Rates: from €120
Added extras: the themed rooms
Services: wifi and honesty bar
With Opéra on one side and Tuileries on the other, the four-star Le Pradey offers 28 bright and well-appointed rooms recently renovated by architects Vincent Bastie (who also worked on the Burgundy and the Costes).
It’s refined with some seriously elegant touches, such as the mezzanine lounge floor above the reception area. There’s fine books and magazines to pore over with a drink from the honesty bar, which boasts a D-vine, a sophisticated machine to aerate and prep the wine for tasting.
There are four types of room available: 15 authentic rooms, three traditional, four Paris suites and six confidential suites. Suites on the fifth floor are named in honour of Hermès: l'Ecuyère, l'Explorateur and les Carrés. They’re superb spaces with details conjured up by the famed couturier: leather, cashmere and silk. The views from the balconies over the Tuileries and l'église Saint-Roch are incredible.
The most surprising suites are on the first floor. Forget the classic style of the Hermes suites, here eclectic originality is the order of the day. The Cabaret suite is accessorised with frills and red velvet, while the Petit Rat de l'opéra suite is an explosion of pink satin, pointe ballet shoes and tutu tulle. The exuberant interiors are the handiwork of lingerie queen Chantal Thomass and one thing is for sure – it’s worth getting your knickers in a twist to book a room at this surprising address.