Ten years. That’s how long it took for a dream long thought unattainable to become reality. On 27 March 2025, Maison Heler--also known as the “Starck Hotel”--opened its doors in the Amphithéâtre district of Metz, opposite the Kinépolis and a stone’s throw from the Centre Pompidou, the Muse shopping centre and the railway station.
“Maison Heler is a bold project that is finally coming to life,” says Jenny Pham, general manager. “We are very proud of it.” A four-star hotel? Yes, but not just that…
The monolithic nine-storey building, topped by an 18th century Lorraine house, was not born out of a town planning scheme or a simple hotel specification. It embodies a story, The Meticulous Life of Manfred Heler, a poetic tale imagined by Philippe Starck himself. In it, the designer narrates the surreal adventures of Manfred Heler, his loves, his dreams and his inventions. The hotel is the physical, tangible, habitable translation of this.
The book behind the architectural design of the hotel. Photo: Julius Hirtzberger
A construction site fraught with pitfalls
The story of Maison Heler began in 2015 with a first shattering announcement: Metz was to have its own Starck hotel. Three years later, work got under way, but one obstacle followed another--planning permission had to be revised, there was a health crisis, there was a fire, one of the developers disappeared… the project seemed doomed. But the inauguration was finally set for March 2025.
A gamble and a happy combination of circumstances: just as Metz was preparing to host the Michelin Guide ceremony at the Convention Centre, Maison Heler opened its doors. Journalists, chefs and the curious are all expected to attend. The hotel has been fully booked since its opening, according to staff.
A hotel, but above all an experience
The establishment is operated by Hilton, under its Curio collection. Unlike the chain’s standard hotels, Curio establishments are independent properties, selected for their singular character and history. Maison Heler is a perfect example. Nothing here resembles a traditional hotel. Every nook and cranny, every piece of furniture, every door handle tells a story. Manfred Heler’s imagination permeates the premises in the walls, the objects, right down to the encrypted messages engraved in the furniture--a nod to the fictional alphabet of the fairytale, reproduced in the dressing rooms of each room.
The hotel has 104 rooms. The corner rooms are all classified as deluxe. There are also five junior suites and a 65m2 Manfred suite. Wood, marble, leather and waxed concrete create a world that is both raw and refined. In the bedrooms, the beds face the windows, to allow guests to wake up to natural daylight.
Light, in fact, is omnipresent: subdued, natural or coloured, it shines through the stained glass windows designed by Ara Starck, the designer’s daughter. On the ninth floor, in La Maison de Manfred--the first of the hotel’s two restaurants and a reinterpretation of the Villa Salomon on Avenue Foch--this atmosphere reaches its peak. Right down to the toilets, which staff describe as “the most Instagrammable in Metz.” Terrace with panoramic views of the city and in particular the cathedral, lounge, dining room, bar… the place is like a play. The peculiar lift ding, also taken from the fairy tale, marks the entrance.
Roots in Metz
On the ground floor, Rose’s Kitchen pays tribute to Manfred’s love. Pastel, sober, local: the menu is just like upstairs, simple and renewed every week, according to the seasons. “We don’t do it better than the others, we do it differently,” says restaurant manager Julian Fressy. Like the menu, the project is proud of its local roots, with 90% of the companies involved being from Metz or the Moselle, says the management.
An entire floor is dedicated to professional events, with 350m2 divided into five modular lounges. Each is named after a major battle in French history--Marne, Verdun--in a nod to the historical context of the story, set between the two world wars. A gym is available now, while a spa will complete the offer from January 2026. The hotel has a staff of around 80.
Philippe Starck has for the first time designed a project from A to Z: architecture, design, furniture and lighting. Every little room has been thought through and fine-tuned. You come here to sleep, of course, but you leave with images in your head, sentences to decipher and perhaps, who knows, the nagging dream of one day running into Manfred Heler in the corridors.
This article in French.