Good choice in the Marais! *4e and other Paris, France Hotel/Accommodation Reviews

Hotel Andrea Rivoli is a well-run 2 star just off rue Rivoli and between Chatelet and Hotel de Ville.

At Andrea Rivoli the elevator was out of service for most of my stay ... and my room was on the 4th floor, that is 5th. Part of the problem was the holiday and then the weekend. I had a single -- carved out of the space between the elevator and the spiral staircase.

The room is basic, but cheerful, with an interesting shape because of the staircase. I was on a courtyard. The bathroom is absolutely spotless, nice new tile and SMALL. Did I say small? You walk in and you are at the sink. You turn right and you might as well sit on the toilet -- to the left is the shower, big enough, actually, but there is no leeway to speak of otherwise.

From the floor plan on the door it looks as though the rooms ending in 05 have no window:( I could be wrong, but that was what it seemed like. I have no idea which type of rooms those are.

Unique Qualities: Location between two metro stops and positioned for touring the Marais. A very pleasant and efficient front desk.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Phone: 01.42.78.43.93
Address: 3, rue Saint Bon
Website: http://www.leshoteliersdeparis.com/Hotel-Andrea-Rivoli.html

I spent 6 nights here with my husband and, aside from getting used to the RER as our main "metro", we found it very agreeable.
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You could faintly hear the RER in my room on the 3rd floor [there are 5 floors], but unless you are a princess it is no problem, in fact reassuring. The rooms and bathrooms are clean and well-fitted. There was a hair dryer and enough outlets here and there for recharging your technology. The shower was excellent. Someone spent money on the fixtures -- they were Grohe and very solid. [I had looked at Grohe for our bathroom at home, but they were too expensive!]
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My only criticisms are small. There is too much fluorescent light in the lobby, which lacks charm, and the breakfast, while ample, does not have the freshest bread. On the other hand the manager/owner is very nice as are his assistants. They do speak English, but we operated only in French and it went swimmingly. Now that I have the RER and changing at Chatelet down pretty well I would stay there again in a minute.

Unique Qualities: The bathroom was the highlight. It was a good size with good fixtures, plenty of hot water and very nice tile.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Address: 125 blvd St. Michel
Directions: Just a block south of the southern Luxembourg RER exit [The "B" train"]

Unique Qualities: This is a very popular hotel that books up fast -- the location in the quieter part of the Latin Quarter, plus the courtyard with its Roman column are very popular with American tourists. The rooms are very floral in their motif. Breakfast can be had for 8 euro.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: +33(0)1 43 26 79 23
Address: 75, rue Cardinal Lemoine
Directions: There is only a small sign on the side of the entrance to the courtyard.
Website: http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75005ecoles.htm

Hotel du Danube is an attractive, well-priced, well-run, well-located 3 star hotel just a couple blocks from the St. Germain métro. The streetside rooms are spacious by Parisian standards and include a small table and 2 chairs. The windows have recently been double-glazed to increase the sound protection.

Unique Qualities: The lobby and some of the rooms are PADDED in a floral fabric.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: (+33) (0)1 42 60 34 70
Address: 58 rue Jacob
Website: http://www.hoteldanube.fr/

My room was on the courtyard. It was a typically small Parisian hotel room, nicely decorated with amazingly efficient storage. The bathroom was marble, but tiny. I have heard in the spring and summer that the courtyard rooms can be noisy as people sit outside at the tables there.

Unique Qualities: Roger & Gallet toiletries!!!
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The night clerk, François is a delight! He has spent some time in the United States and actually enjoys his American clientele.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Phone: (+33) (0)1 42 60 34 70
Address: 58, rue Jacob
Directions: Within easy walking distance of St. Germain Blvd, the métro and St. Germain de Pres.
Website: http://www.hoteldanube.fr/

Just above Le Mondrian brasserie, the Hotel Welcome has a faded charm, as well as the smallest lobby and elevator I have ever seen.

The beginning at Hotel Welcome on rue de Seine at blvd St. Germain was not auspicious. My TV remote didn't work, there was no water coming from the faucets a half hour after I arrived, and my radiator wouldn't turn on. Yet I'm going to recommend it to you as a good budget choice in the heart of the 6th arrondissement.

It turned out that the city had turned off the water without warning to fix an area water main. It took the city two days to fix it, but communication became better so that the hotel desk posted signs concerning the hours the water would be off. Not the hotel's fault, and, after the initial surprise they handled it well.

The TV remote turned out to be partly my fault -- the TV wasn't "on" to be signaled and the battery was dead. The young man at the desk came up twice to make sure I had a remote that worked.

I didn't report the heat situation until the next morning, when I told them my room temperature was 17 centigrade -- gotta love those Brookstone travel clocks! And it was fixed by the end of the day.

Sooo ... as I said not auspicious, but in the end the faded charm and the excellent front desk won me over. I also enjoyed being able to return to my hotel room during the day. The hotel has a pretty salon on the 1st floor where they serve breakfast and the teeniest narrow, but long elevator with two sets of doors. I ate breakfast at Bar de Marche, with the people working at the street market just a block away on rue de Buci.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Address: 66 rue de Seine at blvd St Germain

Unique Qualities: You need to see the pictures of the rooms on the website to get an idea of the kind of quirky, bohemian haven this hotel is. The hotel is named after the street, of course, which is, in turn named after Tour Nesle, which was part of the 1210 Philippe-Auguste city wall. The highlight of the hotel lobby are the dried herbs hanging upside down. Each room is named and decorated individually on historic themes, with amazing paintings on the walls.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: 33 1 43 54 62 41
Address: 7 rue de Nesle *6e
Website: http://www.hoteldenesleparis.com/

Unfortunately this hotel has changed hands. Mme. & Maya "ont fait le retraite" and the prices have gone up considerably. Reviews elsewhere are definitely mixed.

Unique Qualities: It is a small hotel on the corner of avenue de La Motte Picquet and the market street, rue Cler, one block from the Ecole Militaire metro station. The small rooms have been recently redone and the bathrooms are tiled and very clean. 'Madame' is very proper, but her dog, Maya, is a sweetie:)
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UPDATE: The hotel has been sold as of early November 2002. The new owners want to upgrade it. They were talking about closing for a month to do that.
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I wish Mme. Ireland and Maya a healthy and happy retirement -- and I will miss them.

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Theme: Hotel

Phone: +331 47 05 09 57
Address: 30, avenue de La Motte Picquet -- 75007 Paris
Directions: Less than a block from the Ecole Miltaire metro station and on the corner of rue Cler & ave. de la Motte-Picquet
Website: http://www.leftbankhotelparis.com/

A small hotel on rue Lille almost into the 6eme. You are an easy walk from Musée D'Orsay & the Louvre as well as the restaurant/ shopping scene on St. Germain. The breakfast room is the usual medieval cellar.
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It is well maintained -- we had a nice stay, but there are mixed reviews elsewhere. Madame also seems not to like the hotel business much :(

Unique Qualities: The rooms are named after famous painters, mostly French. We stayed in "Manet" -- the room next door was "Renoir"

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: +33(0)1 42 60 73 79
Address: 28 rue de Lille
Directions: The closest metro is rue de Bac -- a bit of a walk.
Website: http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75007bersolys.htm

This hotel is very comfortable. The rooms and public areas are attractively decorated and spotlessly clean. Our room [the room named "Tulipe"] was very small and the shower was small also.
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The only drawback was one of the "madames" at the desk who, in response to any question I had or request I made, [preceded on my part by the correct politenesses] would yell at me. She was an equal opportunity linguist though. If I asked my question in French she yelled back in French. If I asked in English -- the return was in English. Otherwise it was an excellent hotel.
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Rooms ARE small at the 97 euro level, but crisply decorated. The shower was small also, but the overall ambience [minus madame] was excellent.

Unique Qualities: The breakfast room is very sunny and cheerful. The breakfast is expensive [8 euro], but DOES include cereal, yogurt and fruit in addition to croissants and petit pain.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: +33(0)1 47 05 05 93
Address: 11 rue Chevert, Paris, Île-de-France 75007
Website: http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75007muguet.htm