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Hôtel de l'Abbaye

COST: $$$

<p>With its garden courtyard, large fireplace in the lobby, and manor-like appointments, this converted 17th-century abbey feels like a country estate in the middle of the Left Bank. Rooms range from monastically small to apartment-like duplexes (some with partial views over Saint Sulpice), but romance is a constant throughout the establishment; floral-printed (but not chintzy) chairs, bedcovers, and drapes echo the lovingly tended blossoms in the Luxembourg Gardens just beyond. As in most Parisian hotels, the rooms are small, but the service is attentive, the ambience homey, and the location ideal—close enough to the action of Saint Germain, yet at a pleasant remove from all the traffic.</p> <p><strong>Insider Tip:</strong> If you've had your fill of croissants, walk around the corner to the English-style bakery Bread & Roses (7 Rue de Fleurus; 33-1-42-44-06-06; www.breadandroses.fr) for the best scones in town; they taste even better when enjoyed at one of the hotel's outdoor tables.</p> <p><strong>Room to Book:</strong> Standard doubles 22, 23, 32, and 33, which look onto the courtyard. </p>

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From Travel + Leisure , JUN 2002

For a Left Bank hotel that started life as a 17th-century abbey, this cloistered gem inspires surprisingly unfettered romantic yearnings. A tiny cobbled forecourt buffers the hurly-burly of modern Paris, and while several of the 44 rooms are small enough to be monastic cells, four two-story suites (from $310 a night) have French windows that overlook the medieval church of St.-Sulpice. Riotous Pierre Frey and Brunschwig floral fabrics echo the fresh arrangements in the lobby and the conservatory garden, a...MORE>>

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Last updated June 2002