We stayed here on our first trip to Paris, this December. The hotel itself is a little tough to find if you get off the wrong train stop. The right stop: get off the 13 line at Pernety, take a right and walk about ten steps. The hotel will be on your right.

It looked to us to be very similar to most other Paris hotels, except we were fortunate enough to have an elevator. The walls are a little thin, but we only heard neighbors when they coughed. Room was tiny but neat, and very well cleaned by the maids each day. Comes with a hairdryer, so leave yours at home.

The neighborhood is cute, quaint, and quiet. The sidewalks roll up around 8:00 p.m. with a few pubs and restaurants as exceptions, so if you're looking for night life, this isn't your place. Not a lot of shopping either. But it has a real neighborhood feel, the sort where the owner of the coffee shop knows several of her patrons. And on Monday, when everyone's off work, it's a nice place to sit and sip a coffee and watch the bustle of local people running errands, buying groceries and flowers, etc.

Though this part of Montparnasse is not centrally located, it's so close to a Metro stop that it's extremely easy to get around Paris. The only drawback that I can see was that it was a bit out of the way, being so far south. We were disinclined to head back to the hotel throughout the day. But Paris is a small city and the trains are very efficient, so it's not impossible. And we liked the quiet; there are no cars driving by at night when you're trying to sleep (though you may hear the train rumble underground, unless you bring ear plugs).

If you stay here and are looking for good food, there's a great boulangerie across the street where you can get pastries, beignets and baguettes. A local coffee shop has espresso and cafe au lait, and croissants. There's also a terrific gastro pub about a block past the train station, if you're walking away from the hotel. Can't remember the name, but it's on the left. Around the corner on Avenue de Maine (walk up Losserand, take a right, go about 2 blocks) there's a pizza parlor with the best pizza we've ever had, using local area cheeses. Make sure to try the antipasto. As 2 Americans from New York and CT, we had no particular desire to eat pizza in France, but this was a revelation, and a great place to check out if you're jet lagged and don't have the energy to explore the city on your first night.

The good news first: This hotel is conveinently located two doors from the Metro station at the At Pernety exit making it very easy to get anywhere in Paris, it is very reasonable and the neighborhood is very friendly and quiet with the charm of a local street of Paris. It feels more like a local neighborhood than a tourist section which was very nice. There was a patissery across the street, internet cafe on one corner and several brasseries and flower shop and fromagerie within two blocks.
Now the bad news: This is not the hotel to stay in if you are seeking opulance and space. When we first arrived we were given our key and told that breakifast would be included downstairs for an extra 9euro (we thought it was included) When we walked into the room our very first impression was that the room was tiny compared to the pictures represented on the website. Considering both letdowns, we still agreed to stay since the time and effort to find another hotel would not be worth it as we had a train to catch in the morning and we would not be using the room but for sleeping.
We had to be very tidy and inventive to deal with the small space as there was no room for a luggage rack and only one small shelf and an armoire in the room. We had to use the bed to orgainze and open our suitcases and the floor to store them. There were only 2 small table lamps meaning only two plugs so when we wanted to charge a battery or computer, we had to unplug one and deal with only one light source which was very dim. The other issue was that the internet was down all but on e day which was supposed to come with the room. The manager seemed to brush it off and offered that there was a pay per minute host called Orange we could try. We were able to connect at Perntey street internet cafe for free with the cost of a cup of cafe o'lait. Overall, the hotel was clean and conveniend and inexpensive but not without disturbances.

We liked the location and friendly staff, nearby metrostation but the rooms are not fresh, dirty covers on the bed , dirty curtains. They need to be refreshed and refurbished.

Like a few others I had some concerns about other peoples accounts of their stay at this hotel and how this would refelct on my experience.

I think this hotel needs defending somewhat, it would appear that some of the people commenting on this hotel may have had higher expectations than they should have for the room tarriff that was charged. When in Paris unless you pay more money or are in a newer hotel then space is at a premium, our room had a good size comfortable double bed in it, an en-suite with everything that was needed to either wash down or soothe over walked muscles.

The staff seemed eager to please and were very discreet in their presence, there are 2 bakeries nearby which serve excellent croissant and pain au chocolat - not the one directly opposite but if you come out of the hotel and turn right there is one on slightly further along on the other side of the raod which is very good and one which is in the same direction but further along and on the same side of the road as the hotel

The hotel is literally 10-20 yards from the Metro station which makes it very handy if you are travelling with heavy bags and the lift was a welcome sight especially as we were on the 5th floor.

Make no mistake this hotel would never win hotel of the year but if you are looking for a place that is warm, has a good sized bed, good quality shops nearby where you can assemble a fantastic picnic (bakers, cheese, wine) and you are looking for a base from which to explore the city I think this was ideal. If you are looking for a hotel room that you are wanting to woo your special one then you really shouldn't be so frugal, dip your hand a little deeper in your pockets and upgrade to somewhere more central if you are looking for the wow - weekend in bed - factor.

I would return to this hotel for future trips but if I win the lottery I will more than likely be at the Ritz!