Fabric

For all its creativity, the Parisian boutique-hotel scene has thus far been limited, in one dimension at least, by the almost entirely residential character of its buildings. Not that they’re anything but perfectly charming — but the industrial-rehab city-loft aspect so beloved of New York hoteliers, among others, has been largely absent. Hôtel Fabric is the exception, a former textile factory in Paris’s hip Oberkampf district whose high ceilings and brick walls are a surprisingly fresh departure from the norm.

Of course, a former textile factory is the wrong place to test out some kind of gritty monochrome minimalist look. Fabric opts for something a little less restrained, its bright colors and bold patterns livened by a wide variety of well-chosen fixtures and furnishings, from classic modernist chairs to salvaged vintage workshop pieces, a survey spanning seemingly the entire range of the past century.

The thirty-three rooms are certainly spacious enough for Paris, and the industrial windows let in plenty of daylight. The tiled bathrooms are a particular delight, complete with oversized rain showers and Terre de Mars bath products, which are both organic and made in France. And while in true Parisian style there’s no attempt at a restaurant, Fabric has one surprise up its sleeve: not just a more than adequate little gym and yoga space, but a Bains de Marrakech spa as well, which is a very thoughtful use of the old warehouse’s surplus space.