London Paddington’s 60-room Grand Hotel Bellevue wears its heart on its sleeve, so to speak; grand is in the name, after all, and it’s set in a historic Victorian townhome under the proprietorship of tony Parisian hospitality group Lignée Hotels. But its interiors are a vision of warmth, styled after what the project’s Paris-based architect Fabrizio Casiraghi imagined as the home of an “eccentric, globetrotting” English couple.
The potentially imposing effect of period touches like plaster crown moldings, marble fireplaces, gilt mirrors, and wall tapestries that seem fit for the Renaissance collections of an art museum are all tempered by an amiable color scheme of soft cream and burnt orange in common spaces and throughout the guest rooms. On closer inspection—or pending the perception of an in-the-know friend—the period tapestries are revealed to be the product of a collaboration with Emily Adams Bode. Contemporary art and wall sconces temper the effect of antiques, such as a found French setée in the lobby and romantic mahogany millwork. Amenities by Floris Cosmetics, as well as captivating bathrooms done up in poignantly contrasting hues of green, orange, and blue, offer guests the comforts of our modern times.
