“Step through the sliding grey glass door and you know you’ve arrived somewhere different. The hall sets the tone: a gallery of gilt-framed portraits hangs on the panelled wall above a row of funky grey armchairs on deep purple carpet. This happy marriage of the traditionally elegant and cutting-edge design is the achievement of Thomas Vidalenc, the architect who remodelled the 19th-century mansion built for the Marquis de Sers. Rooms are airy, well-equipped havens, and the wood-panelled, candlelit S’Bar a magnet for the young crowd at cocktail hour.”
