Jessica A.
Yelp
When my husband's work asked him to spend a week (Monday through Thursday) in Paris, he invited me to join him for the weekend. I believe I may have said yes before he finished the question, seeing as I'm not an idiot.
Due to poor health in my youth, I'd not travelled outside the United States, but I'd heard the horror stories about hotel rooms in Paris -- often reviled for being the same size as the hotel rooms in Japan, indifferent staff, staff that didn't deign to listen to you in English or French. So I was cautious.
I spent at least three weeks carefully looking for a hotel. I knew we wanted to be in the 9ème, as his work-sponsored hotel had been nearby, and he'd know a bit of the neighborhood. I knew I didn't want to pay much more than 200€ a night for a hotel room. I knew I wanted a double bed and a bathtub if possible. Other than that, I was pretty open.
When we checked in to the hotel, a block from the Saint-Georges Mètro, we found a gorgeous hotel room, probably at least 75% of the space of a comparable American hotel room. Wi-fi was free, though password protected. There was a television, though we didn't bother with it. A hotel manual was written in both French and English. The staff were multilingual and equally comfortable with my stumbling French and my husband's total lack thereof.
It is a very small hotel -- five stories, extremely well-run. The toiletries in the bathroom were Fragonard. There was plenty of shelf space for dopp kits and cosmetics bags. A hair-dryer was on hand. The bed was firm and supportive and the pillows were of three different levels of firmness so as to offer everyone what they wanted. Towels were plentiful. The hotel is very green -- for instance, the lights in the hallways are motion-activated to save on electricity. Bottled water and fresh fruit are always on offer in the lobby.
The wi-fi was speedy enough that my husband and I were able to watch an HBO show one evening through our North American VPN. The maid service was prompt. The front desk was minimally staffed -- seemed to be one clerk at a time -- but they were cheerfully offering advice whenever asked, calling taxicabs on request, advising on Métro plans, and so on, they never seemed overwhelmed.
I did not initially decide to take the demi-pension, but I should have. We ended up having breakfast here every day, as the croissants were out of this world, the café au lait was as good as any other I've had in Paris, and the juice was fresh pressed. It's a light breakfast -- pastries, hard-boiled eggs, slices of baguette with confiture, some dried fruit. But it's a very good breakfast, and doesn't leave you feeling stuffed and less than ready to explore.
The shower head is detachable and has great water pressure, the bathtub is good and deep. The windows show a beautiful view, and it all feels a lot more genuine than the Package Tour With Eiffel Tower View many people endure in Paris. The neighborhood is full of native Parisians and industrious immigrants -- in general, we are greeted in French more than English and there are great hole-in-the-wall restaurants.
There's no air conditioning, which is of course par for the course here, but when it got hot, simply opening the windows helped enormously.
The only problem with writing this review is that more people will find out about the place, which is not good for my eventual return, of course.
Extremely convenient to Métro Saint-Georges, but the street is very quiet. The room is stylish, on the small side, but certainly not as small as most people complain about their rooms being in Paris. There seem to be plenty of other guests, but the soundproofing has been more than adequate.
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