Comfortable bed in Paris
 

After our great trip to Venice earlier this year we are now planning next years trip to Paris. I have researched hotels but am interested in finding out if anyone has found a great hotel in Paris with comfortable beds. We found every hotel we stayed in on our last trip had extremely hard mattresses and are looking not only for a good location in Paris but a comfortable bed as well. We normally stay in the equivalent of three star hotels but are splurging a bit on this trip and would consider a four star if the location was great and the bed was not as hard as the floor. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thank you. Jackie

topping

We found the beds in the Hôtel Mansart, just off the Place Vendôme, to be so comfortable that we slept until nearly noon one morning.

What is your budget and area of the city in which you'd like to stay?

Travelnut - We have beem considering the St. Germaine area but are fairly flexible as long as we remain in the general area where attractions are within easy distance. We normally take longer trips and stay at hotels not exceeding 200 euro per night. However, for this trip we have decided to splurge a little bit by taking only a one week trip and upgrading to stay in a nicer hotel and enjoy dining in some of the better restaurants. We are trading time for an upgrade on these other items. Therefore we would be willing to spend as much as 300 to 350 euro per night on the hotel but, of course, would be happy if we could find comfortable accomodations for less.
Underhill - I checked out Hotel Mansart and it looks wonderful and certainly appears to be within our budget. Thank you very much for the suggestion as it is definitly in the running at this point. Anyone else out there with any good suggestions as comfort, especially concerning the mattress but not necessarily the room size, as we have become used to the smaller rooms in Europe, is the key for this particular trip. Thank you in advance for any help.

Pavillon de La Reine in the 4th district is considered to be a very charming, deluxe hotel.

Try the Intercontinentals

INTERCONTINENTAL PARIS 247,00 € and up, 3 RUE DE CASTIGLIONE PARIS, 75001
FRANCE

INTERCONTINENTAL LEGRAND-PARIS 288,00 € and up 2 RUE SCRIBE PARIS, 75009
FRANCE

Those rates are booking on-line and will not be the view of the Tuilleries unless you are extremely persuasive ; ) or a member of their brand club. The staff at the Rue De Castiglione (concierge and front desk) were quite cranky but the bed was sumptuous (feather bed-pillow top)as were the linens (did not get the thread count-joke- but very nice). Did not want to get out of bed! : )))

You might call and grill them on the details of the beds to make certain that they are to your satisfaction since it is such a personal preference.

Sweet dreams

kakalena

Jackie!

I just noticed that you said that the beds in Venice were hard. LOL! Our pillows were like bricks. One pillow was filled with some sort of hulls or shells and weighed about 10lbs. The mattress was like a slab of concrete. I guess that's where they invented the term "rackrate". : D It was at quite a posh resort too. What's up with Venice?

kakalena

If you request a superior twin at the Mansart you will get a good-sized room. Ours was sort of L-shaped, with the beds in an alcove and.

Thank you for your suggestions. I will check them out and try to narrow it down.
Kakalena - Sorry to hear about the bed in Venice as I know exactly how you feel. I remember walking back to the hotel one night and telling hubby I was so tired I could just fall into bed but I would be afraid of cracking my head open on the mattress. We have never found a comfortable mattress in Italy and Venice seems to be the worst. That won't stop us from returning but it does make coming home to our comfortable bed a little bit easier. At least when we pull the covers over our head and go into mourning at the end of our trip we do it in comfort.

ttt

Hi jdraper--your request may be hard to answer b/c apparently "taste" in mattresses varies considerably!! Please note the following post I sent to a writer named Diane a while back, and contrast it with this quote from one of your posts..."We have never found a comfortable mattress in Italy and Venice seems to be the worst."

Author: socialworker
Date: 07/10/2004, 11:35 pm
Message: Hi Diane--it is funny that you ask this question b/c we often comment on the beds in Italy. We were there in 2000 and stayed in 3 hotels and one B&B and they *all* had the most comfortable mattresses we have ever slept on in our lives!! So much so that we sometimes ponder the idea of buying an Italian mattress, if such a purchase is possible. It cannot just be a bizarre coincidence that all the mattresses of the 4 particular places we stayed were so good. It *must* be something about the way Italians make mattresses. BTW the hotel in Rome where we stayed was the Santa Chiara, right near the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.

Try the Sofitel properties. www.sofitel.com

I just returned from Paris and found the bed at Le Regent extremely comfortable. In particular, the linens were much softer than most hotel linens. Le Regent is in the 6th, at 61 Rue Dauphine.

Thanks to all for the great suggestions. I am sure we will find something suitable with all of the help we have received.
Socialworker - I realize that taste in mattress comfort can vary upon each persons particular taste. Maybe we were just unlucky to find every rock hard mattress in Italy. Venice was a particular problem, but we ran into the same issue in Florence and Parma as well and we stayed at three star hotels that were actually quite nice in every other way. It seems we aren't the only ones who found the mattresses in Venice very hard and we would simply like to avoid that in Paris if at all possible. That being said, I would still sleep on a very hard mattress in Venice over my comfortable mattress at home if given the choice.
Thanks for all of the help from all.

We stayed at the Madison recently and found the bed in our room to be very comfortable. We loved the hotel and the location.

Hi jdraper--good luck in your quest!! I hope I did not sound critical to you, it was just such a contrast to our own perceptions of *our* experience w/Italian mattresses--including Venice, at the Hotel Marconi--that I realize that we may just really like hard mattresses and so I was wondering how you could be sure that the person answering your post would have the same taste as you and would therefore be truly helpful. Again, good luck!!

Jackie, I can't offer a suggestion yet because we're not going to Paris until next month, but I want you to know that I understand how you feel! We stayed last year at Il Nido Hotel in Sorrento and ran into much the same mattress situation as you. Il Nido was a great hotel (excellent food, view, and people) but man o man the beds were as hard as rocks. I remember thinking that St. Francis slept better on his pallet of stone than we did! Luckily Il Nido is upgrading its mattresses, for those future guests...

One thing to keep in mind is if you want a double bed and how wide this bed would have to be for comfort, or whether you want separate twin beds. Also, would you mind the arrangement where two twin beds are pushed together? Since this is important to you, I'd try to get an answer nailed down.

Our comfortable bed at the Madison were two twin beds pushed together. Maybe that's why we both slept so well (and got a larger sized room also)! My husband was never bothered by the blanket thief and my sleep was not interrrupted by his tossing and turning. Anyway, the mattresses were comfortably firm but definitely not extremely hard. This could differ from room to room even in the same hotel. Good luck with your search.

Thanks all for the great answers. Our first instinct was to book a room at Le Madison but we thought we might upgrade and look for a more comfortable bed. After reviewing all of the choices we still like the location and the comments about the Madison so we are going with that, especially after Marianna's comments about the mattress. I figure I will stay there and if the mattress isn't comfortable I can simply get out of bed a pour another glass of wine. I can use the money I save to enjoy other things in Paris and, again, buy more wine. Does anybody have any suggestions for a particularly nice room at the Madison? Thanks all. Jackie

The nicest rooms at the Madison are those that look out across the Bd. St-Germain toward the church of the same name. They have tall windows that open onto teeny balconies (no room to actually sit) and large marble bathrooms. Another good feature of those rooms is the amount of storage, both closet and in desk and chests.

Underhill - Thank you for that suggestion. It sounds perfect. We have plenty of time between now and next spring, when we plan to go, so I will see if I can find a good rate between now and then. It is nice to have the hotel out of the way so that I can now plan the remainder of the trip. I will be avidly monitoring this site for more great tips. Thank you.

Jackie, our room was on an upper floor (4th, I think) and faced the boulevard, church, and had a glimpse of Le Deux Magot. The window was very large and had a narrow balcony, as Underhill described, with a curved wrought iron railing. In addition to the two twin beds with bedside tables, we had a sofa, desk and chair, plush reading chair, bureau, suitcase table (not the folding stand type), built in closet in the hall area, and the large marble bath with two sinks which was terrific. The decor was serene and lovely and the room was very spacious. A nice touch - the hotel provides two wine glasses for you in the room so you don't even have to request them - just go out and buy your wine and you are all set! We were very fortunate to get this room type considering we had a run of the house room rate - never happen again, I'm sure!

Marianna - That sounds heavenly. Do you remember what room you were in?

It was a lovely room. I do not remember the number (and we were there just 3 weeks ago!) but perhaps my husband does. I will find out tomorrow when he returns from Macedonia. The room was directly over the hotel entrance on an upper floor - 4th or 5th.

Here's the hotel website in case you need it:

http://www.hotel-madison.com/madisonsite.html

Marianna - Thank you. I have already been to their web site, which is great. If you remember the room number I would greatly appreciate it as your room sounds great. Take Care Jackie

jdraper,

We got a good rate at the Madison through Orbitz--and for September, too, when space at prime hotels is very tight.

We too stayed at the Madison 2 yrs. ago, and REALLY thought it was nice in all respects. Gorgeous buffet breakfast (unusual in Paris, but you may not be inclined for this)...
We had a room at the back...., but it was quiet and the mattresses were wonderful...2 twins pushed together.
Money being no object, the room at the front facing St. Germain would be best...and the hotel is set back somewhat from the main, busy street.
It's a wonderful location, AND the front desk staff was great. We arrived mid to late morning and though the room wasn't ready, they brought us coffee, tea, etc on a tray in the small, comfortable lobby.
This Nov. we are going to stay back across the river in the 1st arr. on Rue de Rivoli, just for a change,...but I have very fond memories of the nice Madison.

Jackie, my husband couldn't remember the room number either but it definitely was on the fourth floor, directly over the hotel entrance. Not all rooms have curved balcony railings, but this one did. Facing the hotel, it was the last room on the left on that floor and I think that's why we had a glimpse of Les Deux Magot. Hope this helps.