C.O.Q Hotel Paris

Community of Quality, officially, is what the C.O.Q. in C.O.Q. Hotel stands for. But any resemblance to that proudly symbolic Gallic rooster is purely intentional. This is a hotel that doesn’t shy away from French history and tradition — witness the oil portraits of eminent figures that adorn the walls — and yet it’s clear at a glance that this is anything but a museum piece.

The designers, Delphine Sauvaget and Pauline d’Hoop, of l’Agence Favorite, are well known for a series of hip restaurants, and they’ve been given carte blanche for their first hotel project. The result is a piece of serious design work, a proper high-quality (if low-frills) hotel, conspicuously lacking a deliberately provocative theme or any grating faux-cool attitude.

The vibe, rather, is low-key and homey — fitting, given that in this part of the Left Bank, near the Place d’Italie, the most likely competitors are apartment shares, not boutique hotels. The freestanding lobby doubles as a cozy winter garden, complete with fireplace and coffee-table books, and the services, as you may guess, are on the minimal side, including an excellent cheap breakfast, a selection of Parisian beers, Bordeaux by the glass, and little else.

But even if C.O.Q. is the first, it won’t long be the only game in town — judging by the general stylishness of the clientele, this neighborhood is very much on the up. And even if business (or pleasure) takes you elsewhere in Paris, the C.O.Q.’s location is as convenient as can be, close by to three railway stations and positively surrounded by Métro stations.