Hotel La Villa Saint-Germain

The lobby of La Villa Saint-Germain is an inviting space, with stylish decor that favors clean lines, wood, and lots of fresh flowers and plants in interesting vases scattered about. A large dark-wood shelving unit behind the wooden front desk displays all sorts of interesting accouterments: black-and-white photographs, vases sprouting succulents and leafy plants, and coffee-table books. Diamond-shaped yellow lights dangle above a round white table filled with flowers and branches in vases, and thick art and fashion tomes. The surrounding stylish wooden stools and chair aim toward contemporary design. The lobby is partitioned by a glass-paneled wall that doubles as a shelf, displaying more golden and ceramic vases and books. The bar and lounge area abuts, and is filled with comfortable and stylish armchairs, and couches in gray, black, and yellow hues. An atmospheric wall-size print of a chic-looking woman clad in black sipping a cocktail sets the mood. A circular wooden staircase in the lounge descends into the basement breakfast room, where white shelves run along the length of the walls and display white dining ware -- tea cups, saucers, bowls, and teapots, some sprouting bursts of green plants. Patterned chairs in various mustard, cream, gray, and emerald hues complement the all-white space.

La Villa Saint-Germain is located in the swanky and historically rich area of Saint-Germain-des-Pres, two blocks from the Eglise Saint-Germain-des Pres, the oldest church in Paris. The neighborhood is one of the most upscale in Paris, but it still retains the ambience of an artistic hub, filled with galleries and cafes, though the famous Cafe Flore and Cafe Les Deux Magots are today better known for serving one of the most expensive cups of coffee in Paris than as the hotbeds of intellectual activity they were when Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus, Hemingway, and Picasso frequented them. The hotel, on the fashionable Rue Jacob, is surrounded by restaurants and bars, and sits across the street from the famous macaron purveyor Laduree. The Musee-National Eugene Delacroix is two blocks away on the beautiful Place de Furstenberg, and the Musee d’Orsay is within a 15-minute walk, as is the Louvre. The Luxembourg Gardens is close to a 20-minute walk. For less-hearty walkers, the closest metro stations are Saint-Germain-des-Pres (Line 4)  Mabillon (Line 10), which between them connect to most of the sights.

There are several room types at La Villa Saint-Germain, ranging in size from the smallest Classic to Club Privilege to a Junior Suite, which is the most spacious. All rooms are chic and contemporary, with modern furniture and comfortable queen-size beds (or twin beds). They come with satellite-channel flat-screen TVs, minibars, iPod docks, work desks, and free Wi-Fi. Though decor varies, the rooms favor whimsical details, such as an accent wall covered with bird-print wallpaper, animal figurines, or pops of bright colors via a vase, chair, or bedspread. Privilege Rooms and Junior Suites have separate living room areas with seating and flat-screen TVs (as well as TVs in the bedroom).Bathrooms are small, though space is used efficiently. Towels and toiletries, for example, are stored in hanging wooden shelves. Bathrooms have either walk-in rainfall showers or shower/tub combos, and all have high-end toiletries, fluffy bathrobes, and slippers.

The lobby lounge and bar offer comfortable seating suitable for a rest, a read, or a bout of mixing and mingling over cocktails. Breakfast, which includes fresh pastries, eggs cooked to order, cheeses, fresh fruit, and cold cuts, is served in the room or in the lovely basement breakfast area, but it is pricey, and guests would likely do better at one of the nearby cafes. There is a small but bright fitness center that includes a handful of cardio equipment (a treadmill, exercise bike, rowing machine, and cross trainer) and weights. There's also a Mac computer in the lobby for guests' use. Room service from a nearby restaurant is available, and Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel.