La Fantaisie is one of the most creatively ambitious boutique hotels in Paris — a Michelin Key property in the 9th arrondissement designed by Martin Brudnizki, with a rooftop garden above the Paris skyline, an extraordinary spa, and a fabulour restaurant. Reviewed by Steve Michailidis, a London-based luxury travel advisor, this hotel opened in 2022 on a pedestrian street in the Faubourg Montmartre neighbourhood and immediately established itself as one of the finest new luxury hotels in the city — lush, theatrical, and genuinely unlike anything else Paris currently offers. For travellers who find the grand palace hotel formula predictable, La Fantaisie is the most compelling alternative in the capital.
La Fantaisie Paris — At a Glance
- Location: Faubourg Montmartre, 9th arrondissement — pedestrian street near Grands Boulevards
- Category: Five-star boutique luxury hotel, Michelin Key
- Opened: 2022
- Design: Martin Brudnizki Design Studio
- Best for: Couples, design-conscious travellers, spa seekers, foodies, romantic Paris breaks
- Standout features: Beautiful restaurant, rooftop garden, subterranean spa with jacuzzi/cold plunge/mineral pool/hammam, Holidermie toiletries, CBD oil minibar
- Booking perks: Champagne on arrival, €100 food and beverage or spa credit (2-night minimum), room upgrade, early check-in/late check-out, free Wi-Fi
- Booking fees: None
- Reviewed by: Steve Michailidis, luxury travel advisor, April 2024
Just back from a week exploring eight Parisian and southern French hotels, each with a unique location, vibe, and price tag. Some were fresh on the scene, while others boasted a longstanding presence in the Parisian market.
So, where do you stay for a romantic getaway, a vibrant neighbourhood experience, an Eiffel Tower view, or maybe even a feline friend to greet you? This is where a travel advisor comes in – we can help you navigate the hundreds of Parisian hotels and find the perfect handful that tick all your boxes.
One of the hotels that I visited that has been on my radar for a while was La Fantaisie, and I couldn’t wait to experience it for myself.
La Fantaisie Paris: Martin Brudnizki’s Vision for an Enchanted Forest
Martin Brudnizki is one of the most celebrated hotel designers in the world — the creative force behind Annabel’s London, The Beekman New York, and Sexy Fish London, among dozens of others. When he was commissioned for La Fantaisie, he took the hotel’s name literally and built something that feels genuinely fantastical: an enchanted forest dropped into the 9th arrondissement, where nature and pleasure coexist with Parisian chic and subtle references to the Palace of Versailles.
The design operates on two levels simultaneously. On the surface it is theatrical — abundant greenery, rich fabrics, layered textures, and a colour palette that shifts from the warmth of the lobby to the lushness of the rooftop garden. Underneath the spectacle, every detail has been considered with genuine precision: the corkscrew in the room has a specific design. The minibar replaces standard multinational soft drinks with thoughtfully chosen alternatives including CBD oil. The individual spoon motif appears throughout. It is a hotel where spending twenty minutes simply looking at the room reveals something new each time.
Not designed for those who prefer monochrome minimalism — and it makes no apology for that. If considered maximalism executed with genuine craft sounds appealing, there is almost nothing comparable in Paris.
La Fantaisie Paris Location: Faubourg Montmartre and the 9th Arrondissement
Located in the Faubourg Montmartre neighbourhood on a bustling pedestrian street lined with restaurants, bakeries, cheese shops, and more, the hotel’s entrance whisks you away to what feels like an enchanted forest. Despite the lively street outside, stepping inside instantly induces relaxation. If that’s not enough, you can visit the excellent spa and take advantage of the steam room, various pools, or enjoy a personalized treatment.
Other France stays worth knowing about: Hôtel du Couvent in Nice on the Riviera was the destination that followed — a very different kind of French luxury but equally hard to forget.
La Fantaisie Paris Rooms: The Details That Define the Experience
Designed by Martin Brudnizki, this luxury hotel in Paris reflects Parisian chic with subtle nods to the Palace of Versailles. Every detail is meticulously considered, from the unique design of the corkscrew in the room, to the individual spoon motif, to the minibar contents (featuring trendy CBD oil and ditching the usual multinational soft drinks).
The bathrooms are equally beautiful too, as you can expect. Most of them have a walk-shower, but bathtubs are available in certain suites. Toiletries are supplied by French brand Holidermie, which envisions a holistic approach to beauty through quality products and a comprehensive self-care routine involving nutrition, massage, and exercise.
Interested in one of the suites with a bathtub, or advice on which room has the best access to the rooftop garden? Get in touch for a free quote — I’ll confirm availability for your dates and ensure the champagne, €100 credit and upgrade are locked in.
La Fantaisie Paris Dining
A note on the restaurant: when I visited La Fantaisie in April 2024, Golden Poppy was operating under the culinary direction of Chef Dominique Crenn — one of the most significant chef residencies in recent Paris hotel history. The dishes I experienced are described below as a record of that visit. The restaurant has since been redesigned with a new menu and creative direction; I recommend checking directly with the hotel or getting in touch with me before your stay for the latest on the dining offering.
The fairy tale-like atmosphere of La Fantaisie Paris continues in the restaurant. Golden Poppy, led by acclaimed Chef Dominique Crenn, offers whimsical French-Californian fare in an intimate setting. Each dish highlights fresh, local ingredients, reflecting the hotel’s farm-to-fork philosophy.
The leeks are stunning to look at and delicious to taste, and the tuna tartare, though a bit messy, is a fun dish with real depth of flavour. Every single dish has been thoughtfully conceived, beautifully executed, and served in a green oasis in central Paris.
For another Michelin-worthy dining experience in a hotel setting, my review of Cap Karoso in Sumba covers what a Michelin Key resort looks like in an entirely different part of the world.
La Fantaisie Paris Spa, Rooftop Garden and Facilities
The spa at La Fantaisie is one of the most complete wellness environments in any Paris boutique hotel — a genuinely subterranean sanctuary with a hot bath, large jacuzzi, cold plunge pool, mineral water pool, sauna, and hammam. The circuit is thoughtfully sequenced, and the €100 credit available through the advisor booking applies here as well as to the restaurant, making it one of the more flexible inclusions of any Paris hotel perks programme.
The rooftop is the hotel’s quietest revelation. Above the bustle of Faubourg Montmartre, a genuine green garden has been planted across the rooftop with views across the Paris skyline. It is a space that takes the hotel’s enchanted forest concept to its logical conclusion — and in a city where outdoor space is at a premium, it is a genuinely rare thing to find at a boutique property.
The fitness room is modern and well-equipped, and the hotel’s commitment to a holistic wellness philosophy — reflected in the Holidermie toiletries, which approach beauty through nutrition, massage, and self-care rather than conventional cosmetics — runs through every aspect of the facilities.
How to Book La Fantaisie Paris With Exclusive Perks
When you book with me, you can secure the following additional perks:
- Complimentary daily breakfast
- Upgrade Upon Availability
- Early check-in, Late check-out (upon availability)
- 100EUR credit for F&B or Spa
- Bottle of champagne Upon Arrival
- Minimum of 2-Night Stay
Prefer to book direct? You’ll lose the champagne, €100 credit and room upgrade — perks only available when booking through an affiliated advisor. Here’s how it works ->
A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Book
La Fantaisie is emphatically a maximalist hotel — rich, lush, layered, and theatrical in a way that some guests find transporting and others may find overstimulating. The design is not neutral and is not trying to be. If you thrive in carefully considered sensory environments, you will love every corner of this hotel. If you prefer clean lines and empty walls, this is honestly not the right Paris hotel for you — and I would be happy to recommend something more suited to your taste.
The champagne perks require a minimum two-night stay for the €100 credit. Worth factoring into your booking length.
Room categories vary in size — some standard rooms are compact by five-star standards, while the suites with bathtubs are genuinely spacious. I can advise on the best room category for your stay at the time of booking.
FAQ
Q: Is La Fantaisie Paris a good luxury hotel? A: Yes — it is one of the most distinctive luxury hotels to open in Paris in recent years, awarded a Michelin Key and featuring one of the city’s most talked-about restaurants. The Martin Brudnizki design is exceptional, the spa is among the most comprehensive of any Paris boutique hotel, and the rooftop garden is a genuinely rare amenity in the city. It is not a conventional five-star hotel — it is deliberately theatrical and sensory — which makes it the most compelling choice in Paris for design-conscious travellers.
Q: Who designed La Fantaisie Paris? A: La Fantaisie was designed by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio — one of the world’s most celebrated hotel design practices, responsible for Annabel’s London, The Beekman New York, and Sexy Fish London among many others. The design concept draws on the hotel’s name to create an enchanted forest aesthetic: abundant greenery, rich layered textures, Versailles references, and an attention to detail that extends to every object in the room.
Q: Where is La Fantaisie located in Paris? A: The hotel is situated in the Faubourg Montmartre neighbourhood of the 9th arrondissement, on a pedestrian street lined with restaurants, bakeries, and independent shops. It is close to the Grands Boulevards and within easy reach of both the Right Bank cultural institutions and the Montmartre area. Despite the lively street outside, the hotel’s entrance and interior create an immediate sense of remove from the city — which is precisely the point.
Q: What perks do you get booking La Fantaisie Paris through a travel advisor? A: Booking through Steve Michailidis includes a bottle of champagne on arrival, a €100 food and beverage or spa credit for stays of two nights or more, a complimentary room upgrade subject to availability, early check-in and late check-out subject to availability, and complimentary Wi-Fi. There are no booking fees.
Q: Does La Fantaisie Paris have a spa? A: Yes — the spa is one of the most complete wellness environments in any Paris boutique hotel, with a hot bath, large jacuzzi, cold plunge pool, mineral water pool, sauna, and hammam. The €100 credit available through the advisor booking can be applied to spa treatments as well as food and beverage, making it one of the most flexible perk inclusions of any Paris hotel programme.
Q: Is La Fantaisie Paris good for a romantic weekend? A: It is one of the most romantic hotel environments in the city. The theatrical design, the intimate atmosphere, the innovative restaurant menu, the rooftop garden, and the spa circuit create a stay that feels entirely removed from everyday life. The champagne on arrival and upgrade available through the advisor booking add the finishing touches. It is best experienced over two nights minimum to allow time for both the restaurant and the spa.
Is La Fantaisie Paris Worth It?
Paris has more luxury hotels than almost any city on earth. What it has far fewer of is luxury hotels that feel like a genuinely new idea.
La Fantaisie is a new idea. Martin Brudnizki built an enchanted forest in the 9th arrondissement and filled it with a restaurant led by one of the world’s great chefs, a spa that takes the wellness philosophy seriously rather than gesturally, and a rooftop garden that turns an unexpected patch of Paris sky into something worth sitting in for hours. The Michelin Key is deserved.
What stays with me is the corkscrew. Not because a corkscrew is significant in itself, but because a hotel that considers the design of the corkscrew is a hotel that has considered everything — and that consistency of attention, from the minibar contents to the individual spoon motif to the Holidermie toiletries, is what separates a hotel that looks extraordinary in photographs from one that feels extraordinary to live in. La Fantaisie is both.
For a romantic Paris weekend, a special occasion, or simply a stay that offers something meaningfully different from the grand palace hotel formula — this is where I would send you.
Booking through me includes champagne on arrival, a €100 credit, and a room upgrade — confirmed before you arrive, at no extra cost and no booking fee.
Combining Paris with the French Riviera? My reviews of Hôtel du Couvent Nice and Hôtel Belles Rives in Juan-les-Pins cover the two most distinctive properties on the Côte d’Azur — all three can be booked with exclusive perks as part of a single French itinerary.
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