THE FACTS ABOUT PERSHING HALL

France Paris

STYLE CONSCIOUS On paper, Pershing Hall looks very promising indeed: located in the swanky 8th arrondissement, with a $10-million interior by Andree Putman; run by Patrice Lecuillier, ex-GM of Hotel Costes. During World War I, the 19th-century mansion was the home of US general John Joseph Pershing (note the US military symbols on the façade). Now, 26 rooms are arranged around a large central courtyard where guests sip cocktails under the hotel's most innovative feature: a vertical garden, 34-metres high, that covers one wall with tropical plants - lit up at night by hundreds of fairy lights. Guests enter the hotel via a dramatic tunnel, illuminated in bright colours that change every eight minutes, into a groovy lobby with floor-to-ceiling column of plants. In the restaurant, chef Erwan Louaisal (who trained under Ducasse and Boulud) produces good French fare but the décor (cream suede chairs, uncomfortable silver-mesh banquettes) lacks character, while the dual-level bar area and salon feels sterile, with stark white walls. ROOMS Unusually, the best guestrooms (plain white walls, stained wooden floors, minimal splashes of lilac, chocolate and camel) are the smallest because the bigger they get, the more under decorated they feel. In contrast, the bathrooms are wonderful: stylish, white 'trough' basins, mosaic walls and toiletries packaged in muslin bags and wicker boxes. ££ CONTACT Pershing Hall, 49 rue Pierre Charron, 75008 Paris (00 33 1 58 36 58 00; fax 58 36 58 01; email: info@pershinghall.com, www.pershinghall.com) ££