Le Barn

"Bonnelles, France French country hotels have traditionally tended to be stand-on-ceremony château-grand or heavily upholstered floral-chintz classics. Not places, really, for those prone to tantrums. Which is why this laid-back spot—a cluster of reimagined old barns, like a stripped-back Soho Farmhouse or countrified Hoxton, on the 200-hectare Le Haras de La Cense equestrian estate 40 minutes outside Paris—was such an exciting opening. It seems the boho Marais folk agree: on weekends it’s packed out with couples in matching Ray-Bans soaking in the Nordic baths and Carven-clad parents with artful tattoos chasing toddlers around the lobby. Franco-American owner William Kriegel teamed up with two clever collaborators to make Le Barn’s studied ease so on point: Edouard Daehn and Paris design agency Be-Pôles, which had a hand in The NoMad hotels in New York and LA, and the Côte d’Azur’s Les Roches Rouges. Rooms have a Shakerist, functional minimalist design: Barbour-fabric curtains, enamel mugs and plates, retro camping chairs. Activities are an all-get-stuck-in affair: bikes with child seats already installed are propped outside the front door, guarded by hotel dog Clark. There’s a rowing boat on the little lake, mini orange life jackets flung over the bench next to it, plus a pirate-and-princess-filled dressing-up box and plenty of paths for rambles through the surrounding forest. Saturdays see more planned events, from mural workshops to archery trials. Naturally, horses are a big part of the action: the smallest riders (from age three) bob along on mini Shetland ponies, and graceful shire horses take the whole gang out for a carriage ride before supper at La Serre greenhouse restaurant. This is the rural good life, with a hefty dose of nonchalant Parisian cool. Price: Rooms from around $223" - Lauren Burvill

"Le Barn, a pastoral escape outside Paris, is among the spaces brought to life by Clémentine Larroumet's narrative design."

"Set the scene.A drive through the woods south of Paris leads to what feels like a Gallic Soho farmhouse, set amid meadows, with grain stores, big-roofed barns and a 19th-century mill transformed into a hotel, where Clark the dog supervises children modeling with clay from the games closet, and piles of brunch-time charcuterie await in the conservatory. What’s the story behind it?It’s part of Marugal, a Paris-based mini-group that white-labels some of its properties for their respective owners, and is planning to take Le Barn concept global—affordable, well-designed family-friendly rooms set in compellingly natural landscapes, a short drive from the city. Shanghai may be next. What can we expect from our room?Parisian design studio Be-poles—other projects include NoMad hotels in New York and L.A.—has repurposed several Fifties barns into bedrooms with waxed canvas curtains, Shaker-style furniture and Frédéric Forest horse sketches tacked to cork walls. Some have shared balconies overlooking a fishing pond. Bathrooms are sleek in matte black and white Metro tiles; white linen-sheeted beds were comfortable but the overall impression is one of Moonrise Kingdom summer camp rather than country pile. The tech is non-invasive and works well. How about the food and drink?Rustic French with brunch tables heaped with local meats and cheeses, oven-toasty baguettes, and croissants alongside French salted butters and organic fruit jams. An outdoor grill fires up at weekends as well, to the delight of carnivores, but there are plenty of fresh salads too. Breakfast is included. Anything to say about the service?This is more about the experience than the service, though it runs efficiently and living quarters are kept spotless. Food arrived promptly, the bartenders made excellent café au lait and, in the spa, the Indian yoga teacher will knead away travel aches in silence. Who comes here?Parisians from the 6th, 7th, or 16th arrondissements, who seem to know each other already but not in a cliquey way. Breton stripes and espadrilles won’t seem out of place. Is there anything interesting nearby?Le Barn shares 500 acres in the Rambouillet forest with France’s famous holistic horsemanship school, La Cense—but it’s best to explore the surrounding woodland and small villages by bicycle. Set the coordinates for Rochefort-en-Yvelines, Rambouillet, or Chevreuse. Anything we missed?There is no check-in or check-out time, and very often you will see guests leaving with vegetables from the organic gardens or a jar of homemade tomato sauce. Try your hand at horse whispering, cooking lessons in the grass-roof kitchen, riding Friesian horses in the sky-lit modernist barn, or just a clunk-click game of pétanque. Is it worth it—and why?Yes. Guests feel comfortable enough to wear pajamas to breakfast, even to lunch. Nothing felt affected and the natural setting sparks that nostalgic glow of childhood summers." - Cynthia Rosenfeld

"Parisians are not so unlike Londoners and New Yorkers. Come Friday, they, too, hightail it to the country for 48 hours of blissfully slower living. Their options for where to spend the weekend have been mostly restricted to ancestral manors and castles that require serious mileage to reach—as well as a dress code at dinner. Last summer’s opening of rustic Le Barn changed all that. This former horse-riding academy turned nature camp for grown-ups, 34 miles southwest of Paris, is an extension of the very cool boutique-hotel scene sweeping the city’s north-central arrondissements; one that marries urban taste and country retreat. So much so that the Isabel Marant–wearing crowd drinking at the Hoxton in the Marais on a Wednesday is the same one soaking in Le Barn’s outdoor Nordic baths the following Saturday. Design Studio Be-poles, which was responsible for the louche interiors of Le Pigalle hotel, did a fine job of keeping the countryside in focus here, placing plants throughout and blending raw materials such as corkboard in the rooms, which were used to store grain in the 1950s. Though it’s what’s on the outside that counts: hikes through the surrounding Rambouillet forest, outdoor film screenings, and yoga under the trees. As Paris moves in a direction that feels increasingly hipster, Le Barn is the type of place where those breathing new life into the city go to recharge. FLASH POINT There is no set checkout time on Sundays; don’t rush through a brunch of local charcuterie and cheeses, organic fruit jams, and oven-fresh baguettes and croissants. +33 1-86-38 -00-00; lebarnhotel.com. Doubles from about $165." - CNT Editors