Rates: from €500 per night
Addes extras: the restaurant and decor by Jacques Garcia
Services: wifi, restaurant, spa, pool and bar
The city’s best hotels are easy to find, known to Parisians and tourists alike, they set off a frisson whenever their names are uttered. Hotel Costes is a prime example; in the middle of the famous rue Saint-Honoré, close to Concorde and the Jardin des Tuileries, it offers one of the capital’s trendiest, most elegant stays – a marvel of subdued lighting and powdery velvet drapings.
Built by Jean-Louis Costes in 1995 and decorated by Jacques Garcia, whose style in evident in the sumptuous decor, the place is designed with guests in mind, even if you are just passing by. So whether you want to relax on the sublime patio, dine on mythical dishes like ‘The Crying Tiger’ in the much-hyped restaurant, enjoy tea in front of the fireplace, bathe in the pool, listen to music chosen by Stéphane Pompougnac or dance to DJ sets until the early hours, Hotel Costes offers a 360-degree spread of activities. And of course, you can sleep in the super comfortable rooms. But that comes – quite naturally – at a price. This is a five star wonderland, after all.