Top 5 designer hotels in France

They could drown in the profusion of hotels inaugurated every year, but it's easy to distinguish them. This special aura is undoubtedly due to the way they offer their guests a world of their own - a light, a sensibility, an aesthetic that signals the spirit of the place. These designer hotels are the promise of a unique stay. Our five favorites, to be booked as soon as possible.

In Lourmarin, Le Moulin by agencies Jaune and Be-pôles

In one of the Lubéron's most beautiful villages, this hotel is a celebration of contemporary Provence, imagined by the Be-pôles and Jaune agencies, who have given a new lease of life to this historic mill. A total of 35 rooms and suites with straw floors that also cover the lower walls, perforated earthenware sconces and seats designed by editor Jérémie du Chaffaut set the tone for this luminous, resolutely modern refuge. Also not to be missed, the Bacheto restaurant and its traditional Provencal cuisine. A member of the Beaumier collection, this new-generation address marks a true hotel revival.

• Double room from 170 euros, breakfast included.
• Rue du Temple 84160 Lourmarin. Tel: 04 90 68 06 69
• Further information on Le Moulin

In Cannes, the Hôtel Belle Plage by Raphael Navot

As he loves to point out, the Riviera has always inspired him. Interior designer Raphael Navot proves this once again with the restoration of this 1930s hotel, which he carried out over for three long years, boldly blending a tribute to the Côte d'Azur with those grand Miami hotels, with their immaculate white facades. The 50 rooms and 10 apartments feature natural materials - local stone and terrazzo, woven leather for headboards, raw linen fabrics and pebble-shaped lighting fixtures. The results are flawless, but what we really like here is the extreme fluidity between inside and outside. This gives the azure sea a truly omnipresent presence via the large room balconies or the rooftop, which houses the Bella restaurant designed by Eyal Shani and offers a breathtaking view of the islands of Lerins and Sainte-Marguerite. A special mention goes tothe 800 m² spa (the largest in Canes) and its range of holistic treatments .

• Double room from 200 euros, breakfast included.
• 2 rue Brougham 06400 Cannes. Tel: 04 93 06 25 50
• Further information on Hôtel Belle Plage

In Méribel, Hôtel Le Coucou by Pierre Yovanovitch

Designer Pierre Yovanovitch is fully committed to restoring Le Coucou in Méribel, and so much the better. The place offers a cocoon as aesthetic as it is playful, gently shaking up the resort's still (too) traditional hotel offering. Yovanovitch has given the 55 rooms and suites, as well as the 2 chalets, the look of a "contemporary family home", blending vintage furniture with some 400 pieces he designed himself and had made by local craftsmen. We love the "snowflake" carpets, the lamps that take the shape of chunks of ice, and the cuckoo clocks. Don't miss the Tata Harper spa with its large pool overlooking the surrounding mountains, and the three restaurants, including the Beefbar, also found in London and New York .

• Double room from 717 euros, breakfast included.
• 464 Route du Belvédère 73500 Les Allues. Tel: 04 57 58 37 37
• Further information on Hôtel Le Coucou

In Paris, Le Grand Mazarin by Martin Brudnizki

This was no easy task, given the somewhat intimidating nature of the premises - a sumptuous mansion nestled in the heart of the Marais district. Fascinated by the avant-garde spirit that infused Paris in the late XIXᵉ, the Swedish designer has taken this inspiration and turned it on its head. The 61 rooms and suites mix woodwork and antique gilding with contemporary color schemes, all the while calling on the finest craftsmen - arat bronzier Lucien Gau, manufacture Pinton for the carpets.... The result is an elegant, festive atmosphere that can be found in all the different areas: the boudoir-like lobby, the Boubalé restaurant led by Israeli chef Assaf Granit, the bar, the winter garden and even a secret cabaret, which has become a cult meeting place for Parisians.

• Double room from 500 euros, breakfast included.
• 17 rue de la Verrerie. 75004 Paris. Tel: 01 83 64 00 65
• Further information on Le Grand Mazarin

In Arles, L'hôtel du Cloître by India Mahdavi

Lovers of India Mahdavi's aesthetic - and there are many - swear by this hotel in the heart of old Arles, which combines all the designer's codes. The 19 rooms and suites celebrate her sense of color and the richness of materials, a subtle combination that gives the place a chic cocoon atmosphere, while the rooftop plays on contrasts with its open-air panorama and view over the city's rooftops. The hotel doesn't have a restaurant, but guests can enjoy delicious recipes from the Cloître grocery store, just a stone's throw away.

• Double room from 99 euros, breakfast not included.
• 18 Rue du Cloître. 13200 Arles. Tel: 04 88 09 10 10
• Further information on Le Cloître

©Adrian Deweerdt

Jean Nouvel & Philippe Starck,the Too Hôtel duo in Paris.

Today, the east of Paris is the nexus of architectural prowess, as evidenced by Jean Nouvel's two 120m-high towers. It's a little-known fact, but one of them houses a spectacular hotel that offers visitors the rare sensation of living in the sky. What's more, the 139 rooms and suites have been designed by Philippe Starck with all the imagination he's known for, while giving pride of place to the real star of the place, the view that unfolds through the large bay windows. It's a rare sight to behold in the spa and Too restaurant, decorated with works by Ara Starck (the designer's daughter). Last but not least, don't miss the Tac Tac Sky bar and its vertiginous suspended terrace.

• Rooms from 291 euros, breakfast included.
• 65 Rue Bruneseau 75013 Paris. Tel: 01 78 90 79 90
• Further information on Too Hôtel