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A Place for Foodies in Paris :: The Hotel Pont Royal
That headline might not be quite so accurate as Paris is an entire city for foodies, and the best types of places for foodies to lose themselves in food comas typically tend to be smaller, family-owned and run restaurants. Those, and the boulangeries and patisseries that line all the streets and which make America's Dunkin Donuts look like garbage from the 80s. And we say that having grown up loving DD!
But there is one place where hotel geeks and foodies can unite--The Hotel Pont Royal, which is also home to L'atelier de Joel Robuchon, the famous French chef's informal restaurant.
Tags: Paris Hotel Scene / Paris Hotel Guide / Fashion Week Hotels / Westin Hotels / → All Tags
The Westin Paris To Unveil New Look Just in Time For Fashion Week
It's purely a coincidence that we happen to visit Paris during Fashion Week, and even more of a coincidence that we noticed the Westin Hotel was gearing up to host several shows and to show off its own new style.
The hotel is located along Rue de Rivoli, which is also next to the Jardin des Tuileries and Le Carrousel de Louvre, where several major fashion shows are going down.
Aside from hosting a few fashion shows (Balmain over the weekend), The Westin itself is gearing up to unveil its own brand new look tomorrow. We're not really sure what this "new look" entails, but we'll report back to you with what we find.
Tags: Paris Hotel Guide / Hotels-Near-the-Eiffel-Tower / Monica Guy / Hotel Booking Tips / → All Tags
Hotels Near the Eiffel Tower: Duc de Saint-Simon
We mention the Hôtel Duc de Saint-Simon more as a warning than a recommendation.
It has a fabulous location: a quiet, quiet street but only a ten-second walk to the main St Germain axis of shopping, strolling and dining streets. And of course, close enough to the Eiffel Tower to walk there.
It has the potential to be a great hotel - 39 rooms of varying sizes, some with terrace balconies based around a small central courtyard. And perhaps at one time it was. But its faded, battered exterior and grotesque 60s décor (original, with the original wear and grime as well) mean it's a grandma's choice if anyone's.
Tags: Paris Hotel Guide / Hotels-Near-the-Eiffel-Tower / Monica Guy / Hotel Booking Tips / Christian Lacroix / → All Tags
Hotels Near the Eiffel Tower: Hotel Bellechasse
We were rather cheeky about the Hôtel Bellechasse in our review of design hotels in Paris. But we take it back, as if you're looking for a special hotel on a buzzing street, seconds from the Orsay Museum, a pop across the river to the Louvre, and only a short, nice walk along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower, this is the place you'll find love.
The Bellechasse is a Christian Lacroix baby, a thing which you see immediately on entering the small foyer - unmistakeable bold, bizarre mixtures of colours (including a yellow ceiling) and deep, plush fabrics. The staff are super-helpful, if rather brusque in a very French way.
Tags: Paris Hotel Guide / Hotels-Near-the-Eiffel-Tower / Monica Guy / Hotel Booking Tips / → All Tags
Hotels Near the Eiffel Tower: Hotel Montalembert
Okay, so Hotel Montalembert isn't the closest hotel you can possibly get to the Eiffel Tower.... but if you don't mind a walk and want some good shops and restaurants in your area, it's one of the best 4-stars to plump for.
Quietly sleek, it's the kind of place unassuming honeymooners spend their first night of bliss.
Just off rue St-Germain on a tiny, one-way street, you'll bump into its restaurant first, which spills out onto the pavement terrace. The clientele are usually well-dressed thirty- and fourty-somethings, with sunglasses and Versacci jeans and tiny mobile phones.
Tags: Paris Hotel Guide / Hotels-Near-the-Eiffel-Tower / Monica Guy / Hotel Booking Tips / → All Tags
Hotels Near the Eiffel Tower: Le Walt & Le Marquis
Anyone who comes to Paris obsessed by the idea of the Eiffel Tower could do worse than stay at one of the two 4-star sisters run by Inwood Hotels, Le Walt and Le Marquis.
They're both on streets running off from the Champ de Mars, on which the Eiffel Tower proudly stands among a sea of screaming children and knick-knack sellers.
And they're both, well, not the crème de la hotel scene in Paris, but a decent choice at what's usually a fairly decent rate (depending on special offers).
Tags: Paris Hotel Guide / Hotels-Near-the-Eiffel-Tower / Monica Guy / Hotel Booking Tips / → All Tags
Ooh La La :: Hotels Near the Eiffel Tower
Sigmund Freud was right. The number of requests we get for hotels near the Eiffel Tower, that King of phallic symbols, you'd think there was nothing else to see in Paris.
Okay, so it's a dramatic site. In A View to a Kill, the bizarrely-named Bond baddie May Day parachutes off the top of the Eiffel Tower after a mad chase by Bond - in fact, if you look closely, you see she actually parachutes off a platform specially made for the film.
And it's been the site of a real-life struggle as well. When Hitler rolled into the city and tried to hoist the swastika on the top of the Eiffel Tower, the sneaky French cut the lift cables so he'd have to climb the stairs to the top. In fact, his first swastika blew away in the wind, causing great hilarity, and the red-faced Nazi soldiers had to hike up their to hoist a smaller one instead.
But drama aside, let's get a couple of things straight:
Tags: Paris Hotel Guide / Budget Hotels / Hotels Near the Louvre / Monica Guy / → All Tags
Looking for a Budget Hotel Near the Louvre? Try The Hôtel Therèse
We know you weren't entirely convinced by our advice to stay out of the so-called 'centre' of Paris.....so if you can't resist looking for a hotel in sightseeing land, here's the soft option: the Hôtel Therèse.
It's in the first arrondissement of Paris - think the Louvre, Tuileries gardens, Opera and all that jazz. And it's one of the best of a rather pricey bunch of poor hotels in the area. Walking distance to most places in the first chapter of your guide book.
Tags: Budget Hotels / Paris Hotel Guide / Tips / Monica Guy / → All Tags
An American in Paris: Beat the Exchange Rate
How do you beat the crappy US-Euro exchange rate without whipping yourself on holiday?
Paris ain't a cheap destination for anyone, least of all when the bottom's falling out of your currency. We've put together some insider tips for US travellers staying in the French capital. Read 'em all after the jump.
Tags: VIP Hotel Reviewer Series / Ben Mandelker / Paris Hotel Guide / Budget Hotels / → All Tags
TV Buff Finds Cheap Lodging in the Heart of Paris' Latin Quarter
We now present you with our VIP Hotel Reviewer Series in which we hand-pick experts in the travel and media worlds and beyond to tell us what are their favorite hotels and why. Once a week, we'll feature a hotel review from said VIPs about their favorite leisure or business hotels. Pay attention: These VIPs are experts at what they do and they don't mess around when it comes to their hotels.
The next VIP in the series is Ben Mandelker, co-founder of the popular TV blog TVgasm.com. These days he's toiling away as a screenwriter in Los Angeles--ok, so maybe not toiling right this moment--but he is writing the B-Side Blog and he's been tapped to write the remake of "Easy Money" for MGM Studios. Enjoy.
Exchange rates haven't been friendly to American tourists in Paris, but luckily, it's still possible to find cheap lodging in the heart of the city. Take, for example, the Hotel du Mont Blanc. Located smack in the middle of the Latin Quarter, this two-star hotel is walking distance from some of the city's biggest attractions: the Louvre, Notre Dame, and the Jardin du Luxembourg, to name a few.
More importantly, it's mere footsteps away from the Place Saint-Michel Metro Station, which doubles as a stop for the RER, making airport trips -- not to mention excursions to Versailles -- a breeze (trains to Charles De Gaulle, Orly, and Versailles all pass through this specific station).
Tags: Paris Hotel Guide / Monica Guy / Hotel News / → All Tags
Are French Hotels in Disrepair?
Oops -someone's had a bad holiday. The latest issue of Tourism Review contains the following story slamming standards at French hotels.
We don't know where the figures come from, or even whether they're reliable, and we're inclined to think the writer was simply venting his or her spleen after a bad experience.
France is the world's number one tourist destination, topping all lists for its number of visitors. Perhaps surprisingly, the statistics concerning the country's hotels do not comply with the country's popularity as it has been recently revealed that one quarter of France's 18.000 hotels are in disrepair , 24% of hotel customers complain about the rude and incompetent service and 38% of hotel restaurant customers add to the number of complaints.
While rude service from staff was the #1 complaint (of course it is since staffers are grossly underpaid), guests were also grossed out by "poor levels of hygiene and unpleasant odors emanating from French hotel kitchens and bathroom facilities." Don't forget loud noises and scuff marks on the walls of hotels. And a joyeux noel to you too!
Tags: Four Seasons Hotels / Paris Hotel Guide / Hotel Deals / → All Tags
Mon Dieu! Could It Be a Hotel Deal at the Four Seasons George V?
The Four Seasons George V, arguably one of Paris' finest hotels favored amongst royalty, celebs and billionaires, may just be more affordable for the little people.
Courtney May over at Five-Star Alliance let us know that the hotel is offering rooms for certain dates for 310 Euros a night (about $460 USD). Normally rates are closer to $1,000. Here are some of the dates that Courtney found:
· January 5 - January 7, 2008
· January 25 - January 27, 2008
· April 19 - April 21, 2008
· April 16 - April 25, 2008
These rates can be booked on the Five-Star Alliance site and so far, this is the only site with these rates. Whether it's a special deal with Five-Star or if the hotel is set to undergo some construction this spring, we aren't sure. But if you find more low rates at the George V, of course mon ami fill us in.
[Photo: Monts]
Related Stories:
· Paris Hotel Guide: The George V and More [HotelChatter]
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