High in its eyrie up the elegant stairs and twisting streets of Montmartre, the Hôtel Particulier perches like an eagle. This secluded urban "grande maison" is surrounded by trees and little grotto-like terraces that are ideal for an aperitif before descending the steep stone steps into the understated hipness of the rue de Abbesses nightlife.
This is posh Paris at its most stylish, insulated by money — the rooms are so expensive that the hotel can afford to have only five. Each is designed by a different artist, with an edginess that borders on the faintly absurd. Do you really want two giant faces staring at you from the wall while you take a bath next to a couch in the middle of the suite? But there's no denying the aesthetic joy of a room of gorgeous blue forest wallpaper that shimmers against the real green leaves brushing against the windows from outside.
The rooms overlook the surrounding gardens, and some offer views down to the adjoining petanque court, where you can seethe with envy at your average grizzled Parisian's everyday luxury of getting to throw on a tracksuit, light up a cigar and throw balls around with friends in a private stone courtyard practically at the top of Paris.
Downstairs is an event salon stacked with period furniture, all for sale, while the main lobby lounge ticks off the international-jetset requirements: plush beige couches, magazines about pricey objects and a flatscreen video installation, in this case one hand offering to another hand various random objects: hammers, pens, fruit.
Despite the hotel's opulence, there's a certain antiqueness to the place that will either charm or irritate, depending on your tolerance of inconvenience: the hot water is somewhat idiosyncratic and the WiFi didn't work even after half an hour of holding the laptop by the window in what the eager young model-like staff insisted was the sweet spot.
But the Hôtel Particulier scores full points for firmly underlining the quality of Paris that some continue to ascribe to cities like Prague or Beirut: that of being the most beautiful city in the world.
Hôtel Particulier Montmartre, 23, Avenue Junot, Pavillon D, 75018 Paris (+33 (0)1 53 41 81 40); hotel-particulier-montmartre.com. Room rates from £341, per room, per night, not including breakfast.
