Hotel d'Aragon, Montpellier

Situated on a quiet side street, Hotel d’Aragon is just minutes from the bustling Place de la Comédie. The small hotel has a friendly feel with 12 bedrooms, all named after authors who visited Montpellier – from Chateaubriand to Molière. The bedrooms are each painted in different colours and all, bar the singles, have laptops for guests to use. A simple, but good breakfast is served in the airy glass-roofed verandah with organic fruit juices, fresh breads, yogurts, locally-made jams and an extensive menu of hot drinks. Homemade scrapbooks in each room are packed with useful information, from restaurant recommendations to excursions which, in summer, include outings on the hotel’s boat. The hotel has scooped up various awards for its environmental policies; rooms all have a trio of bins for recycling and it even supports a local flamingo conservation programme.