Hôtel des Carmes

Right in the center of the city of Aurillac is a design hotel with a dramatic black-and-white interior-design scheme and a handful of amenities that elevates it above the typical French urban boutique hotel. The Hôtel des Carmes is intimate in scale, with just 23 rooms, which are stylish and comfortable enough, and there’s a small swimming pool and a sauna in the hotel’s relaxation area. What’s most unexpected is the restaurant, a bistro-style dining room that opens onto a verdant terrace, and which serves three meals a day including a substantial Sunday brunch.