Hotel Brighton - Esprit de France

The Hotel Brighton was built in the early 1800s and has been carefully restored and updated to combine the feel of old world Paris with fun contemporary touches. The Brighton is sophisticated and chic, without an iota of stodgy. Sure, there is antique furniture, Murano chandeliers, and Renaissance-inspired artwork, including oil portraits in ornate gold frames and elaborate etchings. But these old-world decor details are offset by the creative use of color throughout the public areas and guestrooms. The Hotel Bar looks serious and dark, but the fuchsia velvet bar stools add a touch of eccentricity that is quintessentially Parisian. Chairs are upholstered in chartreuse or dusky blue velvet, and there are houndstooth poufs here and there, all of which lighten up the formal feeling created by the marble columns and other period features of the lobby.The bar doubles as a tea room with a huge menu of designer pastries. The skylit breakfast room is done in classic grays with white tablecloths, in a room ringed with more classical marble columns, which amps the sense of luxury that prevails throughout the hotel.

The Hotel Brighton is located in Paris' 1st arrondissement, arguably in the most appealing location for tourists (and one of the priciest). It's in the arcades of the famed Rue de Rivoli, opposite the Tuileries gardens. The Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, and Jeu de Paume museums are close by, as are the Place de la Concorde, Palais Royal, and designer shops on the Rue St. Honore. The metro is a few yards from the front doors, which puts all of Paris at guests' feet.

Rooms at the Hotel Brighton ooze comfort and chic, with interesting, unusual color combinations that elevate them above ordinary hotel room status into something truly Parisian. Some of the furniture is antique, and the artwork on the walls is Renaissance-inspired -- again, above ordinary hotel standards. This classic look is enhanced in some rooms is enhanced by floor-to-ceiling curtains and understated striped wallpaper. Decor varies, but we saw a brown and gold color scheme (in the Club Room) as well as a stylish fuchsia and white color palette (in the Tuilerie Room). Rooms range from a tiny 161 square feet to 377 square feet, though most of the room categories are quite large by Parisian standards. Top-floor rooms have awesome views of the Tuileries that are worth the upgrade, if it's in the budget. Marble bathrooms are stocked with high-end Nuxe toiletries. Rooms have flat-screens, minibars, tea/coffee setups, and safes. All the rooms are large by Paris standards.

The Hotel Brighton offers an elegant hot buffet breakfast in a beautiful breakfast room, or continental breakfast delivered to guests' rooms. (There's a surcharge for both.) The tea room offers an extensive menu of haute (and occasionally futuristic) pastries from La Patisserie des Reves, which translates to "the pastry shop of dreams." There's no full-service restaurant, but room service is offered nightly from a nearby cafe. Guests can make appointments at the nearby Hotel Meurice spa (with which the hotel has a partnership). The hotel has maps of nearby running routes for those who want to keep up their fitness regimens while on holiday, but there is no on-site fitness center.