Fodor's Expert Review Hotel Vernet

Originally opened in the waning years of the Belle Époque, a glamorous centenary update capitalized on this classy boutique hotel's larger volumes and beautiful bones while adding all the 21st-century luxuries. Its setting on a small, quiet street minutes from the Arc de Triomphe assures a quiet refuge along with shopping, fine dining, and sightseeing just outside your door.

room

Handsome contemporary rooms in relaxing neutrals feature refined natural materials, curvaceous wood paneling, plush carpets, and the kind of comfy furniture that invites you to kick off your shoes and settle in. Higher category rooms offer both spaciousness and privacy, many with their own balconies and some with Eiffel Tower views, but mostly very Parisian vistas over the rooftops.

YOU SHOULD KNOW Rooms are larger than the Paris standard, some suites with much higher ceilings, a benefit you really feel here, while still paying rates comparable to more compact boutique hotels.

bathroom

Huge mirrors accentuate already large baths, with double sinks (in Superior rooms), black-and-white tiling, sleek wood finishings, and chic designer tubs or walk-in rain showers.

lobby

The hotel's lovely original attributes are on display the moment you enter the small but supremely elegant lobby, including stately marble columns and Gustave Eiffel's superb glass ceilings. You can take it all in in a small lounge area or head over to the cozy bar.

dining

The best thing about the sleek hotel restaurant is its drop-dead gorgeous stained-glass ceiling designed by Gustave Eiffel, under which you're offered an à la carte breakfast with a sufficient but not overwhelming choice or a more basic continental breakfast in your room.

At lunch and dinner, attractive, skilfully prepared dishes by the talented chef Richard Robe (formerly of Taillevent) make dining in the restaurant a pleasant convenience, though the à la carte menu is pricey. Consider the three-course tasting menu, if you're not up for a splurge.

You can find Michelin-starred dining for these prices minutes away in the neighborhood (hint: La Scène).

drinking

A before-dinner glass of wine, Champagne, or a fresh house cocktail is a pleasure in this cozy, comfy Art Deco-style bar, with an original fireplace and colorful ceilings and carpets by French artist Jean-Michel Aberola. Though the DJ nights seem incongruous when we'd be just as happy sipping in stylish serenity.