Rue Cassette è una delle vie più tranquille del quartiere. Questa strada, nata come sentiero sterrato, ereditò questo nome nel 1570 dall’hotel “Cassel”, una residenza nobiliare che all’epoca sorgeva lungo questa strada. Dopo l’intersezione con Rue de Rennes costruita nel 1866, Rue Cassette ha coltivato il proprio passato rurale in un’atmosfera del tutto tranquilla, nel cuore del sesto arrondissement. Fra il XVII e il XVIII secolo, su una parte dove oggi sorge l’hotel vennero edificati l’ingresso e la cappella di un grande convento benedettino (10-16 Rue Cassette). Il convento si estendeva ben al di là di Rue Cassette, arrivando fino a Rue du Cherche-Midi e Rue de Vaugirard. Una proprietà enorme contenente anche ampie aree cortilizie. La pace che regna nel nostro giardino deriva proprio da quello stile di vita meditativo dedicato alla coltivazione dell’orto, dove gli alberi si confondono con arbusti, pietre e fiori. Il convento fu poi venduto durante la Rivoluzione Francese, e infine smantellato. Gli edifici residenziali appartenenti al quartiere attuale furono edificati sull’appezzamento triangolare su cui un tempo sorgeva il convento.
When Gisèle and Pierre-Antoine Lafortune discovered the place in 1971, they fell under the charm of the totally unexpected inner courtyard set behind the entrance gate and were enchanted by the garden that had managed to remain intact. However, the building had suffered since its construction and the work required was considerable. In 1973 l’Hôtel de l’Abbaye opened, instantly successful, and became one of the first Parisian “hôtels de charme”. In 1988, the duplex apartments were created, with terraces opening onto the roofs of Paris. Since then, the hotel is continually being renovated and improved. In 1991, after Gisèle and Pierre-Antoine Lafortune met with the architect Michel Boyer, who supervised the renovation of the reception, floors and lounges, as well as the modernisation and redistribution of certain guest rooms. In 1999, a lounge was built on the garden under a glass roof to enjoy the peaceful garden in winter as in summer. Ever since, not one year goes by without one of the guest rooms being redecorated in keeping with the hotel’s style and high level of standards and with the permanent aim to improve the premises and offer the most modern comfort to its clientele. In 2002, three contemporary lounge suites were created on the 4th floor, and two lounge guest rooms on a level with the garden, their discrete French windows opening out onto the greenery. Rethought in 2007, the reception and welcome areas preserve the charm of a Parisian residence. Faithful to the spirit that has guided them since the opening of the hotel, Gisèle and Pierre-Antoine Lafortune are already imagining the site of your next stay in Paris.
