A lovely little hotel set amidst the yuppie district of St Germain. Nestled on a tree-lined street just tucked away from the main road, La Villa is a newish boutique hotel that encompasses Parisian chic and warmth.
The entrance/reception to the hotel is rather non-descript, and there are at least 3 other similar hotels on the same block on Rue de Jacob, but La Villa comes across as one of the newer ones. I like hotels that are understated, minimalist, spotless yet with an eye to detail. La Villa is all that. The room itself is a cosy size, with a small bathroom that has a bath-tub and a designer sink - try and figure out where the water come out from! Our room has a French window that overlooks the street - just your typical view of your typical Parisian side-street, but for the Francophiles, this oozes charm only the way Paris can.
The room itself was spotless. The only thing was that our of the 40 or so TV channels, only about 2 (BBC and CNN) were in English - but that's France!
Being a small boutique hotel, La Villa has a tiny bar next to the reception and a breakfast area in the basement. For the price of breakfast, I'd highly recommend heading to the many cafes and restaurants nearby.
The location of the hotel couldn't be better. Away from the hustle and bustle of main street Blvd St Germain, but there are a number of cosy cafes just outside the hotel (and a tea-room that sells amazing macaroons right opposite). We discovered a quaint little Parisian restaurant that does amazing food (du Pied de Fouet) just round the corner. A couple of minutes walk from the hotel and you get to the heart of St Germain des Pres, with many bars, restaurants and cafes with al fresco dining set up just for people watching.
I forgot just how walkable Paris is. It's easier to wander around on foot than to battle the maze of the metro. A 20 minute walk will get you to the Latin Quarter, where plenty of cafes and restaurants abound for which are considerably less expensive than St Germain.
All in all, I loved this little gem of a hotel, and will most definitely stay in it again.
- La Hotel Paris
- La Hotel Saint Germain
