We are going to Paris in November and have booked the Crillon for two nights (one being our 10th anniversary) and the Hotel D'Aubusson on the Left Bank for 4 nights. Has anyone stayed at either of these hotels recently (in the last year) and what were your experiences? Thanks.

Laurie

I would simply stay at the Crillon and not move around, very nice place.

We cannot afford to stay at the Crillon for the entire time, or we would.

Those are excellent, albeit different, hotels, and you should be quite happy in both.

I do know that the hotels are totally different but we want to get a taste of both Right and Left Bank, which is what we did the last time we were there. Thanks.

Laurie, if you're still following this thread I would be happy to relate my d'Aubusson experiences. (We must have the same tastes!)

Linda431,

Please DO relate your experiences at Hotel D'Aubusson. I'm staying there in July.

Linda431-

I would love to hear about your Hotel D'Aubusson experiences. I did the research on it but booked it through a TA. Looking forward to hearing about it.

We stayed at the d'Aubusson 3 0r 4 times in past 6 years and loved it. The location is great, just across the street you can buy water & fruit, other shopping is very close by.

The staff are friendly & helpful. The rooms, like most Parisian hotels, vary in size & amenities from room to room even in the same category. All the ones we stayed in I would describe as "rustic chic" with exposed wooden beams, antique furniture, lots of upholstry and modern marble baths.

Some rooms face the street and oddly, I found those to be somewhat dark inside. The ones facing the interior courtyard seemed a bit brighter. All the rooms had ample closet space.

We arrived for our second stay about 10 days after 9-11 and found that the hotel was flooded with no shows. We had reservations for 1 week and were supposed to go on to Italy afterwards but weren't comfortable travelling within Europe with the heightened terror alerts, so we asked to extend our stay.

The manager said that they were booked for the extra week but with the way cancellations were coming in that he would make it happen even if he had to evict a Frenchman. He asked me what my favorite drink was and I replied, Champagne of course.

Every single day we had a basket of fruit and a split of champagne on ice delivered to our room. They just could not have been nicer.

One afternoon the DH wanted to nap so I went to have tea and read my book in the lounge. When the waiter brought my tea he saw I was a bit chilly, so he lit a fire in the fireplace and moved my chair closer to the fire.

So, yes I would recommend this hotel (and have) without hesitation. It's not luxurious or glamourous like the Crillon or the Georges V, but I found the rooms to be actually larger and more comfortable.

My motto has always been that I would much rather stay in the best room in a 3 or 4 star hotel than the cheapest room in a 5*.

Linda-

Thanks for all of your info on D'Aubusson. We have been guaranteed a loft room, which has a separate sitting area downstairs from the bedroom. I believe you stayed in a Grand Deluxe room, based on my conversations with the staff at the hotel. My TA recommended this hotel and she has stayed in it several times.

Have you ever stayed at the Relais Christine on the Left Bank? A lot of the reviews I read lately said that the rooms are shabby and tired, which is why we decided on the D'Aubusson, but I believe overall the hotel is nicer.

As far as the Crillon goes, we are staying there two nights and have been guaranteed an upgrade to a Jr. Suite, so I'm sure it will be lovely.

Speaking of champagne, have you ever had Agrapart & Fils Blanc de Blanc? We had it recently in NY at the Mandarin Oriental and it was the best champagne I have ever had. A former colleague of mine is the GM of the hotel and he sent it over to us when we had brunch there. The only place you can get it is in California and I have hesitated to order it online now because of being concerned it will cook during shipment, due to the hot weather. Sorry if I got off on another tangent, but you seem like you love champagne.

Thanks again for all of your info.

No, I'm not familiar with that champagne but it's going on my "to drink" list right now. It's a small producer, about 5400 cases per year according to my sources but it is available. I have several friends in the wine wholesale business and I'll see if they can snag me a bottle.

I heard the same thing you did on the Relais Christine. We walked by it just last week and peeked in through the courtyard. We've considered staying there because it appears to be a very quiet location but just never did book it.

Our last 2 trips to Paris we've stayed at the Relais St. Germain. My husband was dying to eat at the restaurant there (Le Comptoir) and the only way you could get a table without a major hassle was to book a room. We've come to love it as much as the d'Aubusson. They have the best air conditioning in all of Paris if that's a factor for you. (It is to us!)

The hotel is smaller than the d'Aubusson but the rooms are quite large by Paris standards. The breakfast is unbelievable. Here's a link for future reference: http://www.hotel-paris-relais-saint-germain.com/

There isn't a bar like the d'Aubusson. I LOVE that bar. I think you can even order light meals there now. I know you'll enjoy your stay. The loft is great but I was afraid to stay there because I didn't know if the bathroom was up or down and I might break my neck in the middle of the night trying to find it.

Linda-

That is correct about the number of cases on the A&F champagne. It is without a doubt the smoothest champagne I've ever tasted.
I will be curious to see how you like it. Please let me know.

Thanks for your input on the Relais St. Germain. I have read wonderful things about Le Comptior - we may try to go there for lunch since it seems impossible to get dinner reservations.

The A/C won't be an issue for us since we are going in November. I do believe the bathroom/bedroom are upstairs in the Loft Room - just the sitting area is downstairs, so I think it should work out fine.

On that champagne, I found the prices to be all over the map...28.99 to 54. Here is a shop in New York with the cheapest price and they do ship http://www.garnetwine.com/sku158443.html

I'm still trying to find it locally.

Thanks for the info on the wine. I found all of my sources in Calif. and they do ship, but again, I may wait because of the hot weather (we live in the South). All the prices I found in Calif. were the same ($30).

Linda-

The wine is Avize Blanc de Blanc Cru - there are others out there, which is why the price differences.

Sorry, I gave you the wrong info - it's Blanc de Blanc Brut, - 7 Cru. Avize is the region it comes from.