One MICHELIN Key and a rooftop bar at each, at two price levels. Hôtel Madame Rêve, from about €595, more than twice the rate, if you want more room, 27 m² even in the entry room, and the Louvre 12 minutes away; Grands Boulevards Experimental, from about €260, if you would rather spend on eating and drinking, with Giovanni Passerini's menu under a glass roof and The Shed open every evening.
The new classicThe 1888 Louvre post office, now a five-star hotel with rooms under a new glass roof and a rooftop garden bar.
€€From about €595 a night
Choose Hôtel Madame Rêve if
The catch
The entry Superior and Deluxe Balcony rooms look onto the courtyard's hanging garden, not across Paris; the city views start with the Paris View rooms.
The smart moneyFifty designer rooms down a passage off the Grands Boulevards, with a glass-roofed courtyard restaurant and a rooftop bar.
€From about €260 a night
Choose Grands Boulevards Experimental if
The catch
The entry Petit Boulevard rooms are 14 to 15 m², and room size is the complaint guests make most often.
| Best for | Hôtel Madame Rêve | Grands Boulevards Experimental |
|---|---|---|
| Best design hotels in Paris | On the list | On the list |
| Best value hotels in Paris | Not on the list | On the list |
| Best central hotels in Paris | On the list | On the list |
| Best hotels with a view in Paris | On the list | Not on the list |
Hôtel Madame RêveGrands Boulevards Experimental
Hôtel Madame Rêve
Grands Boulevards Experimental
The verdict
One MICHELIN Key and a rooftop bar at each, at two price levels. Hôtel Madame Rêve, from about €595, more than twice the rate, if you want more room, 27 m² even in the entry room, and the Louvre 12 minutes away; Grands Boulevards Experimental, from about €260, if you would rather spend on eating and drinking, with Giovanni Passerini's menu under a glass roof and The Shed open every evening.
Questions people ask
One MICHELIN Key and a rooftop bar at each, at two price levels. Hôtel Madame Rêve, from about €595, more than twice the rate, if you want more room, 27 m² even in the entry room, and the Louvre 12 minutes away; Grands Boulevards Experimental, from about €260, if you would rather spend on eating and drinking, with Giovanni Passerini's menu under a glass roof and The Shed open every evening.
Madame Rêve puts a landmark of the 1st to work: a post office downstairs, rooms under a new glass roof and a garden bar on top. Pay for a Paris View room, because the view is the point, and plan spa time elsewhere. A design-led 83-room hotel in a 19th-century post office in the middle of the 1st, priced as a five-star and busy in the evenings on its roof. The draw is the building, the views and the walkable address, not a spa or a pool.
There is no pool. There is no beach; the nearest is a drive away.
Grands Boulevards Experimental spends its money on the courtyard restaurant, the rooftop and the decoration, and keeps the rooms small and the rates low. Book a Parisian Eaves room, eat downstairs at least once, and spend the days out in the city. A design-led, sociable 50-room hotel in the middle of Paris, priced for people who would rather spend on the city than on the room. The draw is the courtyard restaurant, the rooftop bar and the decoration, not floor space or hush.
There is no pool. There is no beach; the nearest is a drive away.