We take a peek inside the tiny grooming salon in the refurbished Hotel de Crillon.

There is only one barber’s chair in the men’s grooming room at the newly reopened Hôtel de Crillon, a Rosewood Hotel, in Paris. Yes, one. It’s a classic Belmont design, which has been re-upholstered in racing-green leather, and it’s tucked into a quiet corner at the end of the space. There are other services on offer here, of course – you can get your shoes shined, you can smoke cigars, you can consult with the concierge – but if you want the attentions of the barber, supplied by Ms Sarah Daniel-Hamzi’s renowned grooming emporium La Barbière de Paris, it probably won’t be enough to just walk in.

You can take it as read, then, that this is far from your everyday grooming experience. “It’s like a secret members’ club,” says its designer, Mr Tristan Auer, one of the four interiors gurus who were tasked with the four-year, $400m-plus refurbishment of the hotel, which was completed this month. The small, friendly scale of the space is very much deliberate, according to Mr Auer, who sees it as something of a calming retreat. “Taking care of ourselves could be considered selfish,” he says, “but I think people need to stop and have the time to think. To be creative.”

“The service at Hôtel de Crillon is special and more personal, tailored,” says La Barbière de Paris’ Ms Marion Perrin, one of the specialists who works in the space. “With just one appointment at a time, we are able to focus on the fine details to reveal the potential and the beauty of our clients. Every client is very different, so we always make sure we really talk to them and understand them.”

If this unusual barbers and, indeed, the men’s grooming space that encloses it, is somewhat on the small side, it is nonetheless perfectly formed. In designing the space, Mr Auer developed 31 different materials, including specific leathers, brass, blown glass mica and the marble that is generously employed for the sink and worktop in the barber’s area. The entire interior is wood-panelled. Mr Auer not only redesigned every traditional moulding, but created custom, curved panels for the ceiling, working with renowned restorer and painter Atelier Mériguet Carrère to give them a warm, inviting patina. When it comes to picking favourite pieces, therefore, there’s a lot to choose from, but Mr Auer is particularly fond of the armchair. “I designed it specifically for the shoe shine, using inspiration from the classic cars that I collect,” he says. “The armchair reflects a combination of my 1978 Aston Martin and the 1970 Citröen SM.”

As for the barbers, it is simply “my perception of how an ideal barber shop should be”, says Mr Auer. When asked to describe its overall atmosphere, he’s both poetic and, strangely, accurate. “Humphrey Bogart smoking a cigar,” he says, enigmatically. “Just leaving the room.”

The Barber by Barbière de Paris is open now at the Hôtel de Crillon, a Rosewood Hotel

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