In this age of e-mails and text messages, do the old-fashioned postal services still have a future? Hoteliers seem to be responding favourably to this question, at least as far as they are concerned. Back in 2016, the Trump International Hotel group had taken over the historic Washington Post Officeeven before its well-known owner reached the White House. Similarly, in Paris, it's the Louvre post office which is in the process of carving out a future for itself in the hotel sector under the leadership of the Elegancia Group. The overall project, led by architect Dominique Perrault, will retain a section dedicated to postal activities, as well as a hotel, due to open next year, and areas dedicated to neighbourhood life, in particular a coworking space.
But the opening of the Poste du Louvre has already been preceded this summer by two new examples of successful conversion. In Ghent, Belgium, the boutique hotel 1898 The Post Its name reflects both the function and the history of the neo-Gothic building, which now houses 38 rooms. In Zürich, the German budget chain Motel One has incorporated its sense of design at low prices into the former post office in the Selnau district. Other hotels will no doubt soon follow in the footsteps of these pioneers.
