I just finished a month-long stay here with my study abroad group from the US. I will say that it is in a great location, near one of the biggest metro stations in Paris.
First, the temperature. There is no air-conditioning, which wouldn't have been a huge deal, except that the temperatures in Paris were a good 10-15 degrees above average during our stay. Sleeping was miserable, and my window wouldn't even open all the way. Tip: I was on the top floor, and it was definitely the warmest- if possible, try to stay on a lower level.
Second, the living space. You do have your own room and bathroom. They are both small, but manageable. The room contains a desk, bed, and bedside table. Storage-wise, there is a shelf, a couple deep drawers under the bed, and the closet has a small amount of hanging space (bring or buy hangers- I was provided with 3) and two small shelves. The bathrooms are not good. The showers drain VERY slowly and are prone to molding easily.
The food. Mornings, you are provided with baguettes, butter, a variety of jellies, tea, powdered coffee, and hot chocolate packets. There is a refrigerator, freezer, and locked pantry where you can store additional food, but make sure to mark your food or it will be thrown out. Dinner was hit or miss. A menu is provided for the week so you know what will be served. If wiener schnitzel, pâte, and cordon bleu isn't really your thing, you might go hungry. Word of warning: if you don't eat all your food, the nuns will withhold dessert (true story- I had ice cream snatched out of my hands when I didn't finish my pork cutlet).
When we were there, the curfew was 12am every night except Saturday, where it was 1am. Also, you can't leave before 6am (6:30am Saturdays). This is quite strict. There is a laundry room, but you have to pay for it, and detergent is not provided. It also broke down a couple times during my stay. I just washed things in my shower.
The nuns are also hit or miss. Some are very kind, but communicating was difficult, as I speak basically no French and they speak basically no English. If you have any kind of maintenance work, be prepared to ask them 5+ times before it gets resolved (it took over a week for my overhead light to get fixed). Also, be aware that they will come in your room while you are not there to close the window, etc. I also had food stolen from my LOCKED cabinet, and they were no help- in fact, I saw them giving it to the French girls that were staying at the foyer.
Overall, it was a decent stay, and it was definitely good for stories! My advice: don't stay here during any kind of extreme temperatures, be prepared with your own food if you're picky, and be on time for curfew. read more