I'm really not sure now exactly what you are after. Is it that you must stay near your friends and you are willing to pass up a Starwood property? Or you don't care about distance as long as you can stay at a Starwood property?

Paris is not a "small" city - there are over 2 million inhabitants within city limits and over 10 million in the metro area. Public transportation is very good, though: buses, railroad and subway.

Have you tried checking out the Paris forum at FlyerTalk Travel? There are many threads discussing hotel options.

Otherwise, do a search here with the keyword "Paris" and you will find several threads about Starwood properties.