I am a 54 year old woman traveling alone, December 2011. I don't speak french. I am overweight and an hours walk is something I'm proud of. By the end of the day I will be walking in small grandmotherly baby steps. I don't expect France to be America. Just so you have a frame of reference.
I chose this hotel for the location, and price while seemingly being "normal" (meaning clean, comfortable, neither budget nor splurge hotel). It exceeded all of my expectations.
I arrived at the hotel and was graciously and warmly welcomed by the registrar. I was given a room on the 5th floor. I took the elevator, which I knew would be european (meaning one person, and two pieces of luggage is really the maximum space. They are less than a quarter of the size of an American elevator). Up to the 5th floor and through the fire doors, following the signs to my room. I stopped when their was a small spiral staircase (like you use to climb into the crown of the statue of liberty) which I suspected was narrower than my wide, wide hips and would require more energy than I had to navigate myself and my luggage up. I returned to the registration desk and gently asked if it was possible that there might be a room for me that didn't have stairs to get to it. I was given a room on the second floor without any ill will shown towards me at all.
I asked about the free wifi when I check in and was given a code. I have never used wifi in a hotel before and didn't know you needed to open a google window for the username and password box to show up. When I called down to registration he was very kind to explain this to me. The thing was, I had gone ahead and used the wifi with my iphone before deciding i really wanted to use my laptop. The codes are only good for one ip address. (This means if two people are sharing a room you will be sharing internet access on one device too.) I had to call the front desk again (if you're counting, this is now the third time I am bothering this man) to ask why the codes don't work on google. He explained about the one ip address thing and I explain about my cell phone. He kindly, and without hesitation gave me a second code. This hotel has more than one wifi connection. I think I had to call down one more time because when I changed rooms, it changed what wifi I could connect to. So, you can see, I had quickly become a high maintenance guest! All the while, I received nothing but the help I needed and kindness.
There is a small bottle of wine in the room that is free. Along with coffee making supplies. There is a television and a mini bar, but I didn't use any of those items to comment on them. Except that the television screen is flat screen and good size, with a remote.
The room window opened out onto a wonderful rooftop garden with a fountain in the center. Very Parisian. The window could easily and safely be left open for a cool breeze for the room, or the drapes could be let down to shut out all the light. The double bed was very, very comfortable as were the pillows. They were not flat as pancakes and they were not so foam filled mountainous that they were useless. They were, indeed, perfect.
The room is small, being not much empty space between the bed and the furniture. This is not a room you will sit in as if it were a sitting area or a working desk area (although there is a small desk and chair with a mirror where I put on my make up and I must say I look nice, so it worked very well!)
The decor is french in that french sort of way with soft blue that seems to be of Marie Antoinette's time. The furniture is heavily painted, and some may think the thick layers of paint odd. I find it charming. The bathroom is oblong and large. The counter corian blues with a single sink. Double bottles of shower gel, shampoo, gentle (and nice!) face soap, que tips, shower caps, and more were laid out. All were freshly replaced the second day, including the soap, which I had only used to wash my face and clearly could have kept using a second day. The towels are small, average towels, but they get the job done. I took baths, rather than showers. The water was hot and plentiful. The water pressure excellent. The bathtub is a bit deeper, but shorter than the normal, average bathtub that I have at home. I loved that on a blustery December day in Paris I could soak in the bath and take the chill from my bones.
The room is very quiet. I never heard a sound from person, place or thing. This made for easy and excellent sleeping at any time of the day or night, which is wonderful given that jet lag and body clocks weren't in sync with the actual time.
The room was so comfortable, I decided alter my plans and stay another night. The next morning the man at the front desk was kind to call the hotel I had arranged near Versailles so I could cancel that room. I had tried to call myself, but it was a recording asking me to push numbers so I wasn't successful with the call on my own. I was grateful he was so helpful to me. Next, I asked if he would call the Eiffel Tower 58 restaurant so I could make reservations for lunch. I had gotten the number off the internet. He took the number, looked at it and said it couldn't be right. He took the trouble to find the number and make the call. Extraordinary care he is taking of me! ♥
The next morning I plan to see Norte Dame before leaving the city. It is raining fiercely and, of course there is my luggage. He suggests leaving it at the hotel, which was very thoughtful and nice. Next, I ask him to help me cancel a hotel reservation in another city I will not be able to keep tonight. He does that with the utmost grace.
I return from my morning to check out. I ask him if he would call a taxi to take me to the RER A line. He does and it arrives before we even have my luggage out. He told the taxi drive where I was going for me.
I had stopped at a chocolate shop and bought a box of chocolate truffles for the man at the front desk. The shop put them in a gift bag for me when I explained I wanted to thank the man at the hotel for taking such good care of me. When I thanked the man at the hotel, telling him I knew that I had required more than other guests and I truly appreciated it he seems touched with the gift. He is a genuinely nice man. I can't imagine ever running into someone more helpful. For this alone, this hotel stands out in an extraordinary fashion.
The location is wonderful. Even I could easily walk to the lourve. There is a metro station just next to the lourve, so if you are game to travel that way, this is also an excellent location. There are several cafes nearby. Cafe Richard made a good omlette.
The reputation of the rudeness of the French is shattered at this hotel. If you are willing to embrace a European experience (and that's why you came, isn't it?) I highly recommend Hotel Louvre Vons Enfants. Well worth the price in my book.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
