Hotel Des Grandes Ecoles

Old world charm with many rooms ‘ nestled ‘ within its blooming garden. The fragrance of jasmine permeates my room and the little cafe style table as I await my breakfast. Some drama with a happy ending this morning: A couple who had checked out an hour back, forgot a ring in their room. Thanks to the attentive staffer who upon discovering it, alerted the office. The taxi driver transporting the guests was contacted and the ring returned to its owner. Pretty remarkable!!

I would recommend this hotel to anybody seeking to visit Paris. The green doors lead into a wonderful garden courtyard, a sort of quiet oasis from the hustle and bustle of the city. The rooms are charming and well decorated, and the staff is very kind. The location is fantastic. Two major lines have stops within a 5 minute walk from the hotel making it easy to get around. There is also a wonderful Boulangerie down the street and multiple cafes and restaurants nearby. Note, the air conditioning in the room works great! We arrived during a record breaking heat wave in Europe and our room was always nice and cold.

A subtlety grand hotel hidden by tall green doors leading to a leafy courtyard with attractive shuttered window frontages either side. No problem with language at reception and then off to our room via a tiny lift ( “Yay a lift ! sayeth the missus). Room a reasonable size clean and presentable with an excellent en-suite bathroom. View out of window was all the tree, but pleasant all the same, and relatively quiet even with a school nearby. Breakfast on the continental side so not one for cereal killers maybe, but when in France go native. Located off the Rue du Cardinal Lemoine it is well situated for all the visions Paris has to offer. A short walk from the Metro, which is easy to make use of ( don’t use the app though, it is easier to buy a ticket ) or else use a taxi for the ultimate Mad Max experience ! Even walking can get you places. Can thoroughly recommend this hotel for a comfortable retreat after a day’s sensory overload.

I’m 54 years of age and I’ve been to many hotels in Europe. I decided to take a couple of day trip mid week 2013. I booked a ticket from Angoulême and arrived at Montparnasse for my two day solo trip walking around with my camera before returning home to the Perigord Vert. I adore this hotel everything about it is wonderful. I will return when I find the time from work. Please never sell it to a corporation. It’s a beautiful individual hotel in the very heart of Paris.🥰

My daughter and I stayed at this lovely hotel and had a wonderful time. Our room on the third floor was just what we needed - cosy and relaxing with the most comfortable bed and a lovely view over the garden courtyard. The breakfast was delicious. We also had the honour of meeting the hotel cat a couple of evenings, which made our trip. There were plenty of great restaurants and cafes on the doorstep. We’ll definitely stay again.

Wonderful staff, superb service and such a quiet and relaxing setting. Our room was clean, fresh and very comfortable. The only slightly negative point is the size of our room. For two adults it suited us fine but with limited wardrobe space we lived out of our case and so spent a lot of time stepping across it. This isn't to criticise at all as I don't know what else the hotel could have done, just something to bear in mind. Thank you for having us, it was a pleasure.

An oasis and a haven of peace in this old modernized Hemingway hang out.|For those still enticed by the packaged "romance" of Paris, a lovely quiet and calm refuge.As a previous resident of the rue Cardinal Lemoine and Place de la Contrescarpe where I spent my youth and adolescence, it certainly rings bells. However I have to admit that as soon as you open the venerable Gate to affront the outside world, you are hit by the noise and furore of what is fast becoming a third world urban jungle. Paris is decaying at a frightful pace and is in utter chaos, submerged by the invasive hordes of global tourists and the totally insane local governance. Do not even attempt to navigate the so-called "transports en commun"|unless you have nerves of steel, a stoic forbearance for mad crowds and a good life insurance. I make an exception if you are an early bird and decide to stroll aimlessly, as one should,in quasi deserted early morning streets. The window of opportunity is between 6am and 10am, after the omnipresent garbage has been collected and the madding crowds return for an other stultifying encore. Then beat a hasty retreat to the sheltered hide away, sit in the paradisical garden( stemming from the old Persian, (a walled garden) with a good book, my suggestion, For Whom theBells Toll, or, The Asphalt Jungle or, a novel by Balzac, Victor Hugo or the enthralling French poets through the ages from Francois Villon to Aragon... whatever suits your mood in harmonious resonance with a bottle of wine or champers, to mollify and jollify the spirits. Sheer Bliss! |Now, unless you think I am an irascible elderly grouch, let me reassure and encourage the true travellers, 'le voyageur solitaire est un diable", there are still a few hidden gems in this senescent Megapolis, but they are not mentioned in any guide or website and it behooves you to discover them by yourself with all the risks of failure that entails. Otherwise, where would be the adventure?||And if you find her poor, Paris won’t have fooled you.|Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,|you’ll have understood by then what this Paris means. |With apologies to Constantin Cavafy

Me and 3 friends visited this hotel for mine and one of their birthdays, and I can say we were not left disappointed. The rooms were spotless, and had a very classical feeling to them, whilst still remaining bright and airy. Every day the room was made up for us coming back whilst we had been out exploring Paris. Upon arrival, the man at the front desk was so helpful and kind, even helping carry our luggage to our room, and every other member of staff we encountered treat us with the same care. Being young travellers, we were apprehensive that we may not be welcomed to such a classic hotel, but we were very wrong. The hotel itself is just beautiful. The courtyard is stunning, and we would have loved to have had the chance to have some breakfast in the sun, but the weather didn’t permit! Maybe next time :) Overall, Hotel des Grandes Ecoles far exceeded our expectations, and I would 100% recommended to my family or friends. It is great value for money, and you get what you pay for and more with this hotel. Thanks again for making my birthday experience fantastic. We hope to see you again soon <3

My partner and I stayed with you in early December and just wanted to say that your staff was amazing, so kind and helpful with everything. I made the mistake of booking the wrong day and your front desk staff fixed everything while I was on the brink of tears. Thank you again for making such a special moment for us even better. We will be staying here every time we come to Paris and couldn't recommend it enough to friends and family! the atmosphere alone is what brought us there in the first place but the kindness and true care of the staff is what will bring us back to this lovely hotel.

Ce magnifique hôtel est devenu ma maison loin de chez moi à Paris. Il est idéalement situé dans une rue calme au cœur du quartier latin. Il n'est qu'à quelques pas de l'animée place de la Contrescarpe, qui compte une quantité phénoménale de cafés et de restaurants qui satisferont à peu près tous les goûts, et qui mène à l'ancienne rue Mouffetard, une rue pavée tranquille, essentiellement piétonne, qui descend en serpentant jusqu'à l'église Saint-Médard, et qui est également bordée de cafés et de petites boutiques, ainsi que de divers fournisseurs de produits alimentaires. Bien que très "touristique", c'est toujours l'une de mes rues préférées à Paris (et il y en a tellement !). J'ai séjourné pour la première fois dans cet hôtel à la fin des années 1990 et, après une interruption de 20 ans, j'y suis retournée en juin dernier. Entre-temps, il a été racheté par un consortium hôtelier, après avoir été détenu et exploité par une équipe mère-fille très sympathique. Même après 20 ans, et avec le changement de direction, l'expérience de l'hôtel est encore meilleure. L'une des choses que j'aime le plus est le fait qu'il n'y ait pas de télévision dans la chambre. Quand je suis là, j'ai l'impression d'être en vacances, loin de l'actualité, qui peut être accablante. L'accès à Internet est gratuit et des convertisseurs électriques sont généralement disponibles à la réception. La propriété est très sécurisée. Il y a deux grandes portes vertes qui donnent sur la rue du Cardinal Lemoine, et chaque client reçoit un petit appareil électronique avec sa clé qui active le mécanisme de déverrouillage. Une fois que vous avez franchi les doubles portes, vous montez légèrement sur un chemin pavé qui mène à un magnifique petit jardin, avec des tables, des chaises et des bancs. Avec des bagages bien remplis et un décalage horaire important, cela peut sembler décourageant au premier abord. Mais patience : vous êtes presque chez vous. L'hôtel s'est doté de l'air conditionné il y a tout juste deux ans, ce qui a été très appréciable lors de mon séjour, lorsque les températures ont atteint 36 °C (97 °F). D'après mon expérience, la climatisation est encore assez rare à Paris. C'est un plus indéniable si vous voyagez pendant les mois d'été. Toutes les chambres dans lesquelles j'ai séjourné avaient des portes-fenêtres du sol au plafond, qui s'ouvrent pour laisser passer une brise agréable lorsque le temps le permet. Les chambres sont décorées dans un style floral, provincial français, je suppose. Les chambres sont spacieuses et très propres, les salles de bains sont modernes et le matelas est très confortable. Le personnel est multilingue et très serviable. Je peux honnêtement dire que je n'ai jamais séjourné dans un autre hôtel où je me suis sentie aussi bien accueillie. L'Hôtel des Grandes Écoles est très proche de deux lignes de métro : la ligne 10, qui va d'est en ouest et dont la station se trouve en bas de l'hôtel, et la ligne 7 de la rue Monge, qui va du nord au sud. J'ai déjà réservé ma chambre pour mon séjour en novembre. Je voulais être à Paris pour mon anniversaire, et on ne vit qu'une fois. Bref, je recommande cet hôtel, très fortement, et vous conseille de réserver le plus longtemps possible à l'avance, car c'est un secret très mal gardé semble-t-il. Et je suis très contente pour eux qu'il soit devenu si populaire. Translated with DeepL

Gorgeous little hotel - rooms clean and cute with old school tapisserie! Great to have the patio to enjoy the sun/good weather - perfect for breakfast. Lovely location - central and close to everything by foot, but lack of tourist just hits the spot. Right by Rue Mouffetard - popular with the students, roads full of great little places - restaurants & bars etc....

My husband and I stayed here in October for a celebration. My sister had stayed here for her honeymoon about 3 decades ago and found it charming back then. The hotel is centrally located with public transportation nearby and attractions are walkable and easy to get to. There is a lovely courtyard that would be nice to enjoy in the spring and summer. It is however in desperate need of renovation. The beat up old carpeting and vintage wallpaper was distracting and less than pleasing. I guess it could appeal to a certain demographic. In any case, the rooms are small and super basic with a table, chair, a bed and nothing much else. We opted for a no breakfast inclusion as from what I understand, it is very basic and simple. We stayed one night and that was all we needed. We had friends that stayed here as well who encountered problems with the hotel and staff but that is a whole different issue and an entirely different review.

Hotel Des Grandes Ecoles was an up and down experience for us. The price is fantastic - very competitive for 5eme and Paris especially. The owner Marie, and (I believe?) her husband are beyond friendly, helpful and charming. To quote my hubs when we first checked in with Marie, "She just sings when she speaks, doesn't she?" He was a bit in awe :) Our room was on the top floor with a stellar view of the gardens and the courtyard, where many hotel guests congregated in the morning for a hotel-provided breakfast (9 euros extra) and in the afternoons and evenings over a bottle of wine or an impromptu picnic, or simply to relax and read among the foliage and birdsong. The not-so-good: the bed was very hard. We are spoiled to no end by the new iteration of hotel chic which includes a cloud-like mattress and duvet found in all the major hotels now, so the old-fashioned hard bed was even more noticeable. To the point that each morning I woke up with sore hips, which is not something that usually, if ever, happens. When we first arrived in our room, we found a sign that read something to the effect of "Please, dear guests, do not do your laundry in the room as there is a laundromat just down the street. Also, please do not bring any outside food into your room." Initially, I thought the sign was quaint. However, as we passed said laundromat and saw the prices, I realized that no guest in their right ind would use it over a free bathroom sink. And after perusing the Rue Mouffetard with all it's amazing shops (cheese, cured meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, marinated olives and mushrooms, boulangeries, Belgian chocolates, need I go on???) and realizing that the area was MADE for picnicking, we of course so wanted to have a room picnic to celebrate all the local fare we found on Rue Mouffetard. Alas no, no outside food allowed in our room. I felt a bit like a recalcitrant teenager wanting to rebel, but we followed the rules. Last of the not-so-good: the Internet was incredibly spotty (or rather, mostly down). We were given a site and an access code for sign-in but after our first night it ceased to work. The hotel finally gave us the name of their own wifi spot and it worked, as long as we went down to the courtyard or hung, precariously, out our 3rd-floor window. Back to the good! The hotel is gorgeous! The courtyard is absolutely lovely and made for spending time whiling away the day. The hosts are absolutely charming and the Latin quartier location is fantastic! The hotel was close to the Pantheon, le Contrescarpe, rue Mouffetard and the Cardinal Lemoine Metro station.

I loved this place very close to the subway. It was off the main road in a area that had a lot of inexpensive restaurants and convenience stores. Very charming friendly staff.

A wonderful place to spend a week in Paris. 5-7 minute walk to two different Metro stops on two different lines (Cardinal Lemoine and Place Monge). Located in a student neighborhood, which is great for travelers because of the abundance of Laundromats and cheap eats. Noise was not a problem. Free wi-fi worked well, though the connection is a bit slow. The bathroom has a tub/shower combo (but not enough storage space). The room is average-sized, the bed was reasonably comfortable. The bed linens and towels could be upgraded a bit. Breakfast is served 8am-12pm and included juice (apple, orange or grapefruit), coffee (or tea or hot chocolate), and a basket of pastries. No cheese or protein. Staff are friendly. One problem I saw was that some guests expected a bit too much from the front desk, regarding activities in Paris. The staff always seemed happy to try and help, but they just can't know the best way to travel to every point-of-interest in Paris, hours of operation, etc. I suggest you bring a great travel book (my new favorite is Rick Steves) and get a free subway map from the front desk. Those two guides make it easy to plan your day.

Great staff. Well located and a great continental breakfast. Modest but a welcome place to come home to after a long day's walking in the greatest city.

I really love this charming 51-room hotel. It's quiet, but in a wonderful central location. The rooms are decorated with adorable wallpaper. I stayed in room 113, which has a nice view of the interior courtyard and a bathtub/shower combo. The only drawback is that the room has flourescent lightbulbs. For 10 euros more, you can upgrade to a slightly larger room. The one larger room I took a peek at, had incandescent bulbs, which give off a more appealing quality of light than flourescents.

This place is full of charm and so incredibly inviting. The employees are so warm and loving. They made us feel so welcome and were so sweet to our 4 year old girl. My only gripe is that the beds are very firm and did make for a good nights rest. But my goodness, the French windows opening to the courtyard are heavenly. I love that people hang out in the courtyard and share wine and conversation. The breakfast room is very quaint. I loved getting everything delivered on a beautiful silver tray. The extremely kind women who seems to be the main server brought out little one her own tray with a tea cup and teapot filled with hot chocolate, a little croissant and jelly. She love that so much and it was such a treat for her. There's so much attention to detail and it's really the place I had in mind when looking for a Parisian experience to remember fondly. We came to realize that most people there had been coming there for years and years. Some as long as 25 years! It is very centrally located and 2 minute walk to the metro. Tons of great little restaurants and cafes right there outside the lovely green doors. I love that the gate in lock after 8 pm or so. It feels like a little haven when you enter through the doors. Another thing is that for Paris, this place is such a deal for what you are getting. We payed $150 a night and breakfast was $9 for each of us. I would like if there was a protein at breakfast but I did see a gentleman next to me get a hard boiled egg, so next time I will ask! Would love if they got some comfortable mattress toppers as well. I would suggest this place for anyone looking for a great experience on a budget though! Ps. No tvs in room (which I prefer) no mini fridge (which I would NOT prefer) no tub in our particular room but they do have them in some, wifi is a bit slow but it is free!

Excellent, welcoming hotel. Has a bed and breakfast feel. The garden area is beautiful. Not far from metro and some great restaurants. The breakfast was incredible! Staff was very friendly and very helpful.

French countryside in the middle of Paris So often your initial impression of a country is influenced by the hotel and its staff. Upon entering the grounds of the Hotel Grandes des Ecoles, you immediately get the impression of the French countryside as cobbled stones lead the way through potted flowering plants and shade trees. Our top floor room overlooking the garden where weather permitting you can enjoy your breakfast al fresco was charming, cozy and complete with modern bath. The location of this hotel not far from the Patheon and the Luxembourg Gardens, is ideal for exploring the Left Bank, while walking down the Rue du Cardinal de Lemoine offers you the sights of Ile St. Louis and Ile de La Cite. But the great attraction of this charming hotel is the staff who were not only immensely helpful but always friendly and accommodating. Highly recommended for a relaxing, memorable stay in Paris.