BEAUMARCHAIS

Alain Quintard, part-owner of the newly-refurbished Hôtel Beaumarchais, doesn't think much of designer hotels in Paris. 'They're so boring. They all look exactly the same with their dull, brown colour schemes. We wanted to do something much more colourful.' And so they have. The lobby is reminiscent of an early Almodovar film, with pinky-red walls, plastic armchairs, funky blue table-lamps and a metal spiral staircase. Like the hotel, the locale attracts a young, unpretentious crowd intent on living it up with out spending a fortune. The roads outside might not be immaculate, but you will find some of the city's most happening bars (Le Mecano), restaurants (Le Kitch) and boutique (Ursule Beaugeste) within a couple of minutes walk. ROOMS The 31 basic yet spacious rooms are a riot of primary colours - yellow walls, bright red bedspreads, blue bedheads - with wavy, 1940s-style furniture and sun motifs on the wall. More subtle touches include Murano reading lamps and prints of work by artists such as Klein and Léger. The fun continues in the bathrooms (orange floors and broken-mosaic walls).