France-Italy: summa cum laude!

Paris, the Latin Quarter: so full of history, art and literature it’s hard to know where to start. Almost too irreverent but for this very reason exceptionally painterly, Woody Allen comes to mind not only for the frames of Midnight in Paris, but also for his perceptive summing up of this incredible arrondissement: You need an existential Alka-Seltzer: you can get it in the pharmacies of the Latin Quarter.
From the Café de Flore to Les Deux Magots, Saint Germain to the Sorbonne, we walk through the crowded streets, among the aromas of innumerable kitchens – with the notes of La Bohème in our heads – to the Hotel Cluny Square, a perfect example of Parisian hospitality, just recently restored to its old splendour.
What strikes us as soon as we enter is the elegant interior design, which gives space and breath to the somewhat small rooms, and fills them with creative inventions that recall the world of cinema. Forty elegant rooms, some even with a view of the Eiffel Tower, others looking onto the Luxembourg Gardens, two suites with evocative names – Romance and Voyage – each different from the other, with an infinity of details from the trompe l’oeil wallpaper, from primary colours to the most sophisticated nuances; rooms in which the elegant wall lights play with the natural lighting, dialogue with the stylish furnishings, echoing an antique elegance and creating, above all, atmosphere. The common spaces follow the same leitmotif, with sofas and armchairs which offer the guests not just comfort but above all a priceless aroma of home, together with a restaurant and cafeteria in the pure French style. But at the Hotel Cluny, a touch of refinement arrives straight from Italy, ‘l’atout charme italien du luxe à la française’. Marca Corona supplied the tiles for all the hotel’s bathrooms, refined and functional spaces which are the most favourably received of the hotel’s facilities, according to the comments book – and rightly so. The main collection is Deluxe, a ceramic concept for coordinated floors and walls inspired by the most prized marble. The result of an advanced technological research programme combined with outstanding design, Deluxe creates contemporary rooms enriched by the allure and prestige of Italian marble. No less Italian, indeed typical of the best of Italian manufacturing, is the capacity to recreate the effectiveness of tailor made solutions by playing with sizes and finishes. The natural version – matt – and the reflex version – mirror polished – which characterise the five floor tile formats (including the very interesting 120×120 cm panel) combine with perfectly coordinated wall tiles, with polished surfaces, offering the option to personalise and embellish the walls with a variety of decorative and special pieces. The dominant colour is white with a soft, sophisticated grey marbling, perfect for an interior design which Sara, a single guest, described as “the perfect bathroom, elegant, romantic and surprising”.