The street where the hotel is located was the west wing of the abbey of Saint-Germain. At the end of the 14th^ème In the 19th century, Pope Alexander III could reach the monastery through a door in the present-day hotel lobby.
During the 18^ème In the 19th century, the building was occupied by the Imprimerie Nationale, which was responsible for the official documentation of Parliament.
The Hotel Bel Ami, with its facade bearing the marks of the Industrial Revolution and its conversion into a printing works, had to bear the name of one of the French literary works of the 19th century.^ème century, Bel-Ami, written by Guy de Maupassant.