Hotel Daniel is an intimate sanctuary for erudite world-travellers in the heart of Paris, three minutes’ twist and turn from the Champs Elysées. On a refreshingly quiet street, the six-floor Haussmann-style building dreams of faraway places.

The facilities
The resplendent and exotic reception rooms – rich with Khotan carpets, Lebanese furnishings, Turkish silver and plump English armchairs make the Hotel Daniel feel like the home of a discriminating eighteenth century Silk Road explorer. The walls are dressed in delicate Toile de Jouy fabric with chinoiserie-style motifs: Voyage de Marco Polo, Voyage en Chine, Siam.

The lounge is decorated with hand-painted, gilt glass panels portraying Oriental gardens. The staff are unerringly accommodating and discreet. The owners’ eclectic collection of fine glass, Chinese porcelain, Japanese mother-of-pearl and quirky wall clocks is delightful. Only the piped music – too boppy – disturbed the otherwise lush and peaceful haven.

The rooms
The east-west mélange is echoed in all 26 guestrooms in Hotel Daniel, of which nine are suites (rooms on the second and fifth floors have their own balcony). Again the George Smith sofas are overstuffed, the walls are softened with fabric and the carpets are so plush that a travel-weary guest would be forgiven for lying down on them, rather than on the vast bed. Syrian wardrobes, sumptuous curtains handmade in Rheims, plasma screen televisions and bed sheets to die for.

Proportions feel generous for Paris, thanks to the discreet use of colour and mirrors. Some bathrooms are tiled in Moroccan zellige, others in light Italian marble. All are rich with Senteurs d’Orient soaps, Dead Sea bath salts, litres of Molton Brown hair and body care products as well as cotton-fields of fluffy towels and bathrobes. The Hotel Daniel is perfect for lovers, business travellers in need of a discreet meeting place and families (comfy rollaway beds and adjoining rooms available).

This exceptional Parisian boutique hotel is owned by a Lebanese and is the sister hotel of L'Albergo in Beirut. The Lebanese are, as a rule, an exceptionally cultured people, something Europe has forgotten during years of conflict - and the Hotel Daniel oozes culture.

The facilities
The decor is inspired by the orient, with chinoiserie in the cosy reception area, elegant rattan headboards in the rooms, olive green paintwork and toile de jouy fabric walls. The Hotel Daniel is well located in the heart of the right bank, good for business and shopping.

The rooms
The best of the 26 rooms are three suites with balconies on the fifth floor. Deluxes are to be preferred over superior rooms at just a small amount more. The rooms are not large, but they are romantic cocoons, places you will want to curl up in and watch the flatscreen TV or put on a DVD. Some boutique hotels need space you can feel at home in but decor, if applied in the right way, can seem to make a virtue out of cosiness.