La Colombe d'Or

If you want to stay in bed all day with a box of chocolate truffles and your lover, this is the perfect place to do it. In the heart of the Museum District, this early-twentieth-century mansion was originally built by the founder of Humble Oil (now ExxonMobil). This Texas historical landmark is imbued with the elegance, warmth and sensuality of a French villa, with seven suites individually decorated as if you are, indeed, a house guest in the country estate of some pre-Napoleonic aristocrat. There are also nine apartments clustered around a lush courtyard and the whole of the place provides a graceful backdrop to the collection of art and antiques collected by the hotel’s proprietor, Steve Zimmerman. Restaurant Cinq provides a sublime setting in which to indulge in sensuous delights.

Also on the premises: Le Grand Salon, a magnificently restored ballroom from the French country estate of the Count and Countess Greffulhe, with oak panels carved in 1715 for French royalty. Le Grand Salon was a setting of the highest fin de siècle society, hosting guests including Czar Nicholas II of Russia, Enrico Caruso, Marie Curie, Richard Wagner and Marcel Proust.