History

The origins of the Hôtel Bourgogne & Montana go as far back as 1791

The beginning…

This elegant hotel in the 7th arrondissement of Paris overlooking the Place du Palais Bourbon was built in 1791, well before the Haussmann era, giving this incredible building an unusual architectural style. Today, it has retained all the characteristics of former times, including different floor heights (a mix of low and high ceilings) and a beautiful octagonal central lobby – a rare find in Paris. In order to gain a full understanding of why these differences in height exist, we must first recognise the history of each floor. The ground floor was built with a high ceiling to allow horses to use it for shelter. Hay for the horses and food to feed the inhabitants of this residence were stored on the 1st floor - known as a mezzanine – which thus required a low ceiling.

A building bursting with history…

From the front of the building, above the entrance, guests will immediately notice very pretty small windows. These windows were built close to the ground because the light was needed to see the products stored on this floor; this is what makes it so charming! The 2nd floor was the first “noble” floor – a floor upon which guests were received. The higher the floor, the lower the social class of the occupants. Unlike a Haussmanian building, at the Hôtel Bourgogne & Montana, you will notice that there is only one staircase – staff, hosts and their guests must have been comfortable rubbing shoulders with one another!

A story of street numbers…

Until the 1920s, the Hôtel Bourgogne & Montana was located at 7 Rue de Bourgogne. It now stands at number 3. So, what happened? WWII provides the answer to this riddle. The Place du Palais Bourbon, along with a number of the streets entering the square, was completely destroyed. It has since been fully renovated, but the street numbers were changed during this process. Thus, Rue de Bourgogne now starts at number 3 (assigned to the Hôtel Bourgogne & Montana) and includes no numbers 1 or 2.

 

From the 20th century onwards…

After being lived in for over a century, this Parisian residence was converted into a hotel. It takes its name from its first owners, who also owned a number of hotels in Switzerland in the charming Cran-Montana resort.

When the Swiss family bought this incredible hotel in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, they logically decided to take the name Montana and add it to that of the street – and thus was born the Hôtel Bourgogne & Montana.

Maurice Hurand

The Maurice Hurand era

In 1991, the Hurand’s family which already owns the Terrass " Hotel in Montmartre and the Madison Hotel at the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, acquires the Hotel Bourgogne & Montana. So, since this date, the hotel did not leave any more the family where is passed on since then, from generation to generation, the art to receive and the French way of living. A young trio is from now at the head of this parisian group: Romain Binet, Manager of the Terrass " Hotel, surrounded with his sisters, Emilie Arabyan, Purchasing & Investments Manager and Marion Laroche, Financial and Administrative Manager. Renovated in 2014 by the architect Denis Doistau, this hotel of the 7th district of Paris offers a journey around the specificities of this famous " Parisian Paris ". Today, the Hotel Bourgogne & Montana is managed by Laza Robinson, who brilliantly carries on, surrounded with a beautiful team, the French way of living !

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