I've booked a room for three night at the Atelier Montparnasse in late May. Does anyone have any experience with this hotel, either good or bad? Thanks...Bob.

Bob,
Let me know about this hotel I am thinking of booking ir in November. It look good. I have been to Paris 19 times, but I have never stayed here. What is the rate?

I've booked a superior room, on the top floor, for 122 euros per nite. I'll let you know what it's like when I return in early June.

I just returned from a three-night stay at the Atelier Montparnasse. We stayed in had a room on the 4th floor of the six-floor building, with a rate of 107 Euros per nite. Our room was small-ish, but very clean and comfortable. The view of the courtyard was nothing special, but it was very quiet...we heard no noise from other guests or the street (which was on the other side of the hotel).

On our second night, we were given the option of moving to a room on the 5th floor (the 5th and 6th floor rooms have been recently re-done), but we opted to stay in our original room. The upgrade was not significant.

The hotel staff was very helpful and pleasant...the English bulldog behind the front desk is very friendly, so if you like dogs, I see this as a plus!

We did not go for the breakfast in the hotel...we'd rather explore the neighborhood in the mornings. As an American, I've often found it difficult to get a good cup of "American coffee" but there's a new Starbucks just down the street, toward the Montparnasse main station. I know, I know...drinking Starbucks in Paris is frowned on, but if you want a good, consistent cup of coffee, you always know what you're getting at Starbucks.

Also...the Lotus Cafe, just south of the hotel at the corner of Vavin and Montparnasse, is terrific. It's across the street from Le Select, which is a more traditional (and more historic) Paris cafe. I'd recommend both places.

The Atelier Montparnasse is VERY close to the Vavin Metro station...it's less than 50 yards away, at the corner of Vavin and Montparnasse. It made travel in Paris real easy.

In all, I'd recommend the Atelier Montparnasse for anyone looking for good, clean, well-priced accommodations in Paris. It is not a luxury hotel, by any standards, but it was a great home-base for us while in Paris.

good report, Bob. That's the neighborhood I usually stay in and will be going again in late July, so I'll check out the Lotus Cafe. Is that Asian food of some kind? I just can't picture a cafe like that right across from the Select, which I do like, also.

I know what you mean about the American-style coffee. I like that in the morning, also. You can actually get it at the Mustang Cafe around there on bd Montparnasse, also, at breakfast time. I usually go to Le Dome in the morning, however.

That seems a decent price for that kind of hotel in that area.

Christina...The Lotus is just east of Le Select, across Vavin on Montparnasse. When you come out of the Vavin Metro station on Montparnasse, you're literally standing at the entrance to Lotus. The food is kind of eclectic...I had a tandoori chicken-thing that was terrific. The waiters are the typical snotty French-type, but as a friend told me, "Don't even THINK about 'service with a smile'...it is simply not part of the French vocabulary. Waiters are rude, that that's that."

People I met on the bike tour in Paris were booked in this area by their travel agent and felt that they were further out than they would have liked to have been. They used the metro effectively but after arriving in Paris wished they were in the Latin Quarter or St. Germain area.