Hotel Westminster by Jamie Dunford Wood

Amongst a line of great luxury hotels stretching from the Ritz in the Place Vendome to the grand hotels around the Opera, the Westminster, an old converted convent, has some selling to do. And stepping inside, the grand reception area does impress, with its Gothic green bar and Michelin starred Celadon restaurant. However, this would be misleading, for upstairs the rooms have a family atmosphere missing in some of the swankier places.

The rooms

The standard and deluxe rooms are on the small side, but their lived-in antiques (they would be called 'worn' in a less attractive hotel) and pink and cream decor give them a comforting, at-home feel. The executive rooms are larger and decorated to appeal to a more demanding guest, but being more corporate they lack the charm of the regular rooms. There are 101 rooms in total at this luxury hotel, and those on the sixth floor, oddly, have the tallest ceilings, as well as being the quietest, above the traffic of the street.