What to expect: Situated in St Maurice near the Bois de Vincennes, this is an independent hotel. With its red and grey façade, this 1980s-built hotel opens onto a cream marble lobby, peopled by tour groups, families, and businesspeople.

Amenity highlights: With its cream and green decor, Le Patio restaurant serves international cuisine. The restaurant extends into a winter garden. The Garden Bar serves beers and spirits in a colonial ambience of brown leather upholstery and dark wooden furnishings.

Insider tip: In order to make the most of nearby attractions such as Disneyland or the woods of Bois de Vincennes, guests should hire a car. As well as a chateau and a floral park, the Vincennes woods boast La Cartoucherie, a theater complex created from a former munitions factory. Those who dine there before seeing a play are likely to be served by one of the cast in character.