Now the very different Hotel Gabriel and other Paris, France Hotel/Accommodation Reviews

I found and selected the Plessis for my stay in Paris through extensive internet searching. I then made an internet booking, with my fingers tightly crossed. I’m pleased to say that it fully matched my expectations and I’m entirely happy to recommend it as excellent value for money. We subsequently had another pleasant stay there on a later trip.

IMPORTANT UPDATE July 2009. Through sheer idle curiousity, I have just looked up the Plessis on the internet, to check on the current prices. I was aghast to find that it now is no more - it appears to have changed hands and has been entirely refurbished as the Hotel Gabriel Paris-Marais. It has a four star rating, all looks very swish and upmarket, and claims to be the first hotel in Paris to feature a detox facility (whatever that is!). According to the website, Paris Match described it as "A totally new kind of hotel".

Unique Qualities: My earlier descriptions of the Plessis are now out of date. The Gabriel, as it now is, bears little relation to the former Plessis, which was a budget-priced two star hotel. None the less, the siting was one of the real attractions for me, and obviously remains the same. So, to continue with my earlier notes on siting: It is in the République area, on the north eastern side of the city area..... Importantly, there are excellent Metro connections (Oberkampf about 150 metres with 2 lines, République with 4 lines about 250 metres), ample convenient restaurants, supermarkets, and a laundromat nearby (turn R from the door, right at the first corner, and it’s just across the street).

My "satisfaction rating" below applies to the former Plessis - the new prices for the Gabriel are shown below and are outside my range. My photos are of the Plessis as it was - to see the butterfly which has emerged as the Gabriel, I'd suggest you look at the website below: leave your speakers on to listen to the relaxing ambient musical sounds which accompany it.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Hotel
Comparison: most expensive
Prices: US$180 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: 01 47 00 13 38
Address: 25 rue de Grand Prieuré, 75011 Paris.
Directions: From Place de la République, head up the Avenue of the same name for about 150 metres, then take the second street to the right (more of a laneway, but don't let that put you off): the Plessis is about 25 metres from the corner on the right.
Website: http://www.paris-hotel-plessis.com/en/
Other Contact: email: info@gabrielparis.com

We stayed in this two star hotel on our first visit to Paris in 1992. The staff were very helpful and friendly and the hotel was clean and well run, with quite a reasonable continental breakfast. The lift is tiny, but that seems the case in most of Paris - at least there is one! Traffic noise, which can be a problem in many Paris hotels, is nearly non-existent.

I didn’t stay here on my recent trip, partly because the cost was a little higher than some other two star hotels; partly because many of the rooms are quite tiny (and some are very odd shapes, one we had was wedge-shaped like a slice of cake, with the door at the narrow end); and partly because the Abesses Métro is served by only one line - I was intent on covering as much of Paris as possible with minimum transfers on the Métro.

Unique Qualities: The tranquil, romantic and post-cardish setting of place Emile Gordeau almost gives this hotel an air of unreality. Yes, there are good restaurants and shops just down the way and, although we heard that some parts of Montmartre can be problematical at night, during our stay we never felt even slightly uncomfortable in this vicinity.

If you are a first time Paris visitor, particularly if you place high priority on a romantic Parisian setting (and note the other comments above) , this hotel would be a good start for your experience of Paris.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$120-180  » Currency Converter
Phone: 01 42 55 74 78
Address: 20-22 Rue Ravignan
Directions: To reach the ‘place Emile Gordeau’, start from Métro Abesses heading west (ie with the church on your left), then turn right up rue Ravignan, the first street on your right, and begin the climb up the hill, crossing rue des Trois-Freres.
Website: www.timhotel.com/hotels/us/montmartre.html