Hotel Pont Royal by Jamie Dunford Wood

The Hotel Pont Royal is a smallish boutique hotel in the heart of the Left Bank. It is comprised of 75 rooms, re-launched in 2000 after 8 years of renovation. The Pont Royal and ground floor bar have plenty of literary tradition, having been the watering place for writers and artists earlier in the 20thC - a fact made much of by the black and white photographic portraits in the circular hall.

The facilities
There is no sign of these writers now however, and with the renovation there seems little chance that they will return. However, that does not matter; this boutique hotel has successfully fossilized its history to create a comfortable, friendly and atmospheric base in a great location. The open visitors book on the desk contains hundreds of glowing testimonials, the staff are unfailingly friendly, and English and French newspapers scattered about the place attest to a generosity of spirit missing from so many European hotels.

The rooms
The renovation scheme is of the uniform interior design school, but done in a sufficiently original manner, avoiding over-statement, that makes it work. You need to like dark and sumptuous colours, for there is plenty of mauve, mulberry and dark wood here, or 'earth, coral and plum' as it is described in Hotel Pont Royal’s brochure. Furnishings are modern, with the odd bit of ironmongery. You half expect scented candles, but there was no evidence of these when we visited. Bring your own.

The standard rooms are small, while for views you need to rise above the 2nd floor. Of particular interest are the original oils which hang above the beds - each a different view of Paris, of the kind you can sometimes unearth on the streets of Montmartre. On the surreal side, their colours match the richness of the rooms, and they are a brave attempt to give each room individual character.