Hôtel Récamier

This discreet Left Bank hotel makes a perfect homebase for exploring the charming neighborhood around Place Saint-Sulpice.

• The location on Place St. Sulpice
• The cozy library for drinks before dinner
• The residential feeling of the property

Veteran Paris hotelier Sylvie de Lattre snapped up a tired two-star hotel on Place Saint-Sulpice and redid it from top to bottom with the help of the talented designer Jean-Louis Deniot. 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 charming 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 Saint-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. Note: Not every room has a bath tub, so if that is important to you, make sure to ask. Each floor has two rooms that can be connected for families.

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.

Read Upon Arrival Paris to discover points of interest within a few blocks of the hotel.