Shangri-La Paris
The Shangri-La Paris offers a great view of the Eiffel Tower, so close across the Seine that you can almost touch it. It’s an escapade into a sybaritic vision of France past. Originally the private residence of Roland Bonaparte, great nephew of the famous Emperor, who filled his home with eagles, crowns, imperial bees and Bs in a style that is rather more Louis XIV than Napoleon, it has a wedding-cake facade, grand stairway and a string of historic salons, which have been listed and painstakingly restored with hand-gilded panelling and neoclassical friezes. It costs a fortune but this is a place you come to for a special occasion.
Address: 10 avenue d'Iéna, 16th
Contact: 00 33 1 53 67 19 98; shangri-la.com
Read the full review: Shangri-La Paris
Read more: best Paris hotels
Le Meurice
Le Meurice is superbly placed for visiting the Louvre but also for financial affairs or classy shopping on rue St-Honoré. It's very grand yet not stuffy. Dali used to stay here with his ocelots and that has clearly left a legacy of tolerance for guest's foibles. There are chandeliers and marble galore but also a frosted mirror in the entrance hall where guests can doodle or sign their autograph. The 160 rooms and suites are sybaritic oceans of pastel-coloured silks and bergère chairs à la Louis XVI. If you can afford it it's worth it.
Address: 228 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
Contact: 00 33 1 44 58 10 10; lemeurice.com
Read the full review: Le Meurice, Paris
Le Royal Monceau Raffles
As soon as you see the red lanterns and red glass marquise outside, you know this place is slightly naughty but nice. It’s at its best downstairs in the public spaces, the lounge stretches endlessly mixing vistas and secluded corners, with illuminated Long Bar for seeing and being seen, and a cascade of chandeliers in the stairwell. The 149 rooms and suites are far from designer minimalism, rather, a Starck-conceived artistic clutter of eclectic lamps and tables, mixing retro and contemporary touches.
Address: 37 avenue Hoche, 75008 Paris
Contact: 00 33 1 42 99 88 00
Read the full review: Le Royal Monceau Raffles, Paris
Hôtel du Petit-Moulin
On a narrow historic street in the happening north or "haut" Marais, amid contemporary art galleries and original fashion boutiques, the Hotel du Petit-Moulin is a unique blend of Marais history. It's fashionable but with an atmosphere that is more secret hideaway than show off. The 17 rooms for once really are all different with boldly clashing colours and lush fabrics. Lacroix took inspiration from the idea of the voyage in both time and place in a seriously heady mix. Prices are surprisingly reasonable for a hotel that feels so special.
Address: 29 rue de Poitou, 75003 Paris
Contact: 00 33 1 42 74 10 10; hotelpetitmoulinparis.com
Read the full review: Hôtel du Petit-Moulin, Paris
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Relais Christine
The Relais Christine is very convenient for the district's legendary cafés and fashion boutiques and feels more like a dignified country house than a hotel in the heart of one of Europe's most densely populated cities with an atmosphere of refined calm that belies its 50 rooms. Awash with the aura of centuries of history, the lovely entrance hall has original painted beams, there's a spacious panelled drawing room with portraits, sofas and a log fire in winter. A buffet breakfast is served in the vaulted cellars and there's an honesty bar in the drawing room.
Address: 3 rue Christine, 75006 Paris
Contact: 00 33 1 40 51 60 80; relais-christine.com
Read the full review: Relais Christine, Paris
Jules et Jim
Natural materials, stylish design, modernity meets history at this hotel named after the Truffaut film. With 23 rooms divided over series of small buildings, life centres round the convivial paved courtyard with its planted wall and real outdoor fireplace and the bar in a converted silversmith's workshop. The reception hall leading between street and courtyard doubles as a gallery with changing photo shows, and they even sometimes set up a temporary cinema - just 20 seats - in the vaulted cellars.
Address: 11 rue des Gravilliers 75003 Paris
Contact: 00 33 1 44 54 13 13; hoteljulesetjim.com
Read the full review: Jules et Jim hotel, Paris
Hôtel des Grands-Hommes
Situated on the imposing place du Panthéon, the Grands Hommes can boast its own great man in André Breton who invented automatic writing here in 1919. The owners have a handful of thoughtfully decorated hotels on the Left Bank with compact but comfortable cocoons, decorated with Toile de Jouy fabrics with neo-classical motifs and old engravings. They take breakfast seriously here and recently replaced the standard buffet for a superior à la carte offering.
Address: 17 place du Panthéon, 75005 Paris
Contact: 00 33 1 46 34 19 60; hoteldesgrandshommes.com
Read the full review: Hôtel des Grands-Hommes, Paris
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Hôtel Arvor Saint-Georges
Located on a quiet crescent just off pretty place St-Georges in the Paris of the 19th-century Romantics the Hotel Arvor Saint-Georges gets the home from home atmosphere just right. You can browse art books or play table football, vases of fresh flowers, and curvy Bookworm shelves of paperbacks to borrow in the corridors and the bedrooms are airy and pared back. Think bright white with one contrasting wall personalised with eclectic lights, vintage chests of drawers or dressing tables found at the fleamarket and original photos.
Address: 8 rue Laferrière, 75009 Paris
Contact: 00 33-1 48 78 60 92; arvor-hotel-paris.com
Read the full review: Hôtel Arvor Saint-Georges, Paris
Hôtel Fabric
This converted textile factory is an interesting reminder of Paris's industrial past. Relaxed and stylish, the Fabric, makes a refreshing change from tasteful minimalism or revisited historicism. The large open-plan lobby lounge sets the style, with a post-industrial vibe of large metal windows, exposed ducts and brick walls, vases of flowers and an eclectic mix of design and fleamarket finds. Appropriately for its origins, the 33 rooms make use of lots of different fabrics and patterns. It’s good value for a hotel with genuine style.
Address: 31 rue de la Folie Mericourt, 75011, Paris, France
Contact: 00 33 14 35 72 700; hotelfabric.com/en
Read the full review: Hôtel Fabric, Paris
Hôtel Michelet Odéon
The Michelet Odéon is situated on one of the city's most beautiful squares, overlooking the lovely 18th-century Théâtre de l'Odéon. Behind the period facade, the interior is fresh and contemporary, with sophisticated finishes and warm colours. The style is low key and tasteful rather than bursting with character but with a location like this that hardly matters. Rooms were all redone in 2008 with natural wood furniture, accent colours, amusing tiger-stripe carpets and well-lit pristine modern bathrooms. It’s excellent value for money for the area.
Address: 9 place de l'Odéon, 75006 Paris
Contact: 00 33 1 53 10 05 60; hotelmicheletodeon.com
Read the full review: Hôtel Michelet Odéon, Paris
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As selected by Natasha Edwards from her Paris guide
Map compiled by Belinda Maude
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This article was written by Natasha Edwards from The Daily Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
