Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel

The Crillon occupies one of the two matching neoclassical palaces designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel that frame the north side of the Place de la Concorde — the grandest square in Paris, marked by the Luxor obelisk and opening onto the Tuileries gardens. The building dates to the 1770s and has been a hotel since 1909; the walls hold real history, this being, it is said, where France signed its 1778 treaty of friendship with a newly independent United States. The four-year restoration completed in 2017 was among the most ambitious the city has seen, and it shows from the first moment: you arrive through the colonnade into an interior courtyard, then into public rooms of pale marble, restored stonework and modern-classic furniture. Service is Rosewood at its most polished — warm rather than starchy — and the welcome is thoughtful and personal, the kind that sets the register for the whole stay.

The guest rooms were designed by Tristan Auer, and the Junior Suite is the sweet spot of the range: a generous, high-ceilinged Parisian salon-bedroom in soft greys and taupe, set against a dark padded headboard wall and warmed with gilt-brass and ochre. Classic French panelling, a candelabra chandelier and bespoke furniture give it the feel of a well-connected friend's apartment in the 8th rather than a hotel room. The detailing is where the money went — brass fittings, marble-topped tables, and a deep, genuinely excellent bed. Nothing is off-the-shelf; every finish was made for the Crillon.

The bathrooms are white marble from floor to cornice — a double vanity beneath a chrome-framed mirror, a walk-in shower, and the polished chrome fittings and sconce lighting of a proper Parisian salle de bain. Product is house-scented, the towels are thick, and the finish is flawless. It is proportioned like a room rather than an afterthought — quietly, thoroughly French.

The pool is one of the Crillon's quiet triumphs and, for a palace hotel in the centre of Paris, a genuine rarity. It is a long, mosaic-tiled lap pool lit from above by a glass roof open to a courtyard, lined with sculptural gold-flecked walls and a fireplace at one end — a beautiful place to swim, or simply float away an afternoon. It rarely feels busy, and after a day on the pavements of the 8th it is the perfect antidote.

The pool belongs to Sense, A Rosewood Spa — a calm world of treatment rooms, steam and sauna, with loungers set around the water for decompressing between museums and meals. Treatments are unhurried and expert. The fitness room is compact but properly equipped and, like everything here, immaculately kept.

For its size the Crillon dines exceptionally well. L'Écrin — 'the jewel box' — is the Michelin-starred restaurant, an intimate, windowless room where the cooking is precise and modern-French. For something more relaxed, Brasserie d'Aumont turns out impeccable French classics through the day, while the Jardin d'Hiver, a glass-roofed winter garden, is the setting for one of the prettiest afternoon teas in Paris. The showpiece, though, is Les Ambassadeurs — the hotel's original grand ballroom, a dazzling hall of marble and gilt reborn as a glamorous bar. A cocktail here, under the chandeliers, is one of the great Parisian rituals.

Between the restaurants and the guest floors, the restored public rooms reward simply wandering: a sequence of grands salons in marble and mirror, and a serene interior courtyard that draws daylight deep into the building. Two of the signature suites were designed by Karl Lagerfeld — a fittingly Parisian flourish. The craftsmanship of the restoration is visible everywhere you look; this is a hotel that carries its history lightly but proudly.

Hôtel de Crillon is Paris at its most classic — a true 18th-century palace on the city's grandest square, restored without losing its soul and run with warmth. It is not a discreet hideaway; it is a grand hotel, and gloriously so. Perfect for: A landmark Paris stay, special occasions and honeymoons, lovers of French craftsmanship and design, and anyone who wants the Tuileries, the Louvre and the Champs-Élysées on the doorstep Skip if: You prefer a small, low-key boutique bolthole, or a quiet residential address away from the crowds of the centre Book the: A Junior Suite for the best value in the range — and don't leave without a swim in the pool and a cocktail in Les Ambassadeurs.