Eugene Solomonov

Has anyone stayed in the Grand Hotel Francais in Paris (11th arrondissement, Metro stop-Rue des Boulets or Nation)? I just booked a room there for 3 nights in April; the price was great, which made me a bit suspicious. Any kind of feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Christina

It's probably fine for what you spent, maybe even a good deal--it looks like a fairly typical French budget hotel. It's just fairly cheap due to the location; that's not a popular area of the city for hotels or tourism and real estate in general is cheaper over there on all accounts. I've only been around there a couple times (around place Nation) and it's just kind of hohum to me. I would not worry, though. You can see comments about it on www.hotelboulevard.com and www.paris.org/Hotels. If you paid about 450F for a double, that's a pretty good rate as that's about the going price for a double in a 2-star hotel in that neighborhood. I've read a good review of the 2-star Hotel Nouvel in that general neighborhood (on www.123france.com) which looks a little more "charming", maybe not, and is about the same rate. If you paid less than 450F, I would be worried as that appears to be their going rate and you might be getting the worst room or something. If you are on a budget, might be a good idea, there are some decent neighborhood cafes and restaurants and interesting old streets and buildings in the Charonne area right near there (in the 20th arr. kind of east of bd de Charonne and just north of rue d'Avron). That area has a population of young artists, alternative musicians, etc. around, I don't know what your style is, if you want something more traditional and safe and main tourism, you might not like it. Otherwise, it should be fine, just a little far out by metro--try the cafe/wine bar Piston Pelican near your hotel at 15 rue de Bagnolet for fun, they have live music at times (used to anyway, things change a lot around there). I just did a search and amazingly found this URL about the bar (http://www.parissi.com/ultrag/bagnol...tonpelican.htm) and this one about that general area which talks about that bar in the middle of the page: www.paris.org/Kiosque/nov97/visit.02.html <BR>The Parissi French site says it used to be known for rock and black bomber jackets in the 80s-90s but now with a new owner has changed its style; they have DJ F and Sat night and blues once a week. One nice thing about staying in more out-of-the-way neighborhoods like that is food and drinks are a LOT cheaper than in the cafes around St-Michel/St-Germaine (the menu at Piston Pelican says coffee is only 11F and that's in the room, not at the bar).

Jim Rosenberg

Eugene, it's a wonderful hotel in a very active neighborhood. The rooms are small, but immaculate. The manager and the staff speak English very well and they are extremely helpful. (Skip the breakfast for 35FF though -- you can do better ANYWHERE. LOL!) Grand Hotel Francais is extremely convenient to the metro and you'll find a wonderful selection of brasseries a short walk down Boulevard Voltaire or on the Place de la Nation circle. You will be very pleased with the value and I think you'll like the neighborhood, too. It's a straight shot on the metro down to the more "touristy" areas, but you can leave all that behind and go back to your home neighborhood when you get sick of the crowds and high prices. Don't give it a second thought -- it's a great choice!

Ursula

Eugene: I think you made a good choice, even if it's a bit out of all the touristic sights. But it will defnitely more typical then. I jsut read in today's newspaper that the 11th Arr. is no the place to stay around the Bastille Opéra and Canal St.-Martin. It's a ***hotel and you would definitely pay more in areas like St. Germain, Montparnasse or Quartier Latin. So just stick to it. Metro is convenient and fast.

Ursula

Eugenne: I meant: ... is NOW the place to... sorry about that.