Platine Hotel

This design-focused hotel featuring many nods to 1950s American cinema is popular with younger tourists and business travelers needing easy access to nearby convention centers. Housed in a modest concrete building on a quiet street, the hotel has a tiny lobby with wood-paneled walls, mid-century modern leather chairs, and a small honesty bar that runs on the honor system. A large portrait of Marilyn Monroe covers the entire back wall facing the front entryway and the carpeting in the hallways has a black and yellow houndstooth print. The hotel pumps a faint aroma of Chanel perfume into the hallways -- probably a more discreet Marilyn reference, as the star famously stated she wore Chanel No. 5 (and nothing else) to bed. Most Marilyn homages aren't so subtle; almost every-room has a wall-size photo of her.

The property is set on a quiet street near the large, modern commercial shopping center of Beaugrenelle. There are many shops and restaurants nearby, including a Starbucks and a McDonalds. The Charles Michels metro stop is a three-minute walk away and the Eiffel Tower takes about 20 minutes on foot. It's a bit too far to walk to central Paris attractions such as the Place St Michel.

The rooms here are on the small side but have attractive lighting and sleek surfaces. Some walls are covered in black pleather. All rooms have flat-screen TVs, air-conditioning, and contemporary bedside lighting, and most have a wall-sized photo of Marilyn Monroe. Some of the rooms have circular beds. Some bathrooms have floor-to-ceiling black and soft pink checkerboard tile and some have color-changing lights in their showers. Rooms are clean and well maintained, but closet and drawer space is limited.

The tiny gym has a treadmill, a weight bench, and an elliptical. There's also an equally small sauna and a Turkish bath. The breakfast room is a replica of a 1950s diner, complete with turquoise and pale pink furniture and black and white tiled floors. Some tables have director's chairs emblazoned with the names of Hollywood stars and starlets from the golden age of cinema.