Zoku Paris

Zoku’s vision of versatile, efficient, modern apartment-style hotel life was born in Amsterdam, and quickly spread to Copenhagen and Vienna. One might wonder if their signature blurring of the line between business and pleasure — their merging of work and life — would fly in a city like Paris. But the evidence from on the ground in the 17th arrondissement suggests that there’s plenty of appetite in France for Zoku’s forward-thinking approach.

The most significant departure from the ordinary hotel is in the lofts, where Zoku’s designers have managed to pack distinct sleeping, working, cooking, and dining areas into relatively compact spaces. The specific location is a bit off the tourist path, but the neighborhood, Clichy-Batignolles, is an urban renewal project in progress; the mixed-use Stream Building, which is home to Zoku Paris, is no small part of this renewal.

Among Zoku Paris’s multifarious common spaces are a restaurant, a bar, and a terrace, home to the garden where much of the restaurant’s produce is grown. That would be enough for most travelers, and indeed the Zoku experience can be a self-contained one; in this case, though, the hotel’s own offerings are augmented by those of the Stream Building, which contains retailers, a brasserie, and a work-friendly café.