Des Grandes Ecoles Hotel

Staying here is a bit like staying in someone's private house - admittedly a large private house. It's set off a little street not far from the Pantheon in a central quarter of Paris. We went through a secret seeming door set in an archway and found ourselves in a beautiful little garden with cobbled pathways, over which several mansions have a view. It was very quiet and calm. Inside, an old lady sat at an antique desk - it really felt like someone's front room!
Our room was very clean and fairly simple, papered in "toile" wallpaper with designs of 18th century people over it and matching curtains, nice clean bathroom with a little bath. The hotel doesn't offer much in the way of extra facilities - no room safe, phone, TV -but we didn't mind, because we had the whole of Paris outside (and brought along the mobile phone. Though there is a call box in the lobby).
The area has many interesting restaurants and bars - various places you can go for breakfast or you can buy a simple but adequate bread and jam breakfast at the hotel. There are loads of little restaurants of all types. We enjoyed dining at the house where both Verlaine and Ernest Hemingway had lived (not at the same time!) which is just around the corner in a maze of little streets. It's not expensive and has an unpretentious local character with pictures of the football club which the owner supports....but the food was nice!
There are patisseries, grocers, stationers, etc: because this is a genuinely residential neighbourhood. It's within about 10 mins. walking distance of the Luxembourg gardens which were incredibly beautiful in the autumn, with bright orange and yellow leaves remaining on the trees, reflected by wonderful displays of orange, pink and yellow chrysanthemums in enormous urns artistically placed as part of the big formal design.
Several metro stations nearby... and a safe feeling so we had no anxieties about walking around at night.
I'd passed through Paris before but never spent any time there and after a few days at this cosy little hotel, I really understand why Paris is considered to be such a magical and romantic city.