Best Western Plus Hotel Sydney Opera

The Best Western Hotel Sydney Opera on the Rue Des Mathurins is a quiet but humming oasis in the busy eighth arrondissement. The shiny, marble-floored lobby is big by Parisian standards. Sunlit by day and softly glowing with accent lamps as dusk falls, the lobby is furnished with contemporary chairs upholstered in chic but whimsical patterns. Tables are laden with various newspapers and magazines, making it feel more like a private club than a hotel lobby. The mirror-backed honor bar just off the reception area adds a sexy vibe to the space, and the shelves of books and chic objets make it feel homey. Just beyond the lobby is the restaurant for the breakfast buffet. Sleek black tables and red-upholstered black chairs are arranged under a skylit cathedral ceiling. There's a tiny courtyard lobby with tables and chairs and trellis work on its stucco walls. In this prime tourist neighborhood, this hotel has stylish details, yet it's not too pricey.

The Best Western Hotel Sydney Opera is in a neighborhood that's near to tourist attractions but has the shops, bistros, and businesses used by native Parisians. It's a three-minute walk from Gare Saint-Lazare, a main rail hub in the city, and the closest Metro stop is Place Madeleine, a six-minute walk away. The elegant shopping district of Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré can be reached in a five-minute walk. The big department stores of Le Printemps or Galeries Lafayette are three minutes away on foot. La Madeleine, the temple-like church built as a paean to Napoleon's victories, is a five-minute walk from the hotel. The Palais Garnier, also known as the Paris Opera, is a seven-minute walk from the hotel. It's an eight-minute drive to the Louvre or a 17-minute train ride. Charles de Gaulle Airport is a 27-minute drive away, in no traffic.

Rooms at this Best Western are spacious by Parisian standards and enhanced by a good use of mirrors. There are other stylish touches like brass sconces and picture lights that evoke a more expensive property. Some of the rooms have pairs of tall windows that open to Juliet balconies and brimming window boxes, a feature that feels just right in this Right Bank setting. Other rooms have wood-beamed ceilings or open to a private courtyard. There are several color schemes at play: Some rooms are beige and brown with mauve accents and sunburst mirrors; other rooms are accented in black and red, like the hotel restaurant. There's also a citrusy palette that echoes back to the 1960s. Furniture is streamlined in design, but snappy patterned textiles warm it up. All the rooms have coffee and tea-making facilities, minibars, safes, hair dryers, irons and ironing boards, and flat-screen TVs. The bathrooms, with thick, gray marble sinks, shiny, modern fittings, Chopard toiletries, and glass-door showers feel luxurious. Some Suites have a square soaking tub right under a picture window.

Certain features at this hotel make it feel swanky. The lobby's honor bar and the sky-lit dining room, where, for a fee, there's an enticing breakfast buffet elevate the hotel from its three-pearl status. There are two computers off the lobby, but the hotel also provides free Wi-Fi throughout. There's also a good array of foreign and English-language newspapers and magazines in the lobby. And the tiny palm-treed courtyard, where guests can bring their drinks or a coffee, is a welcome respite in an otherwise bustling neighborhood.