Mr.
Starck’s black-and-white-checkered dance
floor has been fully restored.
But the new Les Bains (the “Douches”
was dropped), which opened quietly this
month after being closed for five years, is
now a 39-room hotel, with a smaller club in
PHOTOGRAPHS BY GUIA BESANA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES (ABOVE AND BELOW); FOC KAN/WIREIMAGE (BOTTOM)
the basement (the pool, a replica, sits behind a glass partition that slides up at night)
and a restaurant that literally shines: The
walls, undulating ceiling and stalactite-like
pillars are swathed in a burgundy-red lacquer.
The restaurant made a dramatic backdrop for a star-studded Dior after-party
during Paris Fashion Week in March, the
first of several splashy preopening events
(Tommy Hilfiger and Givenchy have hosted
parties, too). And with plans for more parties in the coming weeks during the men’s
fashion and haute couture shows, Les Bains
is already among the hottest spots in town.
Upstairs, the interior designer Tristan
Auer (who is currently restoring the Hôtel
de Crillon) has furnished the rooms with
rust-red velvet sofas modeled after the one
in Andy Warhol’s Factory, and suites have
Top, a crowd in the revived Les
Bains nightclub; above left,
Jean-Pierre Marois, owner of
Les Bains; above right, a
woman in front of the club’s
pool during a recent party;
below, revelers in the pool
during the club’s ’90s heyday.
outdoor showers and private hammams.
“It’s a fuller experience than it used to be
because before it was only a restaurant and
club,” said Jean-Pierre Marois, the 51-yearold filmmaker whose family has owned the
building since the 1960s. Having spent his
formative years climbing the club’s
crowded front stoop to be assessed by the
formidable doorwoman, Marie-Line, he is
now the owner and the man behind the reinvention of Les Bains as a hotel and lifestyle brand.
When Les Bains Douches opened, “it was
after birth control pills for the masses, and
before AIDS,” he said. “So it was like a
unique window. People could be very promiscuous and careless. Our life is much
more controlled now.”
And in the past, if you were so inspired (or
inebriated) to strip down to your under-
wear and jump into the pool, there was no
risk of it ending up on Instagram. “I don’t
know how young people do it these days,”
said Elisabeth Raether, an editor at the
Berlin-based Zeit Magazin, which held a
party at the nightclub in April. “There’s
iPhones everywhere, so how can you really
forget yourself and dance the night away?”
Still, the revelry has returned with abandon. Funktion-One speakers help, with the
music going until 5 a.m. most days. Recent
weeks have featured up-and-coming live
acts like the emerging French electro-pop
duo My Dear and D.J. sets by artists like
Nancy Whang of the Juan MacLean. On another night, the French producer Breakbot
spontaneously took over the decks using
whatever USB sticks were in his pocket.
(Mr. Marois said that the anonymous members of Daft Punk were also in the audience,
sans helmets.)
And with old regulars like Roman Polanski and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac coming back again, Les Bains has managed to
retain its fashionable mix.
“My biggest goal is that Les Bains attracts really much the same crowd than before, which is people from all walks of life
that are creative and inspired and inspiring,” Mr. Marois said. “I think there is room
to celebrate Raf Simons’s new collection,
and on the other end of the spectrum, I also
want to have, you know, like underground
dinners and parties for street artists or unknown musicians. To go from LVMH to an
art student, and give them the same exposure.”
Mr. Marois has assembled a notable team
of “curators” to help with the task, including
the local gallerist Jérôme Pauchant (to organize art residencies) and the music director Lars Krueger (to advise on playlists and
D.J.s). The bouncer Marie-Line, who is now
in her 60s and is still blond and clad in black,
has come out of retirement to “curate the
crowd.”
And Thomas Erber, known for his roving
Cabinet de Curiosités, has tapped French labels big and small to create one-off items
that “define the essence of the place.”
Among them: a Thierry Mugler dinner
dress, a Melindagloss smoking jacket and a
white collared shirt by Pierre Mahéo of Officine Generale (who designed Serge Gainsbourg-esque suits and silk-knit ties for the
male staffers).
They’ll be sold across the street at La
Boutique des Bains, a gallery-like shop that
opens this week, alongside Aedle headphones and Pierre Hardy sneakers embossed with the face of Bacchus. Look
closely, and you’ll see mermaids twisted
into his beard. “We’re honoring the heritage, but reinventing it,” Mr. Marois said.
Growing Older With Madonna
The singer’s latest turn is both
inspirational and somewhat
discomforting.
By JANCEE DUNN
In the video for “Bitch I’m Madonna,” a
party anthem released last Wednesday, the
pop star of the title, in a clingy Moschino
leopard-print dress, hot-pink coif and gold
teeth grills, romps through the corridors of
the Standard hotel along Manhattan’s High
Line. “The bass is pumping,” she sings, adding a suggestive phrase before gleefully
making out with some guy in the hallway.
Madonna will turn 57 in August. As she
has repeatedly pointed out, her age is not
going to slow her down. “Shut up jealous
bitches!” she wrote recently on her Instagram account. “I hope you are as fun loving
and adventurous as me when you’re my
age!!!! Hahahhahaha let’s see.”
But the subject of her advancing years
dominates seemingly every conversation
about her, as she has become a crusader,
willingly or not, against age discrimination.
As someone who once tracked her closely, I
have watched with queasy fascination her
attempts to navigate the undeniable fact
that she is growing older before our eyes in
an era of obsessive self-documentation and
rampant oversharing — one that she had a
direct hand in creating.
Over the last several months of Madonna’s publicity for her latest album,
“Rebel Heart,” I toggle between indignation
at the barrage of old-lady jokes (her tumble
at the Brit Awards provoking feigned concern about a broken hip) and embarrassment at her febrile determination to be the
world’s youngest, raunchiest 56-year-old.
It’s relentless: the awkward onstage kiss
with Drake, the topless shot in Interview
magazine, the strenuous demonstrations of
libido. Alongside an Instagrammed photo of
the male model Andrea Denver, she wrote
“8 pac! Hell to the Yeah!” (This was followed by three heart emojis and a thumbs
up.)
When Madonna lifted her Givenchy matador costume to flash her fishnet-encased
derrière on the Grammys red carpet, I reacted first with a kind of clinical admiration
(her workouts must be intense, given the
muscle mass you lose starting in your 30s),
followed by prim disapproval (come on, it’s
not as if photographers are going to ignore
you if you don’t flash them). Why does she
have the seemingly compulsive need to
shock and titillate, drawing from a playbook
that is now over three decades old? Yes, she
JANCEE DUNN is a writer, most recently as the
co-author of Cyndi Lauper’s memoir, and a
former V.J.
Madonna in the music video
“Bitch I’m Madonna” from the
album “Rebel Heart.” The
video was released last week.
is constantly reinventing herself, but is she
evolving? “There comes a time in every
Salome’s life,” Harvey Fierstein once wrote,
“when she should no longer be dropping the
last veil.” Has the queen of reinvention
reached that point?
Certainly, when it come to her aging
process, belief is easy to suspend. Her skin
is flawless, as evinced by the photo she
posted from inside the Costume Institute
Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
sandwiched between the much younger
Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Then there is
her preternaturally toned frame, honed by
grueling workouts a reported six days a
week and showed off in Versace ad campaigns.
Much of the hand-wringing around her
age focuses on her lack of dignity. But she’s
not a United Nations ambassador — she’s a
pop star. And let’s not forget that when pop
stars now shoot whipped cream out of their
bras and wear dresses made of meat, it’s because they are trying to clear the bar she
set.
In her 1991 documentary film, “Madonna:
Truth or Dare,” cameras were voyeuristic,
which seemed radical then and eerily
prophetic now: Here is Madonna slurping
soup while chatting on the phone, there is
Madonna getting her throat examined by a
doctor. “She doesn’t want to live off camera,
much less talk,” said Warren Beatty, her
boyfriend at the time.
Now we all live constantly on camera,
busily Instagramming and tweeting our every move. Madonna’s throat exam is demure compared with “Keeping Up With the
Kardashians,” on which we would not be
surprised to see a high colonic recorded for
posterity.
Kanye West, a Kardashian in-law, calls
Madonna “the greatest visual musical artist
that we’ve ever had.” Her music videos —
over 60 — helped define the genre; she has
had more No. 1 singles (45) than anyone.
Along with Michael Jackson, she expanded
the video form from a routine performance
— or, in the early days, a goofy skit shot on a
paltry budget — into four minutes of emotionally layered storytelling.
But she was late to social media — she
joined Twitter in 2012 and Instagram in 2013
— and there’s been a stream of gaffes as she
attempts to be down with the kids.
In 2000, back when the narrative was
easier to control, I interviewed her for the
cover story in Rolling Stone. Our chat was
to take place in her office at Maverick
Records in Los Angeles. Sick with nerves, I
showed up an hour early — I had been told
she doesn’t tolerate lateness — and sat in
front of the building, trying to calm my hammering heart.
She was witty, well read and told amusing
stories, such as her worst job as a teenager
in Michigan: a house cleaner, scrubbing the
toilets at the homes of the popular boys.
I wormed my way into the bathroom adjoining her office, opened the cabinet and
dutifully cataloged the contents for my
friends: a bottle of Fracas perfume, a geranium facial spray from a company called
Tree of Life (which we all ran out and
bought) and La Mer face lotion.
She was fine-boned and tiny, even though
she was heavily pregnant at the time with
her son Rocco. At one point, I had to help
her, puffing, out of a chair. It was odd to see a
person celebrated for her superhuman
strength so physically vulnerable.
Now I see her as vulnerable in a different
way, the constant products from her outrage-generator obscuring her talent. The
strange thing is that like her triceps, her
voice is stronger than ever, most notably in
March during a live performance of “Ghosttown” at the iHeartRadio Music Awards,
with no horned dancers, just Taylor Swift
strumming guitar. (What better testament
to Madonna’s power than to get one of the
biggest stars on the planet to be your
backup player.)
Among the most intriguing tracks on
“Rebel Heart” is the simple, haunting “Joan
of Arc,” in which she reveals that contrary
to belief, the haters do burrow under her
skin. “Each time they write a hateful word,”
she sings, “dragging my soul into the dirt/I
wanna die.”
In interviews, Madonna has repeatedly
said that she is kicking down the doors so
that the women following her will not have
to deal with ageism. Perhaps she has begun
to change the paradigm already: People
magazine selected Sean Connery as its Sexiest Man Alive at age 59 (and bald as a cantaloupe), while 42 (Halle Berry in 2008) is
the current ceiling for Esquire’s Sexiest
Woman Alive.
“I take care of myself; I’m in good shape,”
she told a reporter after her Grammys
flash, with some epithets for good measure.
She can show her bare bottom, she pointed
out, “when I’m 56 or 66 — or 76.”
She can, she very well might, and the
world will probably still be talking about
her. Since I’ve probably seen her derrière
more often than I’ve seen my own at this
point, I won’t be clicking on those photos.
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Sea of tranquility
From off-the-map hideaways to beachside bars and
first-class service, we select the summer boltholes that
offer a little more than just a place in the sun
01
Experimental Beach Ibiza
Spain
02
Cortijo del Marqués
Spain
Better known for hedonism than health
resorts, the Spanish island of Ibiza has more
than its fair share of refined bars for a sundown sojourn. Reopened this April in the Las
Salinas reserve in the south of the island, the
Experimental Beach Ibiza (from the foursome
behind Grand Pigalle in Paris and London’s
Experimental Cocktail Club, among others)
is another such stop-in. As well as hosting
regular barbecues, there’s a cosmopolitan
menu overseen by head chef Alex Larrea.
Food is influenced by the company’s
French roots but executed with a distinctly
Japanese flavour: the grilled black cod in
miso and prawns fresh from the Mediterranean are advised. Bar manager Nicolas
Baptiste’s cocktail menu caters to any taste
and early risers can also take part in one of
the regular yoga classes. — jaf
eccbeach.com
More than 30 farming families once lived in
the Cortijo del Marqués, originally built by an
aristocrat but becoming a self-contained village by the 20th century. Today it is a destination for an international clientele keen to relax
off-map or explore nearby Granada. It was
bought by an Austro-Dutch couple in 2010,
who traded in successful international careers
in finance for a quieter life in Andalucía.
Spread out over the whitewashed cortijo,
the 15 bedrooms are simple and tastefully
decorated, with stunning views over the
surrounding fields and olive trees. “We meet
the most interesting people, with different
backgrounds and from different countries,”
says co-owner Silvia Roth-Bruggers. “Our
cosmopolitan life is no more but the world
comes here to de-stress and enjoy the
Andalucían pace of life.” — dep
cortijodelmarques.com
014 — piccolo
Based in Limassol, Thoukis Spirits is one
of the island’s oldest distilleries. Run by the
founder’s daughter and two grandchildren,
it makes batches of rum, gin, vodka and
the national tipple: ouzo. “The pleasure it
offers is inextricably linked to the history
and memory of our nation,” says George
Georgiou, the founder’s grandson. “It’s
only as good as the ingredients and we use
botanicals grown in the region and water
from the nearby Troodos Mountains.”
After educations abroad, George and
his brother Thoukis returned to revive their
grandfather’s firm and launched a specialedition ouzo based on his 1929 recipe. The
blend of aniseed, star anise, fennel and
mastic is infused in high-proof alcohol and
redistilled. — jaf
thoukis-spirits.com
give the ambience
are from my
collection. I am
in love with my
work and I think it
shows from every
single detail.
Why Cesme?
As someone in love
with the region, and
living in Alacati, I felt
that Aegean tastes
weren’t represented.
I come from a large
Aegean family and
I wanted to share
the richness that
was given to me
through food.
08
Scorpios
Greece
How has the sector
grown?
In the Mediterranean
region, Cesme is
well known as
a windsurfing
paradise. Over
the past decade it
has grown beyond
that name into a
gourmet destination.
Aegean cuisine
is one of Turkey’s
most flavourful.
Its viticulture has
been revitalised
and regional pride
is being slowly
invigorated. — adc
asmayapragi.com.tr
A former house on the southern tip of
Mykonos reopened in May as Scorpios,
a sprawling 6,000 sq m beach club founded
by Mario Hertel, Thomas Heyne and
Design Hotels Claus Sendlinger. Flanked
by two pristine lounger-lined beaches,
the club offers shops, restaurants and
an extensive bar.
It is designed for guests to experience
Mykonos in all its guises: as a spot where
holidaymakers can eat, shop, enjoy the
pristine views of the surrounding nature
and let their hair down of an evening. Greek
architecture firm K-Studio was drafted in
to create a modern but serene take on the
ancient Greek agora, characterised by its
use of natural materials amid unerringly
beautiful surroundings. — ak
scorpiosmykonos.com
09
Lighthouse hotels
Spain
Spain recently provided a new beacon
of opportunity for hoteliers with the
country’s network of 187 lighthouses.
Public works minister Ana Pastor has
paved the way for the faros (the majority
of which are now automated and left
unmanned) to be converted into towering holiday retreats.
The first lighthouse hotel is set to
open on the small island of Pancha in
Spain’s north and will have just two
rooms. With 20 more requests being
considered for approval, holidaymakers
looking for a solitary coastal getaway
could soon be booking rooms on the
little-known island of Tabarca or near
the southern city of Cadíz. — la
10
Castiglion del Bosco
Italy
With its rolling hills a source of inspiration
for renaissance painters and more recently
blessed with Unesco World Heritage status,
Val d’Orcia is one of Italy’s most seductive
regions. Amid its sangiovese-heavy vineyards, olive groves, wheat fields and rows
of cypress trees lies the medieval Castiglion
del Bosco, near the town of Montalcino.
This 800-year-old estate houses
Rosewood Hotels & Resort’s third European
opening and the newly restored complex
boasts 23 antique-adorned suites, 10 villas
and abundant spa, swimming and golfing
amenities. The two on-site restaurants
are enhanced by produce from an organic
kitchen garden while a cookery school provides the opportunity to brush up on your
Tuscan culinary skills during your stay. — bo
rosewoodhotels.com
PHOTOGRAPHER: PETROS EFSTATHIADIS, IMAGES: CAROLIN SAAGE, DAVID DE VLEESCHAUWER
04
Les Niçois
France
Perched at the base of Barcelona’s
Montjuïc Mountain, this slick hotel provides
a secluded retreat for visitors looking to
avoid the commotion of the Catalonian
capital. The 20-room, two-apartment hotel
was opened by Austrian hotelier Christian
Schallert, who enlisted the talent of local
designer Blankslate to create spaces
influenced by Geoffrey Bawa’s tropicalmodernism movement.
The in-house café and restaurant,
The Box Social, focuses on fresh produce
and guests are encouraged to explore the
neighbouring reserve with guide maps and
the hotel’s running club. Greenery abounds
on the interior patio and upper-level pool,
which boasts a sun-drenched deck. — la
hotelbrummell.com
Ayse Nur Mihci
Owner and chef,
Asma Yapragi
How can seasonal
businesses
succeed when
they operate for
just three months
a year?
By staying true
to their values.
The restaurant is
located in a quiet
and secluded part
of Cesme. This
ensures that only
people who want
to discover it will
venture out to find
it. All of our produce
is bought from the
market and each
meal is cooked that
day. The ornaments
that decorate and
Famous for the picturesque lime-washed
houses that cling to its pumice-stone cliffs,
the island of Santorini lies 200km south of
mainland Greece. The village of Imerovigli in
its northwest is home to the 20-room Grace
Santorini hotel.
Like its sister premises in Mykonos,
the aspiring chain’s sixth venture takes its
design cues from the surrounding vernacular:
polar-white sheets, upholstery and finishes
are accented by wooden touches and dashes
of cerulean blue. The Mediterranean menu
comes courtesy of chef Spiros Agious, while
the poolside drink offerings are concocted by
barman Salvatore Calabrese, whose signature
tipple is the Grace: a refreshing apple, pear,
vodka and lemongrass medley. The group will
add new hotels in Marrakech and St Moritz in
the coming year. — jaf
gracehotels.com
05
Hotel Brummel
Spain
07
Thoukis Spirits
Cyprus
Serving homecooked meals
from family recipes
passed through
generations and
using only local
produce, Asma
Yapragi (“vine leaf”
in English) sums
up the hospitality
scene in the Turkish
coastal town of
Cesme. Owner
and chef Ayse Nur
Mihci talks about
the rigours and
pleasures of her
business.
03
Grace Santorini
Greece
Business partners
Olivier Chini, Vincent
Traoré and Luc
Sananes have
brought a waft of
southern France to
their adopted home
by opening a Parisian restaurant.
Named in honour
of their native Nice,
the trio’s space and
epicerie draws on
the Rivera’s irresistible food and sells
an enviable mix of
fresh tapenades,
anchoiades, sundried tomatoes and
bottles of rosé. The
restaurant’s success
is fast proving that a
taste for the socca
de Nice (chickpeaflour pancakes) can
rival that of the more
traditional crêpe
Suzette in the French
capital. — dhz
lesnicois.com
06
Asma Yapragi
Turkey
11
St Regis Venice San
Clemente Palace Hotel
Italy
Presided over by a 15th-century church and
flanked by canals, the quiet island housing
the St Regis Venice San Clemente Palace
hotel could not seem further from the bustling, tourist-packed St Mark’s Square.
Sharing the hotel’s pristine berth and
waterfront is the newly opened Acquerello
restaurant. The place is overseen by executive chef Roberto Dal Seno; the menu is
meticulously put together from ingredients
gathered from Italy’s Adriatic coast. The
calamari and Venetian beef come highly
recommended and although it is expensive,
your own complimentary boat service does
much to sweeten the deal. — jaf
acquerellorestaurant.com
12
Hôtel d’Almeran
France
At the foot of the Régional des Alpilles
national park and surrounded by rocky
outcrops, Saint Remy de Provence is a
town where little seems to have changed
in years. This May, however, the Hôtel
d’Almeran opened amid the winding
cobbled lanes in a 17th-century town centre
palais. With furniture from Eileen Gray and
Konstantin Grcic, the minimal, mid-century
influenced interiors are brought to life by
designer Margot Stängle and her husband
Ralph Hüsgen, a specialist in marketing.
The food is superb, perhaps unsurprisingly given the hotel’s location in Provence,
and Benoit Fauci’s menu is best followed
by a one of the fine wines from the dining
room’s floor-to-ceiling racks. — jaf
designhotels.com/hotel-d-almeran
piccolo — 015