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 L’Occitane bath products. 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.