OK - let's be honest here - this hotel is really only suitable for certain types of people.
If you're not in good shape physically don't bother.
If you have young kids that could wander off and fall down staircases, it's also not for you.
But - if you are a mobile person and you want a reasonably priced, functional room in an wonderfully convenient location for travelling purposes, this is a really nice place!
The hotel is small. Only about 4-5 rooms on each of the 6 floors. The elevator is the smallest I've ever seen in my life - it said it had a max capacity of 4, but honestly the 3 of us found it tough to get inside together along with 2 suitcases - I had to pile the suitcases one on top of the other in order for us to fit in. The elevator actually stops between floors and you step out onto an extra wide step of a spiral wooden staircase and have to walk the last half floor up to your room carrying your bags on this spiral staircase. It's not easy - hence my earlier comment about needing to be a mobile person. But honestly, I thought it was kind of quaint and added to the character of the hotel.
The room as clean and functional. The en-suite was newly and tastefully decorated. There was a TV and (most importantly for summer in Paris) a good air conditioning unit. Americans would probably balk at the size of the room, the beds, the bathroom, etc. But let's face it - this is France, and an old building in France at that. I thought it was perfectly adequate for the very reasonable price (by European standards) that we paid for it. And it had it's own dainty charm - it reminded me that I was in Paris, and not some chain motel in North America.
The staff were very helpful and polite (not always a given in France!) and spoke perfect English. Indeed I think the guy manning the reception desk overnight probably was a British student doing some sort of summer job. The small reception area was cleverly decorated with a small fish pond and charming seating area around this small "haven" they'd created with the pond.
Food: Breakfast is served downstairs in the quaint basement. There's a cafe/bistro right next door which seemed to be open all hours. It was already open in the morning when I went out at 7am and would still be doing good business when I'd arrive back in the evening at 10-10.30pm.
Access to transport couldn't have been better. The entrance to the metro station Gare du Nord was literally about 100 feet from the hotel door. The Gare Du Nore train station proper (where the Eurostar runs from) was just across the road and you could walk there through the underpass using the metro station entrance. The Gare Du Nord station is also the first stop on the RER train connection from Charles Du Gaul airport - so it's pretty much ideal regardless of whether you arrive in Paris by train or air.
All in all, a very reasonably priced, ideally positioned, functional hotel with a lot of undeniably French "character" in its decoration. I really enjoyed my 3 night stay here and have no complaints at all about it.. read more