Welcome to Hotel Asile Flottant!
‘Este un hôtel juste un hôtel?’
Le Corbusier, Swiss-French Architect (1887 – 1965)
We realize it’s pretty swanky quoting a world-famous architect but since we took our name, Asile Flottant, from a ship designed by Le Corbusier we feel comfortable doing so. In the harsh Parisian winter of 1929, Le Corbusier, in close cooperation with the Salvation Army, docked his 80-meter vessel close to the Palais du Louvre to offer shelter to the homeless. During the summer Asile Flottant hosted holiday-camps for children from poor families. Clearly Le Corbusier did not just design a ship, he created a purposeful haven that has been an inspiration for many. Including ourselves. Here’s another almost-hundred-year-old quote that still gets us going today: ‘…Asile Flottant is an epicurean shelter for the modern-day vagrant who wishes to embark on a journey extraordinaire…’
In 2017, eighty-eight years after Le Corbusier opened his boat in the Seine, we have launched our modern-day Asile Flottant. Like the original, we do not want to be juste un hôtel; we’re aiming for a bigger mission. First of all, it starts with the boats. Most were written off after a long history of providing labor and serving society. Even though some vessels were pretty close to sinking we did see the beauty and we appreciated the historical value. Also, we truly believe in finding new purposes for goods that are on a waste-list. While recycling our glass bottles and newspapers we questioned ourselves: why shouldn’t we try and find a second life for ships? Admitted, it has been quite an uncertain journey, but here we are today, being the proud care-takers of a group of renovated historical ships. Goes without saying that we run our floating hotel in the most sustainable way possible. We’ve chosen our location carefully, an abandoned industrial plot in full revival, having neighbors all trying hard to make the world a better place. When you are staying on one of our ships we’re quite certain that you will feel our sincere intentions. If you take some of those good vibes home we have passed our mission.
