'The area immediately around Kube is not terribly affluent, but it is a short walk to the Gar du Nord, or even to Montmartre proper. There is a small 'quartier artisanale' just at the foot of Sacre-Coeur which is worth a visit. It is a great place to people watch. For supper we went to Gaya Rive Gauche, the Pierre Gagnaire fish restaurant. You can eat the Michelin-starred chef's food at a fraction of the signature restaurant's price, but in Paris that is still an awful lot. The bill was more than €220, for two courses each, and two bottles of wine. There is very little on the menu that isn't fish, and the staff, while charming, stumbled over translating the non-fish components of each dish. Before supper we had an aperitif at the retro-chic Montalembert, less than a minute's walk from the restaurant.'
read more…Kube
Paris, France[view map]
Reviewed by Mr & Mrs Smith.
In Paris, it's hip to be square – and nowhere more so than at Kube, a unique boutique hotel with one of France's hippest night-time hangouts at its heart. Rooms take the 'cube' theme seriously, blending gadgetry with home comforts in perfectly proportioned, all-white spaces. Beds are lit from beneath, making them float in space like hi-tech flying carpets, and any hard edges are softened with tactile furry curtains, Dalí-esque cushions and tubular pendant lamps.
The lynchpin of this ultra-modern travellers' hub is the spectacular split-level lounge bar, a relaxed meeting place by day that transforms by night into a moodily lit playpen, complete with live DJs, sassy cocktails and byte-sized bar snacks. Upstairs is the Ice Kube bar, a first for France, fashioned from 20 metric tons of ice and permanently chilled to a temperature of minus five. Wrap up in one of the cosy coats provided and nurse a cubic glass of Grey Goose vodka (served 'in the rocks'), while the eerie lighting and electronic beats wreak havoc with your sense of place. Step outside and you'll see the world anew: we guarantee you'll fall in love with Paris all over again.