Balearic chic near the Gare du Nord: Bloom House hotel, Paris

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This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to Paris

The immediate area around Gare du Nord is hardly anyone’s top choice when booking a hotel in Paris. Unlike the trendy pedestrianised food and shopping haven abutting St Pancras on the other side of La Manche, this scruffy 10ème pocket has remained resolutely undesirable. When I heard that a fashionable four-star, child-friendly hotel had popped up within wheely distance from the Eurostar terminal, I was intrigued. 

Bringing cool Balearic vibes, towering house plants and beaucoup de rattan and funky lighting to the unprepossessing Rue du Château Landon, Bloom House is something of an urban oasis. Its subtle modern exterior only hints at what lies inside: Bloom Garden — perhaps one of the most spacious and agreeable hotel bar-restaurants in the city. 

When we arrived, there was a bit of a wait to check in. We had been slow off the mark to beat the other couples and families fresh off the Friday-night Eurostar to it — a sign of the early success of this stylish 90-key establishment, which opened late last year. 

Restaurant and bar

The 360-degree terracotta-clad bar takes centre stage in Bloom’s capacious open-plan ground floor, where you can segue from drinks to dinner to a digestif in the verdant garden overlooking a little pool lined with trendy zellige tiles. The relaxed vibe is, to my mind, more Mallorcan or North African than Parisian, with its shelves of pottery, fringed lampshades, Berber rugs, tiled tabletops and trailing pot-plants. It also has a slight concept-store vibe — I half had a mind to pick up one of the lovely urns or vases to check the price.

As we sunk a welcome Wakame whisky sour — a mix of whisky smoked in Arcachon algae, elderflower syrup and nori seaweed, created by Victor Delpierre, world cocktail and barista champion — a Scandinavian hen party dressed in sequins amassed around a large table. On another, a French actor was having a quiet drink with friends, undisturbed. 

The hotel’s restaurant, Bloom Garden, is presided over by Olivier Streiff, a chef known for being a finalist on French TV’s Top Chef in 2015, his striking Dalí-esque look and Le Relais de Saulx, the well-regarded restaurant he headed in Beaune until 2021. The menu he has designed here echoes the Mediterranean vibes with meze-style starters including an excellent caviar d’aubergines — his take on baba ganoush — and sweetbread and cognac samosas. We followed with black cod with zingy grapefruit and crunchy endive and an indulgent truffle risotto, topped off by cheesecake with pineapple and caramel. 

Breakfast the next day, also in the open-plan restaurant area, was a leisurely brunch-y affair, with a buffet table groaning with viennoiseries, breads, ham, smoked salmon, cheese and more. The only black mark was a mushy fruit salad and, when we asked for coffee, we were gestured towards a coffee machine to make our own — a superior machine, admittedly — but a disappointment nevertheless. 

Rooms

Our room was admittedly snug, but designed cleverly to make use of the space, with an integral sink, mirror and coat rack and a small shower and toilet tucked away. The relaxing palette of sage, terracotta and wood, as well as tassled straw lampshades, made it seem cosy rather than claustrophobic. A little balcony with two cane chairs looked out on to the courtyard side of the building, at a vast whitewashed wall emblazoned with Bloom House’s logo, echoed over the bed in a neon light sculpture. Jaunty artworks including the now de rigueur framed drawings of botanical ferns and a poster block-printed with “Mon coeur fait bloom” added to a distinctly millennial feel. 

Spa and pool

Pools seem to be popping up all over Paris in new hotels these days, although they are often little more than 10 metres long; Bloom House’s piscine on floor minus one stretches to an impressive 18 by four metres. On a Sunday morning, it was busy with guests making the most of the massage jets, lounging on cabana beds and padding around in gowns and slippers between the two treatment rooms and a sauna. A range of treatments are on offer, from your standard massages to more extravagant procedures, such as a full body wrap with 24-carat gold powder, which I regretted not having time to sample. A stylish gym next door featured an array of tasteful wood-inlaid machines from Nohrd and faux-cork yoga mats for those who like to stretch in style. 

At a glance

• Rooms: 90

• Good for: A fun family stay in a central location within easy reach of Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est

• Not so good for: Those who want to spread out — rooms are snug

• FYI: Pets are allowed for a supplement

• Rates: Doubles from €160

• Address: 23 Rue du Château Landon, 75010 Paris

• Website; Directions

Rebecca Rose stayed as a guest of Bloom House

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