HotelChatter

[Photo: Taken from Hotel Brighton balcony by gnatty]

Hôtel Brighton
The exception that proves the rule - a hotel with a view over the lovely picnicky Tuileries gardens in the inner ventricles of sightseeing land (the Louvre, the Champs Elysées, Opéra, the Orsay Museum, the Seine, and the rest).

Rave reviews even before its renovation, which jumped it (but not its prices....much) up to four stars. A 19th-century building not a factory, flowery but restrained décor, and you could just about jump into the gardens from your window. Although you'll have to book before you're born if you want a balcony view when the Tour de France cyclists are due to whizz past.

PS: Warning: a 'Courtyard view' is not a view - if you're paying for a room with a view, make sure you get one.

PPS: For a slightly cheaper but equally highly recommended hotel run by the same mini-chain, check out the Hotel D Orsay.

Les Jardins du Marais
The guy who designed the Eiffel tower built this building originally, but the reputable Home Plazza chain got a couple of designers in (Alexandre Danan and Jean-Louis San Miguel) to rip out the insides and fill it with shiny art deco. Just to prove it's a proper design hotel they scattered around a few chairs by Philippe Starck and proudly point you to sit on the Lelièvre armchairs in the lounge.

They did a good job, which is why I'm recommending it even though it doesn't have a view of anything. It is in the perfect location, though, in the stylish Marais area, great for younger, trendier travellers who like to do their sightseeing in hip bars and chic designer shops. A few steps from the up-and-coming Oberkampf area, for younger, trendier travellers with a bit less cocktail money to spend. Top restaurant and bar, a breakfast that would kill a horse, and - I give in! - a little garden if you're really hankering after that damn view.

Hôtel Tilsitt Étoile
Hoteliers near the Champs Elysées have generally learned their Get Rich Quick course very well, especially the bit about adding 10 bucks to the bill for every frilly curtain and 20 bucks for every knob and button. Here's one that hasn't - the highly-rated Tilsitt Étoile two steps down a quiet street from the Arc de Triomphe.

Intrigued by their website's claim that "Alexander's chest or Aphrodite wrapped up in her tunique... will lead you to a surprising and astonishing contrast" I popped along. The receptionists looked more like Goliath and Medusa, but super-friendly and speaking better English than their website. The hotel's shiny but clean and unpretentious, with soft lighting and the odd random pile of pebbles.

But do you have a room with a view? I asked hopefully. Oh yes, up on the sixth floor (phew!) you can see over the roof tops of Paris and into all the windows of the nearby flats. Half the price of the much talked-about boutique Jays Hotel down the road (which is great if you're a moneybags, don't get me wrong). Bargain. If you want to stay in that area, I can't recommend the Tilsitt enough.