HotelChatter

Le Hotel
What the hotel lacks in luxuries, it makes up for with character, location and ambiance--a perfect fit for a young couple's first visit to the City of Lights.

With only 38 rooms, and a small but cozy lobby with a fireplace and sitting area, as well as a bar and a little breakfast nook, Le Clos Medicis exudes the calm charm of an old-world hotel with the amenities for today's guests.

It is not the prettiest hotel I've stayed in, nor the most luxurious, nor the most expensive, nor the biggest, but it is my all-round favorite hotel in Paris because it feels like my own special pied-a-terre.

Les Chambres
There are five types of rooms ranging from a little double that measures a meager 120 square feet, up to a roomier top-floor suite that is 300 square feet. Huge? No. Manageable? Yes. Many of the rooms overlook the little garden/courtyard in back of the hotel, making for a quiet stay.

The sleek, modern design fixtures and excellent furnishings (including delightfully plush beds) make for a lovely, homey feeling that is still uncluttered. Each room has its own individual air conditioning unit, a stocked mini bar, a flat screen TV that gets CNN and BBC for us news-starved Anglophones.

The double-glazed windows mean that pesky street noise does not penetrate to this silent sanctum, and miracle of miracles, most of the rooms are non-smoking. The rooms also feature some of the original architectural elements, like exposed wood-beam ceilings.

The bathrooms, though small, have very contemporary sinks and shower tubs, bright lighting, and excellent toilets whose flushers are easy to find--sometimes not such a common thing in a European hotel!

Le Prestations et Tarifs
The hotel also offers complimentary Wifi access, and a computer for guest use is available for your convenience, so you can book opera tickets for that night, or print out a Metro map.

The rates typically range from 165 euros for the double up to 600 euros for the suite, though if you book early and through the internet, you can get a rate as low as 82.50 euros, which makes this hotel a steal. They also serve breakfast for only 12 euros, even if it is just coffee, juice, pastries, fruit, cereal, and yogurt.

St. Germain des Pres Quarter
Possibly the best aspect of Hotel Le Clos Medicis is its fantastic location. The hotel is nestled right between the Latin Quarter and St. Germain des Pres--two of Paris's most visited neighborhoods.

The entrance to the gorgeous Luxembourg Gardens is literally right around the corner, and a few steps farther brings you to the doors of the solemn Pantheon. In the other direction down Boulevard St. Michel, you pass the world-famous Sorbonne, along with some of the cutest book shops and stalls in Paris. If you walk just a few minutes more, you are right on the doorstep to Notre Dame. Walking northwest from the hotel, you pass the picturesque Place de L'Odeon, and head right into the heart of St. Germain des Pres, with its fancy shopping, and lovely cafes.

More ambitious walkers can even make it to the Louvre, the Musee D'Orsay, and the Tour Montparnasse. Or maybe just to the sorbet parlors on the Ile St. Louis, or the huge department stores near the Hotel De Ville.

For the sedentary traveler, you're right near many metro lines, so you can zip around the city in a hurry--that is if the metro workers aren't on strike!

Fin
Hotel Le Clos Medicis might not be big. It might not be fancy. And it might not be spectacular. But it is a magical place to call home in Paris.

I had reservations about even mentioning it here since I don't want to spread the word too much about it lest its clandestine charm be exposed, but I just couldn't resist.

Any stay at Le Clos Medicis will do Paris justice, and will be part of a trip to remember.

Check out where our other VIP Hotel Reviewers have stayed.