Behind the Scenes at Montheb Guesthouse

This time, it's less about travel and more about the owner's personal story. Since she started running Montheb, she hasn't had much free time. Every guesthouse runs differently, but her rule is to stay on site whenever guests are there. That means she can't go out often, but she loves getting out, so she wanders whenever she can. This year her younger sibling is on staff, which has freed up some time. Before that she ran the place alone, so time was tight, and the daily routine was always much the same, so there aren't many special episodes from her years of operation. So instead of stories from running the place, she'll talk about the time before opening and the preparation.

The question guests ask most is how she came to open a guesthouse. Before coming here, she worked for quite a long time as a software developer. It's an entirely different field, and it wasn't that the work didn't suit her; the environment simply wore her out. She realized she wanted to invest in the present rather than in an uncertain future, so she boldly quit and decided to do what she wanted. She had long been interested in interior design, and bought interior magazines rather than fashion ones. She also dreamed of opening a café. She loved decorating her home, inviting friends over for coffee and time together, and as she did, she vaguely began thinking she'd like to open a guesthouse someday. After coming to France and stepping away from work to have time for herself, her goal sharpened and she grew confident about the idea, so she opened. The concept she wanted was a guesthouse that feels like a café.

Preparing to open was no small task alone. For two to three weeks she slept three hours a night and did nothing but clean, and worries before opening kept her awake. There's no corner of the place she didn't touch, polishing it with great care. The biggest headache was a solid-wood bed she'd bought in the wrong color by mistake. It couldn't be exchanged, it had been hard to haul in, and it clashed so badly with the room that, grudgingly, she sanded the color off piece by piece. It was her first time sanding since elementary or middle school. It seems silly now, but she can laugh about it today, though at the time she felt completely lost. That's how much love went into Montheb.

"Montheb" means "my dream." She didn't pick it grandly because opening a guesthouse was her dream. Nobody would guess, but what she meant wasn't her own dream; she hoped that time spent in Paris and at Montheb would feel like a dream to those who stayed. The inspiration came from Disney's Aladdin. The French title of that song is "Ce rêve bleu," sung while flying on a magic carpet. For Princess Jasmine, wasn't that a dreamlike moment? If you get the chance, give it a listen.