Adèle and Jules are two halves of a single charming hotel or, technically, two hotels in one block. Reserved romantics will appreciate its low-hype offering—30 varied bedrooms in each of the buildings, a Taittinger-led honesty bar in Adèle and a superb welcome with a proper concierge service. This is combined with a tucked-away location in a newly but not aggressively trendified slice of the 9th, close to rue des Martyrs (food shopping), Grands Boulevards (nightlife), and the Gare du Nord. Designer Stéphane Poux’s style is a deliberate mishmash of urbanity and generous homeliness, his eye traveling around ikat prints, Indian cotton quilts, and witty, intriguing artworks. Club rooms have balconies big enough for prolonged nightcaps, a bathtub, and twin basins.

If you get a view–say of the landmark BNP Paribas building or Grand Rex cinema—the smaller deluxe rooms are charming too. Breakfast features eggs, sausages, and mini viennoiseries, and between 4pm and 6pm there’s a pick-me-up of Dammann Frères tea, cakes, pastries, and fruit. This takes place in a cosy living/breakfast room lined with decent reading material: not just the usual glossies, but also shelves of Folio paperbacks. The no-restaurant issue is very much a non-issue, with local options including Abri, Vivant, and Richer. A sibling to long-time fashion-pack bolthole Hôtel Thérèse in the 1st and Hôtel Recamier in Saint-Germain, this civilized, chic four-star deserves to become a cult hero/heroine, as well. —Sophie Dening