Le Meurice, Dorchester Collection

Le Meurice has faced the Jardin des Tuileries from the Rue de Rivoli since 1835, and a guest list running from Queen Victoria to Picasso and Coco Chanel earned it the name 'the hotel of kings'. Under the Dorchester Collection, designer Charles Jouffre and the Lyon studio Lally & Berger refreshed the interiors while keeping their Versailles-inspired grandeur, and many rooms look over the treetops of the Tuileries; on the seventh floor, the Belle Étoile suite has a wraparound terrace above the rooftops of Paris. The kitchens are the reason for a food-minded stay. Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse, beneath white and gilded ceilings and crystal chandeliers, serves tasting menus of small dishes that honour French tradition while showing the invention of executive chef Amaury Bouhours, and it holds a two-MICHELIN-star rating. Cédric Grolet, the hotel's pastry chef, also runs the Pâtisserie du Meurice, and Le Dalí, with artwork and design by Philippe Starck, offers a less formal table. The Valmont Spa, the brand's only address in Paris, adds a sauna and a Turkish bath, and the Louvre is next door. There are 160 rooms and suites.