APPENDIX
Noteworthy hoteliers and restaurateurs pushing the proverbial design envelope.
PA R IS
J. K. Place Paris
“We want guests to wake up in the morning, look around their room, and really feel like they are in Paris!” says Ori Kafri, cofounder of luxury boutique hotel group J. K. Place, of the latest addition to the company’s portfolio. It is also its first outside Italy. “Paris is the capital of Europe in terms of fashion, art, and luxury, so it was the logical next step for us.” Located on the Left Bank in a renovated former European consulate just steps from the Musée d’Orsay, the 30-room hotel was designed
N E W YO RK
TWA Hotel The golden age of commercial air travel is decades in the past, but its glamour and decadence live on in the recently opened TWA Hotel at New York’s JFK Airport. Housed in the Eero Saarinen– designed TWA Flight Center, the 512-room hotel echoes the building’s midcentury architecture and includes a poppy-red sunken lounge, a rooftop swimming pool, and a cocktail lounge in a repurposed Lockheed Constellation L-1649A airplane. “Our concept was based on the year 1962,” the year the Flight Center opened, says Sara Duffy,
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senior interiors associate at New York hospitality firm Stonehill Taylor, one of the firms that worked on the project. “It was an extraordinary time of hopefulness and style. We wanted to capture that sense of nostalgia.” Each guest room has a bit of Mad Men–esque appeal, with a luxurious walnut tambour bar and bright Saarinen Womb chairs and Tulip tables. Multipane soundproof floor-to-ceiling windows allow for a close-up look at departing planes, but earplugs aren’t required for a quiet night’s sleep.
by Florence-based architect Michele Bönan with bespoke Italian furniture as well as objets d’art and antiques sourced from storied Paris flea markets such as the Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen. Each room is uniquely decorated, but J. K. Place upholds its dedication to timeless luxury with a layered, sumptuous aesthetic more akin to that of a lavish home than a hotel. Amenities include an indoor pool, Sisley spa, and the third location of the Casa Tua restaurant. Très bon, indeed.
THIS PAGE: COURTESY J. K. PLACE PARIS. DAVID MITCHELL; COURTESY TWA HOTEL. OPPOSITE: ALEXANDRA RIBAR
CHECKING IN
By RACHEL GALLAHER
