Three of a kind:Hotels for city cyclists
HOTEL JULES, PARIS
49-51, rue La Fayette 75009, Paris,
Tel: 0033-14285-0544, hoteljules.com
Sumptuous colours and low-lying furniture (punctured by a vast white leather banquette), an army of scented candles stretching back to the reception in the
distance. This is the scenery that will greet you upon arrival at Hotel Jules. It’s on a main road by a boho patch of the 9th arrondisement at the top of the street running to the Chartier restaurant (rue du Faubourg Montmartre) and a 10-minute walk from Gard du Nord but once inside you’re in chic-quirky world, sharing with the type of people who don’t do international chain hotels (although is it part of the small GLA portfolio) but want that level of comfort.
Hotel Jules was recently overhauled by French interior designer Tristan Auer drawing on influences from the 1950s to 1970s, mixing funky with homely.
The hotel is located in an area known for its glass-roofed boulevards, the Salle Drouot auction house and other local quirks – which the hotel has a map of – including an old world sweet shop, and a busy Chinese cafe where the chef rolls noodles in the window. The Velib bike stand is in a side street next to the hotel.
Rooms: There are 94 rooms and six junior suites. The rooms are neat – Paris is like that, it’s a busy city. It’s all about the decor here: all of the furniture, lighting and wall coverings have been carefully chosen, from kitsch (coloured 1970s-style lamps) to rich (bamboo and fabric bedheads).
If your budget runs to a suite you’ll get a sitting area, with oversized floor lamp, and a bathroom that speaks of Paris-past with large white tiles, a deep bath and vintage basins in solid ceramics. Doubles from €160.
SOFITEL, BERLIN
Sofitel Berlin Hotel Sofitel Berlin Gendarmenmarkt, Charlottenstrasse 50-52 , Berlin, Tel: 0049-30/203750, sofitel.com
This hotel is in a well-heeled district (should you run out of 80 per cent chocolate or fizzy hooch you can nip to the Galeries Lafayette food hall next door). It occupies a grand classical building while inside all is sleek. Glass – clear and white — and black marble are the predominant design features, created by architect Harald Klein. It starts at the white reception desk adorned with confectionery and fruit (which looks untouchable but the staff are very friendly and relaxed, and will also pack you a takeaway breakfast if so desired).
Around the corner from the hotel is one of the coolest restaurants in town, Borchardt, where the who’s who dine on great food in canteen-like surroundings: functional cool. On a recent visit, our fellow diners were practically spitting food in excitement at the politicians and journos present. Angela Merkel is known to dine here. The DB Call-a-bike stand is across Gendarmenmarkt square from the hotel (which hosts a Christmas market seasonally) and within a kilometre are the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Holocaust Memorial and Checkpoint Charlie but, with its fantastic cycleways, all of Berlin is in easy reach.
Rooms: There are 92 rooms, 70 standard and 22 suites all in international-standard muted colours. The bathrooms have walk-in showers and wide glass doors that cleverly divide the various spaces when they are swung certain ways. Doubles from €156.
WESTBURY, DUBLIN
Grafton Street, Dublin 2, Tel: 01-679 1122, thedoylecollection.com
The location is one of the best in town, out front to Grafton Street and out back to the restaurants and coffee bars around Powerscourt Townhouse and George’s Arcade (although there’s a brasserie and the smart Oscar Wilde restaurant in-house). Because traffic does not rush past its door it feels like an enclave.
The Westbury was recently refurbished but, added to the warm, pared-classical decor, the five-star treatment comes from staff who are all about you: nothing’s a bother, everything’s done with a smile.
The clientele is a happy mix of locals (the meeting rooms are popular and the recently tweaked afternoon tea has the sofas on the reception floor heaving on Sundays) and voyagers, with Americans being predominant. Try to breakfast beside the window and watch Dublin over a croissant. The Dublinbikes stand is on nearby Chatham Street.
Rooms: There are 205 rooms decorated in natural shades with dashes of dark brown and red. Some suites come with free-standing baths and four-poster beds, while the presidential suite has a sauna too. Doubles from €199.