I know this is kind of random, but Metz, France, is suddenly on my radar…
In this post:
Hilton’s fascinating Maison Heler Metz in France
Maison Heler Metz, part of Curio Collection by Hilton, recently opened its doors. The 104-room, nine-story property is located in Metz, France. I was intrigued by the property from the first time I saw a picture… there literally appears to be a mansion on top of a building. How cool is that?!?
The backstory is even more interesting. The property was designed by Philippe Starck, and aims to tell the story of Manfred Heler, an imaginary man whose mansion was thrust nine stories into the air without warning. As the story goes:
“Manfred Heler has inherited his parents’ beautiful house. As an orphan, he finds himself all alone, in this mansion surrounded by a large park. Everything’s going well for him, until he starts to get bored. To cope with this boredom, he tries to invent everything. An extraordinarily rigorous and inventive man, he doesn’t necessarily succeed in everything he undertakes, but it’s always done with intelligence and poetry, guided by a naive desire to create meticulously at all costs.”
The mansion, which is entirely clad in metal, consists of a restaurant, bar, and event spaces. That restaurant is called La Maison de Manfred, for obvious reasons. The hotel also has La Cuisine de Rose, a brasserie that evokes Manfred Heler’s desire for his imagined love, Rose.
A hotel designed around an imaginary orphan, with a restaurant about his imaginary love? I don’t think anyone can disagree that this is one of the more creative hotel concepts we’ve seen!
This hotel also isn’t that pricey. Rates start at around €150 per night, with Hilton Honors free night redemptions starting at 32,000 points per night.
Is Metz, France, worth visiting?
I’ll definitely be adding Maison Heler Metz to my list of points hotels I most want to stay at. This looks like a unique property, and I’d love to see it firsthand. I’m curious, have any OMAAT readers been to Metz, and if so, is it worth spending a few days in the area?
I have another angle for wanting to visit. Metz is located in northeastern France, just a short train ride from Luxembourg. I’ve never been to Luxembourg, as it’s one of the few European countries that I’ve yet to visit. With the two being less than an hour apart by train, this seems like a good opportunity to check out both destinations at once.
Bottom line
Maison Heler Metz recently opened, as part of Hilton’s Curio Collection. The property is located in northeastern France, and has quite the inspiration, based on a fictitious story about an orphan who had a mansion that was thrust into the sky. I absolutely want to stay here, and given its proximity to Luxembourg, I’m even more interested in visiting, and killing two birds with one stone.
Anyone else find this new Hilton property to be pretty cool?
I love the Curio brand, far better than the Conrads and Waldorfs of the world. They're like Airbnbs with five star service.
SAii Lagoon Maldives: 2020, the first country to permit entry without testing, I was eager to escape the world, only to experience even greater isolation. I can't give it a fair opinion under the circumstances. Definitely a unique experience in the eerie sense.
Hagia Sofia Mansions Istanbul: Also 2020, but in...
I love the Curio brand, far better than the Conrads and Waldorfs of the world. They're like Airbnbs with five star service.
SAii Lagoon Maldives: 2020, the first country to permit entry without testing, I was eager to escape the world, only to experience even greater isolation. I can't give it a fair opinion under the circumstances. Definitely a unique experience in the eerie sense.
Hagia Sofia Mansions Istanbul: Also 2020, but in the heart of a bustling city. They basically gave me my own house. Heated bathroom floors. I had to wait an extra ten minutes for my room to be ready. They sent me a fruit basket for the minor inconvenience. Passersby had no idea they were walking past a hotel.
Salvio Parque 93 Bogota: 2024, this is the location that sold the brand for me. Apartahotel design, the beautifully decorated room had a plant sitter.
I've got the Reykjavik Konsulat Hotel and Aleph Rome Hotel upcoming. I can't wait to see what surprises are in store.
I lived in Metz (or rather, just on the outskirts) for a summer as a grad student a couple of decades ago on a study abroad program. It is a cute town, with some charm in its daily life, but there is not a lot to see there (I mainly remember the Chagall windows in the cathedral). That said, it is in an excellent location as a base to see some of the Alsace-Lorraine wine...
I lived in Metz (or rather, just on the outskirts) for a summer as a grad student a couple of decades ago on a study abroad program. It is a cute town, with some charm in its daily life, but there is not a lot to see there (I mainly remember the Chagall windows in the cathedral). That said, it is in an excellent location as a base to see some of the Alsace-Lorraine wine region, and, as you note, to go over to Luxembourg (which I visited twice during my summer, and in retrospect should have only visited once - not a lot there either, as JT notes).
"Is Metz, France, worth visiting?"
No, not really - I spent some weeks camping in the area in my wild, mis-spent youth and Metz is pleasant enough but, ultimately, just another provincial town with nothing to occupy one for more than a few hours. Luxembourg (city), with its hugely dramatic setting, however, could keep you occupied for days. The north of Luxembourg (country) around Vianden is also quite scenic.
I don't know about rural Luxembourg but the city is worth a day or two.
Don't forget a close city too in the area which is Nancy.
I think there is a Louvre museum branch or is it the Pompidou center ... ?
Ben, Metz is a reasonable base for one to visit some fantastically ill conceived, however, brilliantly engineering in the form of the Maginot Line. Don’t forget to take warm clothing.
Metz is... definitely not the first place that comes to mind when I think about tourism in France lol. My dad is from there and among French people it's usually a "why the heck would you want to go there" type of place, but I guess there's a few historical places to see, it's known for its cathedral. It also has a Pompidou modern art museum somehow. But I don't think there's a lot to do past a weekend.
When did Ben last spend more than a weekend (3 nights?) in a given hotel? :-)
Both Metz and Luxembourg City are very pleasant places to spend a night. Go for it.
This trip would give you a chance to review La Premiere First Class as a regular customer and not as guest of the CEO.
Hilton usually doesn’t come to mind when I think of great design, but this looks amazing. I visited Metz some time back, it’s very cute and lovely for a day, but then you will have seen most of it. Luxembourg has more to offer. There are also some other great cities in the region like Trier, Strasbourg and Maastricht. Oh and don’t forget to go to one of the Luxembourgish vineyards to try some of the local sparkling wine.