We stayed two nights at this hotel - the rooms we were allocated were tiny (although peeking through the door of a room that was being cleaned there did appear to be bigger avilable). The bathrooms were small and you couldn't open the bathroom door if the shower cubicle door was open - as my parents found out to their cost - when they rang reception for help the night porter charmingly told my nearly 70 yr old father to b***er off and then proceeded to argue with him over whose responsibilty it was to fix the door! On the other hand the cleaning lady/waitress was charming as was the first night porter which is why they have scored a two on service. My room stank of tobacco despite being non-smoking and the noise from the street was unbearable at times - the only way i slept on the second night was because I was so exhausted from my first night of no sleep. The only good thing was the location as handy for the Louve and Champs Elysee.

My trip to Paris was with a class, the group was 17 people. I first of all have to say the loaction was good. The Louvre was down the street, a great cafe was at the street corner, the metro was a 5-10 minute walk, and the Laduree was also a 5 min walk from the hotel.
As for the hotel itself, it was crap. The stairs are crooked and bumpy, the elevator was small that could only hold 2 people or 1 person and a suitcase, and the rooms were not any better. The beds were hard and itchy, some of the windows did not shut which made the noisy street even noisier, none of the bathroom doors shut (except for one but once shut it did not open without force), some of us woke up to find bugs in the bathroom, holes in the crooked, steep floors were covered with a carpet. No one complained about the bad quality until around 2:00 AM the firealarm went off (little note, learn and recognize the fire signal of different countries, because no one knew what was happening until we smelt the smoke) after half the hotel was down the stairs we were told to go back to bed. What about the fire? "we burnt the cookies" was the reason why all the guests were awake and grumpy. This was suspicious because the hotel staff was acting funny, but atleast nothing serious happened right?
If you are just looking for a shower and a bed, then i guess this could be a hotel suitable for you. But if you want a GOOD bed, a shower that holds the showerhead, no bugs, closeable bathrooms (the list goes on) then DO NOT go to this crap hotel
ONE STAR HOTEL!!!!

Our first night was at a Holiday Inn where the room was small, the internet cost 8 euros per hour (from your room) or 37 cents per minute in the business center and we paid 130 Euros and were far from the sites we hoped to visit. Fortunately they could only accommodate for one night! Our second night was at the Rive Gauche. The room cost 95 Euros, the internet was free (in the lobby), the room was just as large, and the location was wonderful. We were in room X (the rooms are given letters, not numbers) and our room faced a courtyard so noise was not a factor. We rode in the tiniest elevator... do not bring your oversized rollerboard... that was smaller than a modern day coat closet, but got us to the 6th floor without event. The location was perfect, not too far from sites and metros, with plenty of dining options. If you are a traveler, the Hotel Rive Gauche is a better option than the Holiday Inn.

We booked 2 rooms for 5 days. My parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and like to stay on the Left Bank near Rue St. Germain so locationwise this seemed like a good choice.

WRONG! The small street that the hotel is located on is actually a major throughfare. All traffic from the main highway along the Seine is directed to turn right and proceed up this street so the traffic actually gets heavier late at night. All of the rooms face the street and the only ventilation is to open the windows.

With the windows closed and earplugs it was tolerable, but the beds are hard and covered with cardboard and plastic for "protection." My sister & I had to open the windows for air circulation and the traffic noise plus the hard beds had us tossing & turning all night.

Previous postings are true about no internet (this was a problem as Hurricane Ike was heading toward my home and children while I was in Paris). They offer wireless access - but who takes their computer to Paris?

Also true about lack of showers - but that is fairly standard in France. There is usually a hand-held shower in the bathtub but no shower curtain. The French take a bath and use the handheld shower to rinse their hair. Hey, when I travelled to France 30 years ago there were hardly any private bathrooms in hotels so be grateful that so many French hotels have put them in instead of a "shared bath down the hall." This is part of international travel - enjoy the experience! But not at this hotel unless you can handle the traffic noice and brick-hard beds.

Beware the cancellation policy which is 100% of the room rate if you cancel less than about 36 hours. We tried to cancel for Thurs & Fri but ended up only able to cancel for Friday.

This is a good area to stay (walking distance to Notre Dame and other great sights) but there are other hotels on quieter streets in the area.