hi there. my husband and i will be in paris for a week in september (following a week in london - and flying in to CDG). i have been researching hotels and have my short list of two. if anyone can help me make my final decision, i would really appreciate it.
it will be our first time in paris. we want to see the usual tourist attractions, museums, etc, and will probably do the hop on and off bus tour on the first day to get a feel for the city. we are big walkers, and may do one day trip.
our basic criteria was a clean, air conditioned room with a fridge, elevator and breakfast included. these two fit the bill, and the TA reviews for palais bourbon and abotel prince albert are very good. i know palais bourbon is in the 7th arrondissement, and prince albert is in the 1st.
are there a variety of restaurants near both hotels? we are happy to have some half decent ones and some quick and inexpensive ones. having the fridge will also allow to buy things like meat and cheese to make sandwiches. this is not so much to economize, but also for times when all we want is a sandwich. i would be interested in your thoughts on either or both areas.
the rate i was quoted for palais bourbon is 125 euros per night -
www.bourbon-paris-hotel.com/english/main.htm
the rate i was quoted for abotel prince albert is 109 euros per night -
abotelparis.com/abotel-prince-albert/com/pre…
thanks for any help you can give me!
|||
bump!
any thoughts would be much appreciated.
|||
xplors ~%26gt; We will be in Paris in just over one month. We are staying at Hotel Palais du Bourbon. I can tell you that my correspondence with them they have been polite and more than willing to provide advice. We look forward to staying there because of it%26#39;s location and because of the courtesy when Emailing them. They also provide a small continental breakfast with the price.
tripadvisor.com/GoListDetail-i1868-Stampedin…
|||
bump, and...
hi onward:
i never did respond to you! my email dealings with both hotels has been terrific, and im still no closer to making a decision. :-(
when are you staying there, exactly, and for how long? have you been to paris before? i%26#39;ll be very interested to hear how you liked it.
xplors
p.s. ive also been looking at the 5th arrondissement. hotel residence monge looks great, but i find their cancellation policy too stringent.
|||
I%26#39;m glad you bumped this, because I hadn%26#39;t seen it previously.
My wife and I stayed at the Hotel Palais Bourbon on three separate occasions during the mid-90s, and liked it a lot. We haven%26#39;t stayed there since 1996, though, so important to note that things might have changed for better or worse since then, but since it%26#39;s family-run, my guess is it hasn%26#39;t changed a lot.
It%26#39;s a simple, clean, well-run 2-star hotel. I%26#39;d urge you to get a room with windows overlooking the street, if you can, simply because you can open those windows up for fresh air and Parisian atmosphere. Sometimes a passing motorcycle can be a bit jarring for the noise, though, so if you really want it super quiet, get a room in the back away from the street, they%26#39;re likely cheaper, too. The furniture is spartan, but the bed is comfortable, and the TV carries CNN and Sky News. The bathroom is immaculately clean.
My wife and I were on a bit of a budget back in those days, so we used to have the occasional dinner in our room via candlelight, eating bread, cheese, cuts of meat from the local charcuterie just down the street, and wine. There%26#39;s a small Monoprix supermarket a couple blocks away on rue Casimir Perier if you need a wider variety of food and food accessories.
There are any number of restaurants in the area, including the world famous L%26#39;Arpege at the end of the street, across from the Rodin museum. We liked Le Basilic, also on rue Casimir Perier, they belong to a French restaurant guild called Gourmand (or something like that) and the food is indeed superior without being overpriced. They also have a lovely outdoor courtyard for dining alfresco, right in the shadow of the Ste. Clotilde church. (By the way, Julia Child lived around the corner from this church during her first years in Paris from 1949-1952, and she writes about her life in this area in her new book published posthumously)
Some hotels in the 7th are located very far out away from the action in the 6th and 5th arrondissements, but the Bourbon is actually located right on the edge of the 6th, so it is a little more central than other 7th hotels.
What did we not like about this hotel?
The one thing that I recall very prominently is that the hotel was a bit cold during the rainy month of April when we were there, heat was not in an overabundance in our room, whether by accident or by management decision. My wife and I joked about it, but it was chilly.
We also should mention that this is a small, family-run hotel. The night clerk overnight was allowed to sleep during the overnight hours, and if you plan to come in at 2AM, be forewarned the front door will be locked, and the night clerk might be less than hospitable when you wake him up to let you in....but he will let you in.
Why haven%26#39;t we been back?
Honestly, our budget has allowed us to upgrade to 3-star hotels, and we appreciate a little extra luxury in our more mature years. But we still have very fond memories of our days at the Palais Bourbon.
I hope this helps.
|||
hi signothetimes53:
thank you so much for all the info! i doubt we%26#39;ll be out till 2am, so, do you know if they lock the door at 2 am? if they lock it at midnight, for example, and the clerk goes to sleep, that could be a little limiting.
also, i do understand when small, family-run hotels do things this way, but i would prefer a hotel with 24/7 reception, and where the front door isnt locked. i%26#39;ll see if i can check out prince alberts front door/reception policy. i take it you are required to leave your room key at reception, as seems to be the case with many hotels in paris?
|||
It%26#39;s been 10 years since I stayed at the Palais du Bourbon, so the only way to know for sure whether they lock the door at a given hour is to call them.
It%26#39;s also possible that they no longer allow the night clerk to sleep overnight. It was obvious to me looking at the pictures of the rooms that they%26#39;ve spent some money to spiff them up a bit....or at least they%26#39;ve spiffed up the ones that are pictured on the website.
|||
-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-
This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html
We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.
Removed on: 8:16 pm, August 14, 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment