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Caron de Beaumarchais is exactly what you want in a small, affordable Parisian hotel. It’s unbelievably pretty; it’s located bang in the middle of the Marais district—young and fun, this is Paris’s answer to Greenwich Village—the staff are cheerful (not always the norm with Parisians); and the historic interiors ooze character. Misty mirrors, glass chandeliers, and antique portraits recreate the atmosphere of an 18th-century townhouse straight out of Dangerous Liasons. The nineteen bedrooms retain their original oak beams and are decorated with elegant French fabrics and Gustavian furniture. Bathrooms are more modern and functional, enlivened with fresh flowers and fluffy bathrobes. In winter a real log fire crackles in the lobby and come summer the blessed air-conditioning kicks in. Breakfast is served until midday—think café au lait with freshly baked baguette, unsalted butter and the fruitiest strawberry jam. Be warned that the top-floor rooms really are tiny, but they do have balconies with sweeping views across to the Right Bank. Double rooms from €125 ($195). Métro: St. Paul.

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Steps from Angélina and Le Meurice for a fraction of the price, the Hôtel Brighton dates back to the reign of Queen Victoria and was named for the bright friendship between the two countries that flourished in that era. It’s not hard to imagine travelers arriving here with trunks on their Grand Tours. The hotel has been modernized somewhat since then, there is air-conditioning and WiFi, but the Old World décor and a dated quality persist. The staff does not deliver the snap-to-it, first-class service you can expect down the street and the lobby and rooms are a bit faded, especially if you compare it to the new Starck-ized lobby of Le Meurice, but you can’t beat the price for this location. You can get a Tuileries facing room for €235 ($367) or Appartement room for €340 ($530). Métro: Tuileries.

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Before I went to Brittany to live with a French family for my junior year in high school, my favorite French teacher, a cool Parisienne in her twenties, gave me a list of inexpensive hotels on the Left Bank. This and the adjacent Hôtel Des Deux Continents were on it. More often than not, when I tried to reserve a room that year or the years after when I came to visit, the hotel was sold out. Its following is so loyal that some women have come for the same two or three weeks each fall or spring for more than thirty years.

The rooms are tiny and a bit reminiscent of an elderly aunt’s guest room, so I would recommend them only for single travelers or young couples on a tight budget. For people who love the Left Bank, its location cannot be beat. There’s also a charming little back garden where breakfast is served in fine weather. Steps from Place St.-Germain, around the corner from Le Petit Zinc, blocks from the Seine and lined with antique shops and boutiques, the Rue Jacob has drawn illustrious residents since the 15th century when the nobles first moved over to the quartier. Rooms from $160. Métro: St.-Germain.

Bottom line: The location and price cannot be beat, but the rooms verge on the claustrophobic.

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Like the Hôtel Brighton on the Right Bank, the Hôtel des Saints-Pères is part of the Esprit group, which emphasizes charming, historic hotel rooms with great locations and a reasonable price. For lovers of the Left Bank, this hotel’s location cannot be beat. On a wonderful shopping street that runs between the Boulevard St. Germain and the Rue de Grenelle, the hotel may not cost much but the window shopping that cannot be avoided may challenge your will power. The mansion that houses the hotel was once the home of Daniel Gittard, who served as an architect to Louis XIV, the Sun King. Aside from one room with a fresco on the ceiling by the School of Versailles painters, though, its décor is not grand. A few rooms have beamed ceilings but most are quite spare. The appeal is the location and the price. Rooms from €170 to €380 ($265-$594), with special reductions in the summer. Métro: St.-Germain-des-Prés.

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Discreet, understated, charming, Hôtel Le Sainte-Beuve is simple style at its best. Calm interiors are a mix of English comfort and Gallic charm, designed by British designer David Hicks. Expect deep sofas, fresh flowers, some strikingly modern, funky art and a slick staff with a spring in their step. In the heart of St. Germain, close to the wonderful St. Sulpice church (and the prettiest of all the Annick Goutal perfume shops), you really couldn’t ask for a more enticing location—the surrounding cafés, secret courtyards and chic one-off boutiques of the Left Bank are pure Paris. When you’ve finished exploring, you can retreat to one of the twenty-two air-conditioned, blissfully quiet bedrooms, decorated with flair using a mix of lovely antiques and modern comforts. The bathrooms are marbled and bright; the whole place fresh, clean and uncluttered. Sleep deep and for breakfast feast on freshly baked goodies from the famous bakery Mulot. Double rooms from €145 ($225). Métro: St. Sulpice.

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By the Luxembourg Gardens and a five-minute walk from Odéon, Hôtel Le Sénat is a six-story boutique hotel offering a great location in the heart of St. Germain on a quiet street. It is a true find for its small, stylish rooms at very reasonable prices. The contemporary design features lots of black, white and gray and angular furniture for a cool look that some may find a bit cold. However, the brand-new feeling of it is rare in a city where most of the reasonably priced hotels in good locations are in desperate need of renovation. Each of the rooms has flat-screen TVs and complimentary WiFi. A number of the rooms have terraces, where you can enjoy breakfast with a rooftop view, including the Duplex Suites. The main floor has a cozy library and attractive bar. Rooms from $230. Métro: Odéon.

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This small Left Bank hotel has been redone with drama by super-star French decorator Jacques Garcia, who may be best known for the deeply glamorous interiors he created for the Hôtel Costes in the ‘90s) and who recently did the new Fouquet’s Barrière). In many ways this property could be considered the Costes’ funkier little sister. For starters, there are fewer rooms, and the rooms—both public and private–are much smaller, but then so are the rates. Just as the Costes sits on the Right Bank’s premier shopping street, the Faubourg St.-Honoré, so is the Odéon Saint-Germain located only steps from many of the Left Bank’s best boutiques on Rue St.-Sulpice. The building dates to 1530, so quarters are tight but charming. Exposed beams and rough stone walls have been gleefully tarted up with velvet, tweed and brocade by Garcia to make extravagance play off the simple spaces. It’s a good choice for those who want to sleep in stylish surroundings in a Left Bank location, but who do not need a lot of space. Rooms from $280, depending on the size and season. Métro: Odéon.

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While the 16th arrondissement is not a quartier that is well known to tourists, it is one of Paris’s most elegant residential neighborhoods, where many haute bourgeois have lived for generations. Here, on a quiet tree-lined street is sleek little boutique hotel, sister property to the Hôtel Le Sénat, that was just completely redone. Its small, well-designed rooms feature handsome black-and-white photographs and leather trimmed desk chairs and conveniences like WiFi and double-glazed windows. There is a small gym, but if the weather is good, you’re better off jogging along the Seine in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. For those who don’t care about being walking distance to the city’s main attractions and want a refined room at a reasonable price, this is a good choice. Rooms from $280. Métro: Rue de la Pompe.

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Last year, the veteran Paris hotelier Sylvie de Lattre snapped up a tired two-star hotel on Place St. Sulpice and redid it from top to bottom with the help of the talented designer Jean-Louis Deniot. The new design is so stylish that French decor magazines have already photographed the rooms, declaring it “the new chic address in St. Germain-des-Prés.”

When I visited last weekend, I found de Lattre on hand greeting guests. An English couple headed out to an exhibit she had recommended, while a young Belgian couple sipped tea and plotted their evening in the cozy library. Rather than a formal lobby, the ground floor has a series of rooms with a reception desk just past the front door and then a library and a living room facing a small garden terrace. Among the warming details: a leopard-print carpet, a gray velvet settee strewn with pale blue and gray pillows, whimsical table lamps with stork legs and shelves of Asian bowls and art books. A fire may be lit, and a bar with drinks and tea and coffee invites lingering. Up the winding staircase are six floors of bedrooms. On each landing, in a recessed nook, is a bust of Madame Récamier, one of the great salon hostesses of the 19th century, but each has been painted to evoke a different painter, such as Roy Lichtenstein or Picasso.

Each of the 24 guest rooms is slightly different, but all have sumptuous beds, large reading chairs and tall windows draped with silk curtains. While one room has Chinese orange accents, another may feature a palette of grays or browns. The unfussy, sophisticated aesthetic combines an appreciation of Deco influences with a contemporary edge, as evidenced in the avant-garde photographs by Andrea Kock in many of the rooms. Designers will recognize fabrics from Pierre Frey, Jim Thompson and Georges Le Manach and mirrors that pay homage to Tony Duquette. The jumble of influences creates warmth and the sense that someone of great taste and worldliness is welcoming you.

I have always loved the St.-Sulpice area of the Left Bank because it’s close to art, shopping and my favorite restaurants but quiet and residential. The Luxembourg gardens are only a few blocks away, as are St.-Germain-des-Prés and Café de Flore. The discreet charm of the hotel would make it the perfect place for a writer and lover of comfort to hole up and work. Looking over Place St.-Sulpice, one might even view ghosts of Hemingway and Gertrude Stein in the shadows of history. Rooms from €250.

Who Should Stay: Lovers of pocket-sized Parisian charm. As in most Left Bank hotels, the rooms are not large, but they are perfect for a cozy stay with a homey feel.

Who Should Not Stay: Anyone who expects the amenities of a five-star hotel, such as 24- hour room service.

Note: Not every room has a bathtub, so if that is important to you, make sure to ask. Each floor has two rooms that can be connected for families.

Read a member’s postcard about shops and restaurants to visit around Hôtel Récamier.

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The Parisian editors of fashion Web site Do It in Paris recommend: “The beautiful renovated Hotel Pulitzer sits opposite a costume shop in Montmartre’s lively neighborhood (it’s also close to the Opéra Garnier and the area’s department stores). The redo of this three-star caught our eye: the refined lobby is decorated in gray and beige, with lots of candles; the library corner has large distressed-leather sofas, while another reading room boasts a heavy wooden table; the cocktail area has a long bar, pale-colored seating and a wall of mirrors (whether you’re a guest or not, a drink at the Pulitzer bar is a must). Upstairs, you’ll find the same sleek tones in the bedrooms, paired with stone flooring, antique ironware and lamps from the 1950s. Be sure to ask for a room that has been updated. Rooms from €150.