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 Paris Character Hotels
As the authors of the Charming Small Hotel Guide to Paris, we are often asked for addresses with at least a whiff of genuine, Gallic charm and character. Sadly such hotels are a dying breed, and some of our favourites are now too elderly to recommend wholeheartedly. For simple, family-run hotels, check out our list of budget hotels with Gallic charm (Paris Budget Chic). Try to book well in advance, and ask for the better rooms if you can. As for our favourite bedroom in Paris, we should tell you about the Parc St-Severin (www.espritdefrance.com), a pleasant enough Latin Quarter hotel, though not one of our top choices, but with a top floor suite that's circled by a broad private terrace with breathtaking views of the city, and which costs less than many small, viewless rooms in more expensive hotels. The best view of all, though, comes from the terrace of the Belle Etoile suite at the Meurice (see Paris Chic hotels). The hotels are listed by price category, and their order bears no reflection on our preference.
 Reviews by Fiona Duncan |
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| Luxury: Iconic hotel where Oscar Wilde lived, now with flamboyant interiors by Jacques Garcia |
| Location: St-Germain-des-Prés; 6th arr. |
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| The louche, decadent meeting place of the 60s and 70s is now a haven where today's A-Listers come to escape the Paparazzi, and where gloriously extravagant interiors compliment its fabulous circular atrium. Choose between jewel-box like rooms and themed suites (if you can bear the tristesse you can sleep in the room in which Oscar Wilde expired beyond his means). There's also a divine candlelit plunge pool, perfect for romantic assignations, and Michelin-starred Le Restaurant, one of the city's most popular places to dine. |
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| Luxury: Civilised hotel in a handsome 17th-century honey-stone house |
| Location: St-Germain-des-Prés; 6th arr. |
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| Four-star comfort combines with personal touches at this hotel in a 17th-century honey-stone house arranged around a large courtyard. Huge double doors – formerly a coach entrance – lead from the street into an airy lobby, off which Café Laurent has attracted the literati and glitterati since 1690. The lovely sitting room has a cosy feeling despite its grand proportions, and bedrooms cocoon their inhabitants in sound-proofed luxury. |
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| Luxury: Exuberant decoration recalls the East in a gorgeous town house hotel |
| Location: between the Champs Elysées and rue Faubourg Saint Honoré; 8th arr. |
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| Turning its back on the current trend for all-white minimalism, the Daniel puts Chinoiserie firmly back on the style map, with Khotan carpets, hand-painted Chinese wallpaper, jewel-coloured silk sofas and porcelain lamps. The look, created by designer Tarfa Salam, is flamboyant and uplifting. From the lobby, in tones of almond green and grey, a lift resembling a Chinese box whisks you up to the lovely bedrooms, most lined with toile de Jouy and all furnished with hand-picked oriental pieces. |
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| Luxury: Chic, luxurious hotel, much loved by the world of fashion |
| Location: Just south of the Champs-Elysées, between avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt and place François 1er; 8th arr. |
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| A stiletto’s step from avenue Montaigne, home to Christian Dior, Valentino and other great names of haute couture, the elegantly opulent San Régis has been a second home to the movers and shakers of the fashion world since it opened in 1923. Behind a handsome neoclassical façade, it is furnished in country-house style, with a smart restaurant, lined with faux books, an English-style bar and salon, luxurious bedrooms, impeccable bathrooms and a winter garden. Wonderfully attentive staff. |
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| Mid Price: Captivating and romantic with a private house feel |
| Location: St-Germain-des-Prés; 7th arr. |
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| First glimpsed beyond a charming courtyard through elegant French windows, this long-popular hotel looks romantic and inviting, and so it is, with warm fabrics, overstuffed furniture and cleverly conceived paint effects; even the lift is lined in kelim. The richly coloured bedrooms are elegant yet cosy, as is the little cellar bar. The atmosphere is that of a private house, with TVs only on request and room service instead of mini-bars. |
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| Mid Price: Charming hotel with pretty bedrooms in villagey Montmartre |
| Location: Montmartre, off rue Lepic; 18th arr. |
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| The December 2005 opening of this hotel from the same stable as Le Relais du Louvre filled a mid-priced gap in the Montmartre hotel scene. Like its sister, it is a welcoming place, where chintz and dainty period furniture lend the reception/salon a feminine air. Upstairs, the 26 bedrooms have different colour schemes and beams, which, rescued from another hotel, look dramatic painted in bold colours. Connecting rooms are ideal for families. Also a tiny interior garden. |
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| Mid Price: Peaceful, well-placed town house with pretty, cosy bedrooms |
| Location: Beside St Germain-l'Auxerrois, next to the Louvre; 1st arr. |
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| A marvellous location distinguishes this little hotel, squeezed into an old house hard by the river, with many windows touching distance from the pinnacles of St Germain-l'Auxerrois. Rooms are small and box-shaped, some with old beams and floor-length windows, but charming: traditional, old fashioned even, but pretty, cosy and welcoming. And oh so quiet. Very handy for the fashionable Le Fumoir in Place du Louvre, and the great museum itself. |
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| Mid Price: Neat, straightforward hotel with superb views |
| Location: Tuileries; 1st arr. |
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| A quiet little hotel in a fantastic location, with half the rooms overlooking the Tuileries and beyond – the same view as the Meurice at a fraction of the price. In pristine condition after a major renovation, the hotel is now all faux marble columns and pretty chandeliers in the breakfast salon, while the rooms are soberly decorated, with the odd old picture enlivening the walls and neat new bathrooms. The decoration recalls the hotel's 19th century roots, and the name recalls the Etente Cordiale. |
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| Mid Price: Handsome, antique-filled rooms in a terrific location |
| Location: Place Vendôme, near the Louvre/Tuileries; 1st arr. |
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| Modest prices for a great location. The airy lobby is decorated with geometric murals inspired by Mansart’s designs, but it's the hotel's position on the corner of place Vendôme and the sober, antique-furnished rooms that impress, especially No. 205, which feels like a private apartment with its own entrance hall, and, equally stately, No. 212, a huge room with panelled walls. Good buffet breakfast. |
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| Mid Price: Stylish, warmly decorated and furnished with antiques |
| Location: between boulevards Montparnasse and St-Germain, near the Jardin du Luxembourg; 6th arr. |
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| An 18thC town house contains this chic little hotel designed by Christian Badin, where a fire blazes in the salon on wintry days. This cosy room is dotted with antiques and knick-knacks picked up in shops and markets by the owner’s wife, and has French windows leading on to a tiny, flowery garden. Equally appealing are the warmly decorated bedrooms, with their mixture of white and antique furniture. |
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| Mid Price: Parisian townhouse transformed into a flamboyant Moorish palace |
| Location: in the Marais, just north of rue de Rivoli; 4th arr. |
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| Walk through the door of this handsome, but quite ordinary looking town house, and enter another world. The Costes' baby (and more affordable) sister is decorated in romantic Moorish style and has the feel of an Arabian boudoir, with tasselled sofas, antique and lacquered furniture, dim lighting and an atmosphere heady with the aroma of scented candles. Like the Costes, it was designed by Jacques Garcia and bears his hallmarks everywhere from leopard-print furniture in the cellar breakfast room to the overblown bedrooms. |
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| Inexpensive: Delightful, welcoming hotel furnished in 18th-century style |
| Location: the Marais, near the rue de Rivoli; 4th arr. |
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| It’s impossible not to be caught up in the warmth of this charming hotel and the staff who run it and genuinely want their guests to be happy. Named after Mozart’s librettist, who lived further down the street, its theme is the 18th century, with colour schemes and fabrics based on the period, dainty upholstered furniture, and framed pages of Beaumarchais’ famous ‘Marriage of Figaro’. Good value for the Marais. |
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| Inexpensive: Charming bedrooms and an auberge-style restaurant make this a sought-after base in the Latin Quarter |
| Location: Latin Quarter; 5th arr. |
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| On a little tree-filled square, with a charming auberge-style restaurant (where guests take breakfast) this vintage hotel is a delight. A steep staircase decorated with murals leads to the distinctive bedrooms, with beamed ceilings, wood furnishings and paintings. Two look over Notre-Dame; cheaper rooms are tiny, while the best overlook the street. There's a huge attic room with great character and views to match. |
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