Europe's sexiest hotels:
Paris blogger Heather Stimmler-Hall scouts out the best boutique hotels on the Left Bank
• As featured in our Paris city guide
Hôtel Sublim Eiffel
For those who can't resist anything with an Eiffel Tower printed on it, this contemporary kitsch boutique hotel is a tribute to the Paris urban experience. Though tiny, the rooms are packed with visual interest, from the Métro map carpeting and Paris skyline scenes screened on to the walls and curtains, to the tiny fibre optic lights embedded into the ceiling and bathroom walls. Rooms on the top floors overlook the elevated Métro just outside and the famous Iron Lady sparkling a few blocks away. Bonus hotel amenities include a steam room and fireplace bar.
• 94 boulevard Garibaldi, 15th, +33 1 4065 9595, sublimeiffel.com. Métro: Sèvres Lecourbe. Doubles from €189
Hôtel Design de la Sorbonne
The heart of the Latin Quarter is the ideal place for young-at-heart travellers looking for the dive bars, arthouse cinemas and independent bookshops that characterise this neighbourhood. The Hôtel Design de la Sorbonne is a pleasingly smart-looking boutique hotel with plenty of style since its recent renovation. Every room is equipped with its own iMac and decorated with designer wallpaper and fabrics in turquoise, lime green, strawberry, or minimalist black and white. Bathrooms are spanking new as well, some with claw-foot tubs. Don't miss the photo exhibitions displayed on each floor.
• 6 rue Victor Cousin, 5th, +33 1 4354 5808, hotelsorbonne.com. Métro: Cluny-La Sorbonne or RER Luxembourg. Doubles from €165
Hôtel Bonaparte
Property in the highly coveted St-Germain-des-Prés district is among the most expensive in Paris, so if you want to join the lucky few who can roll out of bed within a few blocks of the Café Deux Magots and Eglise St-Sulpice, be sure to reserve this budget hotel well in advance. Rooms feature 19th-century architectural elements such as stone fireplace mantels and moulded ceilings. Air conditioning and refrigerators make up for the somewhat outmoded decor, and with the price of a triple still firmly under €200, you'll have room for all of the purchases you'll acquire with the euros you've saved.
• 61 rue Bonaparte, 6th, +33 1 4326 9737, hotelbonaparte.fr. Métro: Mabillon. Doubles from €130
Hôtel Petit Belloy St Germain
Straddling the border between the Latin Quarter and St-Germain-des-Prés, this classic boutique hotel is right next to Luxembourg Gardens, the Cluny Medieval Museum and the Odéon Theatre. The RER B to the airports is a block away, and both Notre Dame and the Louvre are less than 15 minutes on foot. Rooms won't appear in any glossy magazine spreads, but they're decorated in tasteful neutral tones, with free Wi-Fi and double-paned windows. Be sure to request one with air conditioning in the summer.
• 1 rue Racine, 6th, +33 1 4326 8713, hotel-petit-belloy-saint-germain.com. Métro: Cluny-La Sorbonne. Doubles from €165
Hôtel du Cadran
Located just off the popular rue Cler, between the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides, this modern boutique hotel with a contemporary pastry shop in the lobby stands out in a neighbourhood often known for its rather frumpy accommodation. Décor leans towards Zen minimalism with bursts of bright colour and a clock (or cadran) theme. The desk space is little more than a corner shelf and closet space is suited for those who know how to pack light. Just don't forget the earplugs if you're a light sleeper to block out the lively chatter from the late-night cafes just outside.
• 10 rue du Champs de Mars, 7th, +33 1 4062 6700, cadranhotel.com. Métro: Ecole Militaire. Doubles from €119
Hôtel 7 Eiffel
On a quiet side street near the rue Cler market street, this super contemporary design boutique hotel makes up in creativity what it lacks in space, using mirrors, Plexiglas tables, oversized images screened on to the ceilings, textured tiles and plush carpeting. The marble bathrooms have separate toilets, rain shower heads, bathrobes and Fragonard toiletries. Open-Space rooms are the largest, with private balconies. Bonuses include free Wi-Fi and tea and coffee facilities in every room. In summertime the rooftop terrace is open to guests (including smokers), and the lounge bar features gourmet pastries and wines.
• 17 bis rue Amélie, 7th, +33 1 4555 1001, hotel-7eiffel-paris.com. Métro: La Tour-Maubourg. Doubles from €185
Hôtel de Lille
This old coaching inn between the Musée d'Orsay and St-Germain-des-Prés is well situated for easy access to the Louvre and Tuileries gardens via the pedestrian bridge across the Seine. Some rooms still maintain an old-fashioned atmosphere, but most have already been given a complete makeover with modern yet discrete colour schemes, enlarged black and white photographs of Paris serving as headboards, and essential mod cons such as air conditioning and Wi-Fi. Skip the underground breakfast experience and head out to one of the neighbourhood cafés overlooking the river for your morning croissants and espresso.
• 40 rue de Lille, 7th, +33 1 4261 2909, hotel-paris-lille.com. Métro: Rue du Bac. Renovated doubles from €160
Hôtel La Manufacture
Don't let the "13th arrondissement" scare you away from this contemporary little budget hotel well-located in a lively residential district close to the Butte aux Cailles, with its village-like atmosphere, Mouffetard market street, Jardin des Plantes and Chinatown. Conveniences include three metro lines, four bus lines and several cinemas, cafés and bakeries, as well as a decent shopping mall just across the square. Rooms are basic but bright, with art deco-inspired décor and air conditioning. Some have little balconies. If extra space is important, book a deluxe top floor room for €195 with a view over the rooftops of the city.
• 8 rue Philippe de Champagne, 13th, +33 1 4535 4525, hotel-la-manufacture.com. Métro: Place d'Italie. Doubles from €165
Le Fabe Hôtel
A fresh-faced little boutique hotel deep in the Left Bank, each room at Le Fabe has a different theme, mixing contemporary fabrics with Louis XVI chairs, Plexiglass tables, blown-up photographs and textured bathroom tiles. It's great for those who want easy access to Orly Airport, Montparnasse train station, or the Porte de Versailles – Paris Expo exhibition centre, but to reach the central Paris sites, you'll need to embrace public transportation (Métro line 13 is a few minutes' walk). As a bonus, the predominantly residential neighbourhood is full of affordable little cafes and shops.
• 113 bis rue de l'Ouest, 14th, +33 1 4044 0963, lefabehotel.fr. Métro: Pernety. Doubles from €170
La Maison Montparnasse
In the same neighbourhood as Le Fabe, this family-run hotel goes for a brighter colour palette of bright fuchsia, orange, yellow and plum, offset by fluffy white bedding and white tiled bathrooms (shell out for the larger room if you need a spacious bathroom). There's no air conditioning, but the ground-level breakfast room and small patio garden are a nice change from the dark "caves" found in many budget hotels. Montparnasse cemetery, the Catacombs, and the locals' shopping street, rue Daguerre, are an easy stroll from the hotel. Otherwise, the Métro station (line 13) is just two blocks away.
• 53 rue Gergovie, 14th, +33 1 4542 1139, lamaisonmontparnasse.com. Métro: Pernety. Doubles from €109
• Heather Stimmler-Hall is the author of Paris blog secretsofparis.com
