This New Hotel in Paris Sits Inside an 18th-Century Townhouse with a Private Garden—and It Starts at $160

On a quiet side street in Paris’s Latin Quarter, near the Jardin des Plantes, the towering open gateway of the new Le Jardin de Verre by Locke hotels reveals an 18th-century hôtel particulier—Paris’s version of a private city mansion—complete with a slate mansard roof and a cobblestoned courtyard. The hotel, which opened in March 2025, has furnished the courtyard with graphic-striped rattan chairs and sun umbrellas, where guests and residents sip wine and cocktails in the shade. Though it’s now the largest hotel in the fifth arrondissement, it feels more like a local gathering place, and its rooms are both ambitiously designed and accessibly priced. Rates average at about $280 but can dip as low as $160.

These aren’t merely hotel rooms, either: They belong to Locke’s signature “home-meets-hotel” concept, with in-room kitchenettes and, often, lounge and dining areas, plus a handful with balconies or terraces. Locke opened its first apart-hotel in London in 2016. The Paris outpost—whose name translates to “the glass garden,” for its central glass atrium—opened as its 17th property. The spacious layouts and amenities are ideal for extended stays or for anyone who finds a typical hotel room too confining; despite Paris’s many charms, the city’s more affordable hotels can often compress the experience into a few dim square feet.

Francisco Nogueira / Le Jardin de Verre by Locke

At the Locke, I entered the 18th-century building to reach my suite in the new purpose-built edifice that holds most of its 135 accommodations. Beyond the well-outfitted kitchen, I opened the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room and bedroom to lean out and gaze at the Parisian scene of neighboring Haussmannian townhouses. Designed by Paris’s DTACC architectural studio and styled in soft pop tones like terra-cotta, mustard, and rosewood, the room had playfully shaped Scandinavian chairs and a curving crescent of a couch, with sculptural, seashell-like light sconces and a bright tufted throw on the bed. Photographs of flowers hung on the walls—examples of the colorful paintings, tapestries, ceramics, and other works by local artists that “showcase creators with deep ties to Paris,” said Vincent Kaspar, director of sales for Le Jardin de Verre.

The centerpiece of the property is the namesake winter garden, where the soaring glass roof shelters what was once a garden and later the loading dock of a beer factory. In June 2025, the space debuted as a light-filled restaurant with grand chandeliers and a profusion of climbing plants, curated by the London-based architecture and landscape studio Fettle. I settled in to do some writing at the coworking space, surrounded by stylish young denizens sipping coffee at their computers. When evening began, I relocated to the courtyard’s café tables, as locals and guests arrived around me, and ordered a glass of natural wine from the coral-colored jewel box of a bar. “Our doors are open to the neighborhood,” said Kaspar. “Locals have been stopping by to tell us how much they appreciate what we’ve brought to the area.”

Francisco Nogueira / Le Jardin de Verre by Locke

The residential neighborhood is deeply Parisian. It’s home to the Jardin des Plantes, one of the city’s most beautifully manicured gardens, the Place Monge farmer’s market, the Sorbonne University, the small restaurants of Rue Mouffetard, and the neoclassical Pantheon monument, all a short stroll away.

“The Fifth Arrondissement has a vibe you won’t find anywhere else,” Kaspar noted. With vibrant design and friendly communal spaces, the same goes for the Locke’s Jardin de Verre. “A lifestyle hotel isn’t just about being cool,” he added. “It’s about warmth and comfort.”