Seven

One of Paris’s original high-design boutique hotels, Seven Hôtel is still going strong — and rather than rest on its original inspiration, it’s continued to evolve, and remains a Left Bank favorite for travelers in search of hospitality with personality. The location is close, but not too close, to the busier parts of the Latin Quarter and to Montparnasse; convenient enough, but quiet enough for a bit of residential-style calm.

The updated rooms maximize visual impact without clutter; though they’re focused and simple, their saturated colors and zebra-print rugs keep them well clear of anything you’d call minimalism. And the seven suites — surely not a coincidence — benefit not only from extra space to spread out, but from a warmer and more eclectic approach to decoration, each one dedicated to a different (mostly subtle) theme, resulting in spaces you’d be happy to inhabit for extended stays.

In partnership with Holissence and Paris Premium Massage the Seven offers not an ordinary spa but a “wellness chapel,” featuring a semi-ironic take on the spiritual benefits of relaxation. Food service is limited to breakfast, in classic Parisian boutique-hotel style — the reason, as always, is that the surrounding streets offer no end of culinary joy.