Top 10: the best design hotels in Paris

This is as close as you get to a resort hotel in Paris. Pool, Art, Life is the Molitor's motto and the outdoor pool, inaugurated in 1929 by Olympic gold medal winner (and later Tarzan) Johnny Weissmuller, is a vision with its mustard yellow facade, white balustrades and tiers of changing cubicles. It's a place where celebrities once sunbathed on the decks, where generations of schoolkids learned to swim (the indoor pool will continue to be used by three local schools) and the bikini was launched in 1946. With 13 treatment rooms, including two vast suites, and lounge-like reception with retro-style chairs and hotch-potch of floor tiles, it's the biggest hotel spa in Paris.

It's BLC as in Blanc – white – a minimalist rebirth of a simple 19th-century hotel, near countless Bastille bars and restaurants. 19th-century budget lodgings were totally transformed into a bright, white quirky modern den, and where it could have just been another case of minimalism, here design has been thoughtfully used to create a soothing, informal atmosphere. Rooms are compact but clever, and all the white is warmed up by subtle lighting and Lise-Laure Batifol's giant blown-up photos of women over the bed in homage to the Palais de la Femme, a famous women's hostel nearby.

Behind an elegant Parisian façade, interiors have been reimagined by Paris-based designer, Raphael Navot, to stylish effect. The hotel centres around a former interior courtyard, now transformed into a skylight-covered lightwell, which joins the bar and restaurant. Understated good taste reigns in public spaces, where blue hues and neutrals blend with artisanal features, including a hand-painted ink canvas and a textured feature wall made up of copper tubes. It's located on the northern edge of the Marias and a ten-minute walk from buzzing Rue Montorgeuil, the hotel is well-placed for exploring the Parisian food and drink scene and perusing some of its hippest shopping spots.

A grand old hotel revived for modern tastes, the Bachaumont is a stylish hotel with a striking Art Deco vibe. The elegant restaurant on the ground floor draws excited crowds of trendy young things, while the hotel oozes retro charm. It's doubtful that it looked this good in its heyday — smart bevelled mirrors, globe lamps, marble floors, a palette of subdued greys set off by dramatic black highlights, and cool jazz sounds for a jazz-age re-creation. Nearby Rue Montorgueil is the perfect mix of locals popping into old-fashioned boulangeries and outsiders drawn by funky boutiques and fashionable cafés.

The first of Philippe Starck's design-on-a-budget Mamas landed in an unlikely corner of north-east Paris. The 172 bedrooms mix exposed concrete walls, white bed linen and graphic custom-made carpets, with fairground masks that double as lampshades. It's the ground floor, all at once laidback lounge, cocktail bar, restaurant, club and concept store, that's the real hit: with long shared table for pizza and the graffiti-ceilinged restaurant, island bar and mini stage for live bands. Opt if you can for a larger Mama Deluxe or Mama Terrasse with balcony.

This art-themed address, complete with an in-house 'Drawing Lab', provides a refreshing counterpoint to the historic grandeur of the neighbouring Louvre. The hotel’s owner Carine Tissot, who also runs contemporary art fair Drawing Now, has given carte blanche to five contemporary artists (including one duo) to decorate each of the hotel’s floors. The works are worth lingering for – works range from geometric collages from Lek & Sowat to the evocative watercolours of Françoise Pétrovitch. The on-site Drawing Lab, the first private space of its kind in the city, exhibits a changing roster of contemporary drawings. A range of artists’ materials and art books are available to buy in the lobby.

As soon as you see the red lanterns and red glass marquise outside, you know this place is slightly naughty but nice, revisited by Philippe Starck, to make a buzzy cosmopolitan urban destination. It’s at its best downstairs in the public spaces: the lounge stretches endlessly mixing vistas and secluded corners, with illuminated Long Bar for seeing and being seen, and a cascade of chandeliers in the stairwell. A concept store, art gallery, bookshop and private cinema show how the hotel has branched out into an overall lifestyle concept. Add to that an Alice in Wonderland mirrored spa, with Clarins treatments, gym, and the largest hotel swimming pool in Paris.

In an area that can be rather stuffy, this place feels more as if you are in a film: you almost expect to see Twiggy walking down the stairs. Yet if the black and white graphic décor and some colourful chairs come straight out of the 1960s and 70s, inspired by fashion designer Courrèges, it actually dates from 2015 in a cleverly converted 1969 office block, courtesy of designers Jean-Philippe Nuel and Natasha Stojkovic. Bedrooms feature suave black-and-white wrap-around bedheads, combined with zigzag cushions, carpets that look like a mishmash of Prince of Wales checks and tweeds and framed fashion photos on the walls.

This is Paris's only hotel overlooking the Canal St-Martin, just by the Pont Tournant. The outside is a classic white stucco building overlooking the Canal St-Martin; inside all has been designed by furniture designer Christophe Delcourt, which gives each room a hand-crafted feel. The main feature is the light, natural wood that slinks round the walls, from built-in tables and desks to cupboard concealing the mini-bar. The style is pared-back and modern, with pale wood and colourful cushions, and the casual downstairs breakfast room mutates into a salon later in the day.

The Hoxton Paris is a buzzy hub for hip travellers and locals alike. The team behind Soho House was enlisted for the public spaces – revolving around a striking galleried lobby and summery courtyard terrace – with Humbert & Poyet working on the rooms. The contemporary aesthetic, a curated hotchpotch of décor (Art Deco; mid-century; floral pattern; vintage ornaments) ensures Shoreditch types will feel at home. The building, an 18th-century affair – once residence of Etienne Rivié, adviser to Louis XV – adds a distinctly French flavour, with original spiral staircases and mosaic marble floors.