M Gallery Hotel Frances

M Gallery Hotel Frances Review

Discerning business travelers, American vacationers, celebs, and other luminaries (including Oscar de la Renta) opt for the intimate, refined luxury of this small, well-run hotel. French and Dominican flags fly over the arched, coral-stone entrance of what's a local landmark, a former French mansion. Dark, hacienda-like rooms with tall, beamed ceilings overlook the courtyard, an urban refuge with cast-iron balustrades and hanging ferns. (Ask for second-floor corner room No. 205—it's large, with an anteroom, and completely soundproof.) Now all the windows have been made soundproof, which was just one of the many long-awaited improvements. Also new are a lobby with stylish furnishings and many other in-room amenities, including new linens and now duvets, king-size beds, and bedside lamps. Service throughout is exceptional, with English spoken. A romantic hideaway, it's probably not the best place for children.