Hotel Paradiso

If you are reading this, you are probably a Francophile who knows that Paris is the most film-crazy city in the world, so it is only appropriate that it is now home to the world’s first “cinema hotel,” the Hotel Paradiso, opened by the independent French film company MK2 near the Place de la Nation.

What is a cinema hotel? In this case, not just a hotel with rooms named after or decorated in the style of famous directors, stars or movies (on the analogy of a “literary hotel”), but a hotel in which each room is actually a small cinema in itself.

Practically, that means you can crawl into bed (or the bathtub in some of the larger rooms) in your simply but attractively decorated room, choose one of some 10,000 films on offer on a tablet (via most major streaming platforms and MK2’s own catalog, at no extra cost) and press a button. A screen descends over the window, the lights go out, and the clattering sound of an old-fashioned projector is followed by your chosen movie. To avoid having to interrupt it, remember to put in a room-service order (on the tablet) for popcorn or other sustenance before you start the film.

All rooms have carefully studied sound quality and acoustics, and are so well sound-proofed that you will never have to worry about bothering your neighbors or hearing noise from other rooms. Guests can also watch their own content from their phones or play games on the screen.              

That’s pretty cool, but the hotel’s owners have come up with some other fabulous ideas as well. The tablet has a playlist put together by the musician Woodkid, for example, and shelves in the corridors will soon hold some 2,000 DVDs of classic films that are not on streaming platforms, which are also available for in-room viewing.

The hotel is built atop an MK2 multiplex with six screens. Customers, whether hotel guests or not, can entertain their friends in style by renting rooms of various sizes for private screenings or by taking over the glassed-in (and soundproof, of course) loge overlooking the main cinema with its big screen and latest feature films – room service is available there as well. Also available for rent is a state-of-the-art karaoke room.

Outsiders are also welcome to use the rooftop terrace (not yet open at this writing) with a wonderful view of Paris, which will have a bar and where films will be screened after dark.

An especially charming touch is added by two enormous outdoor murals by the French artist JR, visible from the courtyard rooms, which reproduce famous images from Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid and Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last! (the clock scene).

What’s not to like about this new and unusual addition to the Paris hotel scene, especially since the prices are amazingly reasonable, starting at €120 a night for a double room (with two free tickets to the real cinema downstairs included)? Parisian cinephiles are already taking advantage of this new opportunity for a night out.

Hotel Paradiso: 135, boulevard Diderot, 75012 Paris. Métro: Nation. Tel.: 01 88 59 20 01. www.mk2hotelparadiso.com

• Paris hotel