Hôtel Keppler

There is an extra letter in the name of Hôtel Keppler. The street outside is rue Kepler, after the astronomer, but in 1864 Paris officially spelt it with two p's. The city corrected itself in 1997; the hotel kept the old version. It is a pleasing little discrepancy in a neighbourhood where appearances are usually checked rather more carefully. A few minutes away, the Champs-Élysées is busy being famous. On rue Kepler, behind an ordinary Haussmann façade, the performance has stopped.

Pierre-Yves Rochon, whose work includes the Four Seasons George V, gave this small, family-run hotel an unexpectedly playful interior. The black-and-white scheme is sharp rather than solemn. There are zebra-patterned stools, cushions with the spots of a wild animal, iron dogs and antique-looking furniture that has no intention of behaving like an antique. At the heart of it all, a lounge and bar sit beneath a glass roof, with books to browse and a fireplace for cold evenings. You can come back from an expensive stretch of avenue Montaigne, order a drink and feel no obligation to impress anybody.

There are forty-seven rooms and suites, but the smaller ones deserve a warning. A Classic is just fifteen square metres, with a 140-centimetre bed: perfectly possible for one person, rather cosy for two people with luggage. The eighteen-square-metre Standard gives you a larger bed and looks onto the street. A Superior, at around twenty-three square metres, faces the quiet courtyard. The twenty-five-square-metre Executive looks towards the glass-roofed interior and can be arranged with twin beds. These distinctions matter more than the names suggest. A peaceful room is not automatically one you will enjoy spending an afternoon in.

Upstairs, the hotel becomes considerably more tempting. A thirty-two-square-metre Junior Suite adds a sitting area, dressing space and both bath and separate shower. The Superior Suite is the one to consider if you want a balcony with the Eiffel Tower in sight. The thirty-five-square-metre Deluxe Suite has a private terrace and a panorama over Paris; it is not simply a Junior Suite with a grander title. At fifty-two square metres, the Penthouse has two separate bedrooms and a living room, an unusually sensible arrangement if you are travelling with family. Ask exactly which view belongs to the category you are booking. A terrace and the Eiffel Tower are not promises made to every room.

Breakfast is served in a pretty, light-filled room, and the library bar gives you somewhere to retreat with a drink in the afternoon or evening. There is no full restaurant for dinner, which is both a limitation and an encouragement to go out. The nearby avenues are full of choices, from elaborate dining rooms to somewhere much simpler for supper. George V and Kléber métro stations are close, too. The address is excellent for the Arc de Triomphe, the fashion houses and a walk towards Trocadéro; less convenient if your Paris revolves around the Marais or the Left Bank and you dislike taking the métro.

What makes the Keppler more than a smart place to sleep is an addition that older descriptions miss. There is now a small indoor pool with a jacuzzi, as well as a sauna, steam room and fitness facilities. It will not replace a serious morning of swimming, but after hours on your feet it is a welcome luxury in a hotel this intimate. The wellness area is not open all night, despite what older reports may say, so check the hours before planning a late swim.

There is no destination restaurant, no enormous lobby and no particular reason for strangers to drop in. Some travellers will find that a disadvantage, especially at these prices; others will be delighted. The Keppler is at its best when you want the big Parisian day without having to sleep in the middle of it. The name may have one letter too many. The hotel itself knows when enough is enough.