The Hotel St. Germain, Dallas

In a city known for glitziness, the Hotel St. Germain is perhaps the definitive lodging. Nestled amid some of Dallas's most exclusive restaurants and shops, the boutique hotel, opened in 1991, offers visitors the chance to indulge in the high life of a different time and place: 19th-century France.

A Victorian prairie mansion built in 1906 for a prominent Dallas financier and home for many decades to a variety of commercial ventures, the inn was purchased in 1989 by Claire Heymann. She set out to reclaim the structure's noble origins while paying tribute to her own French-Creole roots. From the moment the hotel's front doors are opened, revealing the large entry hall embellished with crackle-back moldings and crystal chandeliers, the visitor is swept into a lavish, self-contained universe.

Heymann's secret is painstaking authenticity. A New Orleans native whose mother was an antiques dealer, she has been assembling French collectibles almost since her childhood. Her acquisitions are complemented by her knowledge of French design, developed through frequent trips abroad and study at the University of Paris.

The entry hall gives way to a pair of sitting rooms, a parlor, and a library, each housing its own treasures---such as the library's grand piano, bedecked with ancient, marbled candelabras.

The dining room, which looks out onto a New Orleans-style walled courtyard with a fountain, is perhaps the most evocative of Gaul: The long table, draped in a burgundy damask tapestry, is topped by a rose-filled centerpiece that rests on a silver Alsatian platter; a mid-19th-century French basket chandelier hangs from the room's ceiling.

Breakfast---which typically includes fresh fruit compote, croissants, quiche, and cafe au lait---is served on a rare, century-old set of Limoges china. Dinner, which could be lamb tenderloin or game hen, is served Friday and Saturday nights.

Upstairs, the seven spacious guest suites feature plush, canopied feather beds. All have wood-burning fireplaces, sitting rooms, and baths with soaking tubs or Jacuzzis. Although rates are prohibitive, and the hotel has a reputation for boarding the glitterati, Heymann promotes her inn as a place where common folk can come for that once-in-a-lifetime splurge.

Location: 2516 Maple Ave., Dallas

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