Kube Hotel

Entering the reception of the Kube Hotel is akin to walking through a sculpture park. The courtyard is filled with plastic lounge chairs that look like bent joysticks. A more normal set of outdoor armchairs is situated on a red turf rug in the corner, a polar bear sculpture that looks just like the Klondike mascot keeps watch, and check-in takes place inside of a small glass cube smack in the middle of the pavement. Upon entering, white hallways are lined with black doors with blue neon lighting. Walls of stairways are covered in fuzzy carpet. The metallic-accented restaurant features vaulted ceilings with jellyfish-like fixtures dripping with white tendrils. The ultra-modern meeting rooms with orange chairs look like a cross between a movie theater and a Disneyland ride but do draw a fair share of business-minded guests. The ice bar, featuring ice walls, ice mannequins, and ice chairs covered in bright red faux fur that looks like the pelt of a Muppet, attracts a relatively young but sophisticated crowd of late-night partiers.  

The Kube Hotel is situated on a quiet street in an ethnically diverse neighborhood in Northern Paris. There are a few family-owned restaurants on surrounding streets but nothing of much interest within easy walking distance. The Gare de Lyon train station is less than a 10-minute walk from the hotel and the La Chapelle Line 2 Metro is about five minutes away. On the metro, the center of Paris and its attractions can be reached in less than 30 minutes. The Arc de Triomphe is 26 minutes by metro, the Louvre Museum 28 minutes (on the 7 line, about a 10-minute walk from the hotel), and Charles de Gaulle airport is about 40 minutes away by car or taxi. Those up for a walk can reach the Sacred Heart Basilica in Montmarte on foot in about 25 minutes. 

Room decor reflects the hotel's contemporary club theme. They are decorated with plenty of retro-chic flair: large, interesting black and white graphic images, glass blocks (used in partial walls, or as headboards), hangers adorned with colorful beads, and clear, plastic chairs, among other details. There are 41 rooms in total and no two are exactly alike. They are spacious with large, comfortable beds. There are no closets, but an exposed hanging rod over a pair of drawers with a bathrobe and slippers and the aforementioned bejeweled hangers. The lighting is largely automatic and motion-triggered. Free Wi-Fi is accessed via a code on the sleek TV. There are an adorable mini-fridge and coffeemaker in every room. Some rooms have full showers, but some have an unwieldy handheld spout over the tub. The bathrooms are odd and drafty open concepts, situated behind a wall with no door on either side. They do have a private toilet room, though it's tiny and narrow.

There is free Wi-Fi access in rooms and throughout the Kube. A continental breakfast of coffee, juice, yogurt and pastries is included in the room price, but the distinguishing feature of this hotel is the ice bar, the only one in Paris and the first in France. Dancing and partying goes until the wee hour while the adjoining restaurant serves creative French cuisine in the evenings. There is a meeting room with a round table and a large presentation room equipped with high-end audio-video machinery. The fitness center is small and cave-like but equipped with high-quality treadmills, bikes, and weight machines. Paid parking is located outside the hotel and is limited.