I stood gazing out the window exhilarated.
Directly ahead a stunning aerial view over Basilica Sacre Coeur in Montmartre and the unmistakable Eiffel Tower and immediately to the left Stade du France, the national stadium.
Such was the picture-perfect panorama from my junior suite on the 30th floor of the soaring skyscraper that is H4 Hôtel Wyndham Paris Pleyel Resort on the northern ring of Paris in the heart of Saint-Denis.
Completed just before the Olympic games last year, this 697-room, four-star hotel occupies an enviable location, five-minute walk from the former Olympic Village and close to two metro lines leading directly to central Paris.
Owned and operated by Revo Hospitality, the recently rebranded name of the Berlin-based HR Group, this skyscraper-like tower hotel was acquired along with over 60 others from the H-Hotels group earlier this year. It is the largest hotel to open in Paris in half a century.
Hotel manager, Timo Obalek, with more than twenty years experience in the international hospitality sector, is excited about the hotel’s prospects. “This is an up and coming area and the direct, easy connections to central Paris makes it an even more attractive destination for both tourists and for business clients,” he said.
Upon arrival here one is inevitably tempted to gaze upwards in awe past the tinted glass frontage at the remarkable architectural challenge involved in the creation of this immense standing-tower structure.
Inside, the lobby reflects this powerful sense of scale, with a spacious floor area and a high sweeping ceiling overhead. Overhanging sets of crystals create a dream-like interplay of shadow and light on the cream colored floor. Decor is contemporary with a hint of art deco and industrial design with wrought-iron stanchions and covered piping above, all painted in black and grey muted tones. A gleaming grand piano pays tribute to the building’s erstwhile heritage as a former factory making this particular musical instrument.
A bank of elevators behind several reception desks guide guests silently, with barely a sense of movement, to the upper floors.
Like other adjacent rooms, our door, 3015, was embellished with the image of a well-known composer and pianist. In our case, Polish-born Frédéric Chopin. A book inside was devoted to the virtuoso’s life. A series of windows spanning the length of the junior suite granted my companion and I impressive views over the Paris skyline with all the cityscape highlights clearly visible.
The suite itself was utilitarian in design with an open clothes closet, comfortable sofa with fluffy cushions, coffee table and chairs, king-size bed and flatscreen TV. A bench along one wall offered ample computer work space. Flooring was parquet. Shower and toilet were in separate rooms with Kraemer toiletries and both a shower and bathtub.
Even the light switches are a nod to the building’s previous musical history, designed as piano keys.
One Saturday my companion and I spent a most relaxing evening in the hotel’s 40th floor rooftop Skybar, The Stage, offering views over the Paris skyline through floor-to-ceiling windows while seated in comfortable armchairs. Cocktails here are innovative and diverse.
We sipped on Conakry, named after the capital city of Guinea, featuring vodka, hibiscus, lime juice, mango and ginger beer, as well as Tulip Poplar comprising bourbon, cynar, Noilly Prat Ambre vermouth, Benedictine and black cherry bitter. For beer lovers, there’s a choice of a west coast IPA from Gallia Nouveau and a local lager from La Goulue-Paname Brewing Company, and a wide variety of wines and classic liquors. The Stage also serves snack-like foods.
The 40th floor also houses an indoor heated swimming pool, the highest in Paris, while two floors below is a large gym and yoga and meditation space. Incentive to go running there is the terrific view over the Seine.
Dining at H4 Hôtel Wyndham Paris Pleyel Resort is mainly in its L-shaped ground floor restaurant, spacious enough to accommodate more than 100 people.
It features a speckled tiled floor, a bar along one wall with counter-style seating, and bench and table seating throughout the restaurant. My companion chose as her starter a polk bowl of Thai rice, edamame beans, carrots, cucumber, mango, avocado, radish and sesame seeds. Mine was creamy burrata with heirloom tomatoes and red berries drizzled with aromatic oils.
She opted for the day’s special of slow roasted lamb with vegetable ragu sauce, and I the organic ravioli with asparagus and rocket pesto. Other menu choices included creamy risotto with king prawns, baby spinach and saffron emulsion and seared cod fillet with artichoke fricassee.
France being France, the desserts were suitably tempting, featuring Saint Honore chocolate praline, exotic cheesecakes and various ice-creams and sorbets including salted butter caramel and pistachio.
Aside from its tourist clientele, the hotel caters extremely well to the business sector with impressive conference facilities including a 10,000 square meter conference space with a capacity for up to 2,667 people, only a few steps away from the hotel itself. Choice includes 16 conference rooms, ranging from small meeting venues to a ballroom hosting more than 1,000 guests.
