We got a package deal for a trip to London/Paris which included airfare, hotel, and transportation, and the Grand Hotel de Turin was the hotel included for our Paris portion of trip. It's labelled as a 3-star hotel, which might be correct by European standards but if I'm honest it's probably a 2-star by North American standards (a little step below your Holiday Inn/Best Western, which I'd consider to be a NA 3-star). Ultimately this was nothing more than a place to sleep at night, so it was more the sufficient for what we needed.
Pros:
- The staff was super friendly. When we arrived the front desk clerk gave us a map and marked all the main sights to see, and told us what routes we needed to take to get there. It was great!
- The hotel was clean
- The free continental breakfast was great. Included fruit, and meats, and croissants and bread, and coffee/tea. More than enough to start the day off.
- Great location in Montmartre. About a 20-30 minute walk to a bunch of the locations we wanted to check out.
- Our room faced onto another large building, and while that meant we didn't have a great view, it also meant it blocked a lot of the sun so our room stayed very cool, despite the lack of AC.Cons:
- You have to return your key when you leave the hotel, which seemed a bit odd (it's an actual key, not a keycard so I suppose they're more difficult to replace)
- They said the doors are locked after 11pm but they seemed to lock them after 9:30-10. Not a huge pain since the front desk staff was usually there waiting, but you do have to wait to be let in which could be a pain
- One tiny elevator that can only fit two people (or one person with luggage)
- No top sheet, just a duvet. This seems like it might be pretty common in Europe, but because of the hotter weather it'd have been nice to just have a sheet rather than a big duvet
- There was an in-suite safe, but it cost money to use
- No mini-fridge or anything to store leftovers or to help keep drinks cool (not that we needed to)
- Shower was one of those that is just a shower head in the bathroom with a drain in the floor and a shower curtain, rather than an actual stall or bath, so your bathroom can get a little wet afterwards.
- Our "queen" bed was just two doubles pushed together - not the end of the world though, since they were pretty comfortable
- The free WiFi is good if you can actually connect. It didn't seem to hold once you return from leaving the hotel and reconnecting is a pain
That said, none of these were deal breakers, and the most important things (cleanliness and location) were excellent. We'd definitely come back here if we retuned to Paris, and since the cost of the hotel was included in our package I really cannot complain. I'm sure there are fancier places in the city, but they likely cost a lot more money, and that money is much better spent eating/drinking/sight seeing. read more