Le Meurice, Paris, France

Hotel Meurice has one great, overwhelming advantage; it has a Rue de Rivoli address, and it also makes much of its heritage as a classic pre-war luxury hotel. Second home of Kings and Presidents, Hotel Meurice has a good line in Salvador Dali stories, who used to prowl around the lobby being eccentric

The facilities

Service is faultless, the highly trained front office staff ensure that you get the type of room you want and sincere greetings on arrival. But, the real triumph of Hotel Meurice is what happens on the ground floor, with a wonderfully harmonious arrangement of spaces into a massive cube. There is a small, dark, intimate bar of dark wood and darker brandies. Also, there is a light and welcoming reception area, not too big or overwhelming.

The luxury hotel boasts a magnificent restaurant, restored faithfully to all its former Rococo glory, with a mosaic floor, antique beveled mirrors and huge chandeliers. Finally, the piece de resistance is the Jardin d’Hiver, which takes over the bulk of the space underneath an uncovered art nouveau glass dome. This is a place for tea and madeleines or a light snack before the theatre to the sound of a tinkling piano, done up in the flowery style of Eugenie, empress of Napoleon III.

The rooms

Space wise the rooms are perfect and some have deep tubs, all are overlaid with clever technology which prevents the misting of mirrors and under-bath heating which keeps the water warm while you hop out to let room service in.