With Hotel Rosalie, Marion Mailaender shakes up the average Parisian 4-star standard. Situated on a discreet street a short stroll from the bustling Place d’Italie, the hotel is open to its surroundings with the outside filtering inside.
The street, the neighbourhood and décor elements from across the ages meet as if by chance. Roman-style statues gaze upon an edifice that could be a late 90s office building, flanked by an old 205 Peugeot, abandoned on the rooftop—yet nothing seems out of place.
In the lobby, a giant recycled coconut fibre rug leads the way. The seven letters of Rosalie welcome guests into the Open Garden, a two-level terrace, accessible to hotel guests and locals alike. For Rosalie, Marion Mailaender builds on what exists to implant her work in its authentic context. Rather than starting from scratch—as the architecture of hospitality so often does—Mailaender adapts.
In the bathrooms, the baths are original and the counters are made from recycled plastic, imitating a modern, sustainable terrazzo. All materials have been chosen for their aesthetic and environmental value. The carpet in the rooms is made from recycled fishing nets, and the cork elevator walls and restaurant floor provide a unique, intimate acoustic. In the lobby, different woodcuts mimic marquetry atop a table for sharing. Pre-loved chairs have been carefully restored.
“I believe that we can mix furniture designed by the Bouroullec brothers with random pieces from a gardening catalogue,” Marion elaborates. “Embracing current concerns means selecting sustainable materials alongside aesthetically pleasing design pieces. Architecture must not stumble into pretence. A garden trellis is a garden trellis.”
Behind a hidden door on the 3rd floor, hotel guests can unwind in the exclusive calm of the Secret Garden — a rooftop adorned with deck chairs, wooden benches and planters.
Vegetation is cultivated and invited to take over the architecture, inspired by photographer Romain Chancel’s work, which graces the hotel room walls. Parisian collective Merci Raymond was invited to contribute their expertise, devising ways to bring nature inside, allowing it to regain nooks and crannies from the light-filled rooms on the 7th and 8th floors — with their breath-taking views across Paris — and the Rosalie Suite terrace, to the hotel’s many gardens.