Sexy rooms in Paris

In Paris the view out of your window is undoubtedly more important than the thread count. Any old garret can stoke the fires of love, providing it has a rooftop view to match the one that Audrey Hepburn has in Sabrina. Such places do exist: the legendary cheapie Hôtel Henri IV on the Ile de la Cit? has two balcony rooms with stupendous views over the entire city (25 pl. Dauphine, 1st, 01-43-544-453. Nearest M?tro: Cit?).

If price is no object, you can help things along by surrounding yourself with all the romance of Parisian luxury hôtellerie. Nobody does it like Paris — the maids bustling around in frilly aprons, the fresh flowers, the marble bathrooms, the feeling that you are Edward and Mrs Simpson. At the Ritz you can do just that, booking into the runaway royals’ former apartment.

In the middle price range, Paris has a wealth of choice for cooing couples. In St Germain many of the cheap hotels have been replaced by stylish accommodation. Ahead of the crowd are the newly chic Esprit St Germain and L’Hôtel. This, the former dosshouse in which Oscar Wilde expired, is now a boutique hotel. Its 1880s bordello look and private plunge pool makes it one of the most seductive in town.

On the Right Bank, the Marais and Montmartre are two headily romantic stamping grounds. While Montmartre hotels have traditionally relied on a view of the Sacr? Coeur to make the heart beat faster, the Villa Royale in the heart of Pigalle has plenty of ooh-là-là.

Kube Rooms, on the eastern side of Montmartre, is the perfect hideaway for urbanistas who love its ice-cool decor. If you’re heading to the Marais, with its concentration of museums and lively bar scene, check out the sexy Murano Urban Resort (13 bd du Temple, 3rd, www.muranoresort.com 01-42-712-000. Nearest M?tro: Filles du Calvaire).

Couples who first kissed in the back row at the cinema will love the movie memorabilia at the Hôtel du Septième Art (20 rue St-Paul, 4th, 01-44-548-500. Nearest M?tro: St- Paul). As to our top ten, they are all close to the sightseeing highlights, but have that extra something that makes staying in bed all weekend a distinct possibility.

L’ESPRIT ST GERMAIN

22 rue St-Sulpice, 6th (www.espritsaintgermain.com 01-53-105-555). Nearest M?tro: St-Sulpice. Doubles €310- €550

The Esprit, which opened last year, is like a funkier Montalembert. There is the same laid-back St Germain vibe, with soft taupe fabrics and slate bathrooms. But the leopard-skin carpets and spectacular canvases of wild beasts hint that it’s not all dinner jazz here. In fact, the lobby has changing mood lights and chilled hip-hop, though its comfortable bar is candlelit in the evenings, when guests help themselves to drinks around the log fire. The best room in the house is 502, with a terrace overlooking St-Sulpice, or the suite with 18th century beams. The small gym and sauna also overlook the rooftops.

HÔTEL EDOUARD VII

39 av de l’Op?ra, 2nd (www.edouard7hotel.com 01-42-615-690). Nearest M?tro: Op?ra. Doubles ¤325-¤400. Valentine offer €239 (bookable through www.parisinfo.com)

This four-star hotel is superbly situated for the area’s entertainment venues: Op?ra Garnier, L’Olympia concert hall, Th?âtre Mogador and the Folies Bergères among them. Splash out on the Edouard VII suite and crack open a bottle of bubbly on the balcony, with its glamorous view up Avenue de l’Op?ra. The hotel’s restaurant, is celebrating St Valentine with a “secret” menu prepared by its star chef, Gilles Choukroun.

L’HÔTEL

13 rue des Beaux-Arts, 6th (www.l-hotel.com 01-44-419-900). Nearest M?tro: St Germain des Pr?s. Doubles €255-€370

Equidistant between the Mus?e d’Orsay and Luxembourg Gardens in central St Germain, L’Hôtel has long been a fabled Paris address. It used to have a famously tacky leopard-print room for illicit affairs and a tree growing in the bar. And it is still as deliciously decadent, with Jacques Garcia’s luxury bordello decor winking at its most famous former guest, Oscar Wilde. Check the website to choose your fantasy-inspiring room, from Madame de Merteuil’s 18th century boudoir to the sensual Pondich?ry room.

HÔTEL LANCASTER

7 rue de Berri, 8th (www.hotel-lancaster.fr 01-40-764-076). Nearest M?tro: George V. Doubles €470-€590

A beautiful townhouse just off the Champs-Elys?es, the Hôtel Lancaster has made a fine art of discretion since Marlene Dietrich lived here. These days it is a feast for the senses, with a deliciously scented salon in puce green and mauve, and an exotic bamboo garden that is lit up at night. Softly hued fabrics, antiques and objets d’art set a sophisticated scene in the rooms. If you can, go for suite 76 and arrive in the late afternoon when film-set lighting floods in through an unusual frosted round window.

HÔTEL MEURICE

228 rue de Rivoli, 1st (www.meuricehotel.com 01-44-581-010). Nearest M?tro: Tuileries. Double €720-€800. Valentine package €993/night

Definitely the most tasteful of all the palaces, the Meurice looks like a Merchant Ivory set, with exquisite Braqueni? fabrics and 19th-century portraits. The bar is darkly seductive, with its fresco of Versailles and piano music wafting in from the tropical rainforest of a winter garden. You don’t need to splash out on a suite to get a heart-stopping view: the Prestige rooms on the sixth floor have a vista of the Louvre and Tuileries, taking in the Eiffel Tower, Invalides and Panth?on. The Meurice’s Valentine package is rather original: you get driven around in a chauffeur driven car while a photographer makes an album of your stay.

HÔTEL DU PETIT MOULIN

29-31 rue de Poitou, 3rd (www.hoteldupetitmoulin.com 01-42-741-010). Nearest M?tro: Filles du Calvaire. Doubles €220-€280

An obvious fashion address — it has been decorated by Christian Lacroix — the Petit Moulin is housed in a 17th-century building and former bakery that makes a perfect love nest in the trendy upper part of the Marais. A labyrinth of staircases leads to the 17 curiously shaped rooms, decorated with a collage of fabulous colours, textures and photographic murals. Room 205 has a spectacular wall motif of coral formations and a black-tiled bathroom with a Victorian bath. The chic 1950s-style bar is open only to hotel guests.

KUBE ROOMS

1-5 passage Ruelle, 18th (www.kubehotel.com 01-42-052-000). Nearest M?tro: La Chapelle. Doubles €300-€400

The new venture from the owners of Murano Urban Resort, this is the place for urban nomads who want to live out an igloo fantasy minutes from Montmartre. There aren’t any Sacr? Coeur views here, but it’s all about cuddling up with your ch?ri(e) in the touchy-feely, cube-shaped room. Slip on a pair of yeti-like slippers, fondle the faux polar bear fur curtains or lounge in the silky-smooth tub.

PAVILLON DE LA REINE

28 pl des Vosges, 3rd (www.pavillon-de-la-reine.com 01-40-291-919). Nearest M?tro: Bastille. Doubles ¤290-¤400. Valentine offer €385 for a junior suite

Cloistered behind the romantic Place des Vosges, Pavillon de la Reine is brilliantly situated for the excellent shops, restaurants and museums but feels centuries away from the street bustle outside. While most of the rooms are decorated in warm-hued checks and florals, the duplexes are the ultimate in seduction, with a contemporary take on the 17th century salon in purple velvet and taffeta. One honeymooner noted in the visitors’ book: “Petite nuit tellement intense” — enough said!

THE RITZ

15 pl Vendôme, 1st (www.ritzparis.com 01-43-164-533). Nearest M?tro: Tuileries. Doubles €680- €770. Valentine package €560/ night

The C?sar Ritz palace, overlooking Place Vendôme, evokes the golden age of transatlantic travel. For an extra frisson of romance stay in suites that belonged to, or pay homage to, the Windsors, Hemingway, Chopin or Proust (the latter may have been a lonely bachelor but his room has fluffy clouds painted on the ceiling). There is a lush, Italianate garden, three bars (including the one in which Cole Porter began the beguine), an underground pool with Pompeian murals and a Deauville-in-the-1920s atmosphere. Valentine packages include champagne, a passion rose and a gift from a Place Vendôme jeweller.

VILLA ROYALE

2 rue Duperr?, 9th (www.leshotelsdeparis.com 01-55-317-878). Nearest M?tro: Pigalle. Doubles €120-€190

It is impossible to believe that the Villa Royale wasn’t inspired in part by Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge, as it has 31 rooms done out in boudoir style, with curtain canopies over the beds, swirly carpet patterns and gilded picture frames. The Jean Marais room on the sixth floor (named after Cocteau’s lover) has views of the Folies Pigalle and the Sacr? Coeur, and you can lounge in the Jacuzzi while looking at the Basilica. The breakfast room has a circus theme and is perfect for the morning after. Not one for the minimalists, but a lot of fun.