Six Small Hotels of Paris
originally published in Lucire, October 2005

All of these hotels (except Hotel des Grandes Ecoles) can be booked by going directly to www.innsenroute.com:

Hotel Le A

4 rue d’Artois

75008 Paris

4 stars

This intriguing high-end (€320-525/night) luxury property of 26 rooms opened Summer 2003. Under the stewardship of Emma Charles, a hospitality career professional with experience at top chains (Four Seasons, Rosewood), the hotel has real style and cachet to justify the extreme price point. First and foremost is the personalized service component: no stuffy reception desk, staff instructed to recognize and greet guests by name, with a familiar yet respectful relationship-based management style. Charles makes certain that hotel staff get to know every guest, their likes and dislikes, with a strategy of building repeat business. This means a figure of 17% return guests (3+ visits a year). “We are,” Charles says, “not a hotel, but a house.” There’s also the sense of a safe and secure refuge, despite the hotel’s close proximity to the Champs Elysees, Paris’ teeming Main Street. The hotel is located on an uncharacteristically quiet side street, promoting a sense of the serene and peaceful in the heart of a bustling and touristic commercial zone. Design-wise the hotel has a unique personality. Artist Fabrice Hybert added his personal imprint to every inch: murals, unique works in every room, a wonderful handwritten wall installation facing the elevators, large scale installation pieces, carrying the art theme to all possible iterations and spaces- even the room numbering is one-of-a-kind. The stark modernist theme extends to the bar area, with an extensive art library figuring prominently in the lobby décor. A healthy –but not overbearing- profusion of silver and glass, rendered in spare geometrics, punctuated by orchids on tables. Every room is different, but all uphold the same fastidious standards with white linen-covered seating, flat screen tvs, wi fi, and CD player. The luxurious baths are distinguished by lush towels, beautiful marble work and hardware and lovely presentation of Italian amenities in a trio of sleek flagons. Clientele is split 50/50 business and tourist, with a healthy guest/employee ratio of 28:18, insuring utterly attentive service to all requests. An in-house kitchen prepares brasserie fare for room service, Noon-10pm. Continental and American breakfast served, bar opens at 4pm, outside guests welcome for breakfast and bar. If your budget or expense account allows, this exceptional hotel would make a fine island of tranquility, insulating one beautifully from any symptoms of overexposure to the rigors of travel. An unusual, artistic and chic haven at the high end of the market, for the traveler seeking unique quality experiences away from the chain hotel mentality.

Hotel le Vignon

23, rue Vignon

75008 Paris

4 stars

Hard-core culture vultures and those serious about their shopping will find this 28-room luxury property just off the Place de la Madeleine a brilliant base of operations. It’s barely a half block from the gourmet temples of Fauchon, Hediard and Maille, easy strolling to the big department stores, the trendy boutiques of Faubourg St Honore, and not too excruciating a walk to the Louvre. This would be an ideal hotel for someone in the fashion industry, attending the collections, on a buying trip, or scouting the latest couture. It’s quiet at mid-day, despite its central location on a narrow sidestreet, at a fair price, €185-300, balancing space, comfort, service and location. I like the desk team very much, happy, helpful, accessible people with the cavalier air of informality that la mode expects. The rooms are lovely, rendered in light colors, cream, off-white, airy spaces that exude a real sense of comfort. Beautiful marble bath, with Roger Gallet amenities, terry robe, plenty of plush towels. You get a wrapped madeliene with your in-room coffee service, Marcel Proust, are you listening? Elevator provides access to a comfy subterranean breakfast space. There’s a fashionable photo theme carried throughout the property, so you might have photos of sculpture, architectural details, or fashion-driven images, all of very high quality. My room had cool hat photos. The structure has been a hotel a long time, but the current owner has added more modern furnishings. Her vision and mark is everywhere- and the level of taste works quite well. Turndown service is part of the package. It might be fun to try room service from Terres de Truffes, a new truffle restaurant 10m down the street, with whom the hotel has an agreement in place. Those daring enough to have a car will find a public parking nearby at Place de la Madeliene, elevator accessible in front of the Fauchon store.

A free internet station is available adjacent to the front desk, with in-room wi fi throughout. In-room television has a good mix of BBC, Spanish German and Italian channels. The top floor suites represent the high end of the lodgings, have the feel of a pied a terre or apartment, and would be an excellent place to call temporary home as one samples the joys of central Paris. A pleasure to stay at this property. Highly recommended.

Hotel de Banville

166, Bvd. Berthier

75017 Paris

4 stars

This small, 38 room luxury property is housed in a building constructed in the 1920s situated in the 17^th, located to the northeast of central Paris. Metro connections are convenient enough. The downside is that it’s a long walk to the major tourist attractions, so transport will nearly always be a necessity. Banville has all the trappings of a luxury hotel, with a price point at the low end of luxury rates, €175-275 and suites from €335. The hotel has recently received its fourth star, and when I asked the Director General the reason he replied simply “l’acceuil,” which means “the welcome.” People greeted me, but not in an imposing or overfamiliar way, while they did express a sincere warmth, which is not always the case at Parisian hotels. The hotel attracts a more sophisticated crowd. What encourages this agreeable, quiet, relaxed atmosphere may also be the obvious attention to architecture and design. The décor is a mixture of modern and classic, with inventive applications integrating ironwork, marble, granite, and clever tricks of lighting. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of interior design is the repurposing of antique artifacts and motifs, many rescued from the Parisian flea markets- this imaginative concept parallels the movement in architecture known as Regeneration. You will find some lovely and unexpected discoveries at Hotel de Banville. Among them: illuminated room numbers at your feet on the doorsteps of rooms, backlit designs on glass, embellished with fibre-optics; a computer driven façade illumination system, constantly transiting a changing palette of color- it’s a delightful and eccentric detail of embellishment not often seen in exterior lighting; the elegant lobby piano, which turns out to be the epicenter of the street level/reception area, acting as a base for sculpture and flowers, then used as surface for the opulent breakfast buffet, and late some nights turned into an instrument played by a live jazz section, which the hotel features in the lobby. The jazz is announced by a hand-painted sign stuck into a planter outside the hotel, which I think defines what is really nice about Hotel de Banville: the little, human touches which distinguish it from the cookie-cutter variety of detail found at luxury chains, where everything is the same, perfect, unchanging. Hidden among the luxurious aspect one distinguishes charming imperfections, for example the unusual and appealing Italian folk music drifting in from kitchen; the owner’s mother – an elegant lady (proprietor for the first 27 years of operation, this business has been owned by same family for 30+ years) seen first discussing a new coffee machine with staff, then having a quick glass of champagne; then out front supervising installation of the revised sign to which the fourth star has been added; a fascinating Orientalist oil, hung slightly askew, but worth the neck twist. A recent renovation has added some visually striking bathrooms, with slate floors, expanses of counter space, artistic sinks and generous baths. Unfortunately, the shower in my room, while visually inspiring and rendered in beautiful materials with beautiful hardware, was somewhat dysfunctional, and flooded the adjacent floor while in ordinary operation. I will say that the towels are generous and the robes thick, and a complete amenity package is always a welcome sight. The renovation added flat screen tvs, and minibar to each room. Also noteworthy, the embroidered cover of the in-room hotel binder, a fine and subtle stylistic articulation. Hotel de Banville has a quiet, relaxed atmosphere, and I had a comfortable sleep there. Internet access is bumpy: free connection by cable in the rooms; available by pay terminal in the lobby; or fee-based wi fi access in all rooms. 18 on-premises staff give a sincere and warm welcome; the better part of the hotel’s business is built on repeat guests. Hotel de Banville is fully occupied in high season, all week. Business travelers account for weekday traffic, tourists are the majority of guests on weekends. It’s a luxury property distinguished by true human touches, mixed with clever, individualized architectural details.

Hotel de Neuville

3, rue Verniquet

75017 Paris

3 stars

One of three properties operated by the Albar family in Paris, this hotel has a friendly, casual emphasis on the service proposition. The intention is that Hotel de Neuville “feels like being in a house” and one does sense the residential ambience. The hotel is located on a tree-lined square in the 17^th, so some kind of transport is advised to get to all attractions. The nearest metro is Periere, which has an RER station. One finds a selection of local restaurants and bistros nearby. The décor is a shade higher than the reasonable price point suggests, €130-up, and the 28 rooms are nicely furnished in a neoclassical style. There’s a wood-paneled lounge with Klimt reproductions on the walls, and a view of a small antique garden, but no access to it. Downstairs there’s a pleasant breakfast room. In-room service also available. The bar is always open. Guest to staff ratio of 28:5 means less personal handling, but the hotel isn’t about being catered to as much as feeling comfy and settled in. This is probably more a business hotel, in fact some companies already have rooms reserved which are continually occupied, and during the week there are few tourists to be found in residence. Room 45 looks like the best room, with more windows, space, twin beds and a view of Sacre Coeur over the adjacent rooftops. An interesting and revealing touch is the shoe shine machine on a landing just off the lobby, obviously an accoutrement for the business traveler. All rooms wired for wi fi. One can’t expect luxury amenities from a hotel in this range, so surrender any expectations of the terry robe or abundant plush towels or groovy shampoos; the value of this property is in the comfortable home-style feel and the amiable welcome you are bound to receive whenever you return.

Jardin de Villiers

18, rue Claude Pouillet

75017 Paris

3 stars

Location and value are the keywords with this small property found in a typical residential district in the 17th, where you can experience within a block the last outdoor market of its kind in Paris, open every day. That alone is worth the price of admission, a chance to wander the stalls with firsthand access to every culinary delight at decent prices. Cheeses, charcuterie, pastries and breads, ethnic cuisines, roasted chickens, fine produce, inexpensive wines, those quirky manufactured products that the vendors always have, cheap clothing, hardware, every necessity. It’s almost a medieval experience, and a chance to stray outside the usual tourist model, as you attempt to interact with real people, many of whom speak only the French language. It is, in its own peculiar way, an adventure. Gestures and a happy expression will serve you well when you make your purchases.

Hotel Jardin de Villiers has been open since 1993. It’s a clean, well-worn -but not seedy- property, definitely a budget solution, with a comfortable, lived-in feel. A very friendly deskman named Sebastien. The presentation is a bit dodgy, but unpretentious, and the small size (26 rooms) means there will be a measure of personal attention. The price point is low, €145 and up, with €6 for breakfast. The owner, a former banker, has filled the reception space with traditional décor, adding romantic images, and some of those silly dog prints sometimes seen in club environments. While English is spoken, only French newspapers are to be found on a table in the lobby, so the ambience is very authentic, not at all globalized. There’s a neat little subterranean breakfast room, with restored original stone arch walls, and the usual tiny elevator. The hotel does have one triple room with balcony at top. Rooms feature individual air, minibar, and by November 2005 will be wired for wi fi. There is a small garden filled with flowers in the Spring; most of the rooms face the courtyard, and all the baths have a lot of daylight. The bathrooms are all tile, sparse, clean, but have the unfortunate low complement of scant few of those tiny, rough towels, much maligned by experienced travelers, and plastic wrappers and institutional amenities. This friendly, mid-range hotel is right for the intrepid budget traveler, students, those prepared to rough it a bit. An 85% occupancy figure means that many guests are prepared to endure the small inconveniences for the many advantages that Jardin de Villiers has to offer.

Hotel des Grandes Ecoles

75, rue du Cardinal Lemoine

75005 Paris

3 stars

This traditional property is situated in a quiet cité near the Pantheon, close to the Rue Mouffetard and Place Contrescarpe atop the highest point in the 5^th. It’s an old-style hotel of 51 rooms, 44 with bath, 7 with shower, decorated in a charming cottage style, €105 and up. Weather permitting you can enjoy your breakfast outdoors under the trees. This is neither luxury nor spartan lodging, but a charming place to park one’s parents if they are visiting. It’s a great starting point for all the Left Bank attractions, and close enough to the Rue Monge metro so that in 10 minutes you are down by the Seine. I was not able to visit any rooms, but I did see the lobby and garden, and talk in French to the concierge. English may or may not be spoken. This is an ideal stopover for the experienced traveler on a budget: authentic, well-worn, traditional, low profile, and perhaps not yet intruded upon by all the trappings of the 21^st century. This is the place for lovers of Flaubert, Zola and Baudelaire, students, or those who live outside of fashion and beyond the fast track. The surrounding neighborhood is wonderful for leisurely wandering.