Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Hotel de Lille in Paris

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Hotel de Lille in Paris

I am considering the Hotel de Lille in September. Has anyone stayed there? How are the rooms? And the location? It's very close to the Seine and Musee d'Orsay, but is it a good place to stay??? I was considering Hotel du Dragon, but it doesn't have an elevator and is 6 floors. My luck and I'd be on the top floor. Any advise or comments???

Sorry, I don't have any personal experience with Hotel de Lille, but you can find up-to-date comments at http://digital.france.com/hotels/hoteldetails.ihtml?HotelID=86 It's a pretty good location, I think. Do a search for Bersoly's. It's close by and you might find information about restaurants, etc.

We stayed at the Hotel de Lille and two rooms we had were extremely small even by European standards. My sister who is traveling in May alone tried to make reservation there but their policy changed. Now they require two nights deposit which is non-refundable in case of ANY changes. Only location is OK but not so close to the metro anyway. IMHO I have to say this is not a good place to stay.

You can't beat the location. I've walked by it many times -- it looks like a 2 star -- the deposit policy is draconian -- but probably the result of some bad experiences. In that location you won't do much cheaper. I've used Hotel Bersoly's, which is just down the street. It is about $120 USD a night.

Sue, jpn & s fowler Thanks for your input! I like the location so much! Do you know of any other places under $100??? Thanks again... Sue

People who stayed there made these comments: Hotel de Lille- Tiny room photo on their website was VERY misleading manager not helpful at all couldn't fit in tiny elevator with luggage staff spoke enough English and were very helpful, the rooms very clean. rooms were miniscule continental breakfast was included. Very quiet despite the central location Small but clean and comfortable rooms Tiny bathrooms with no shower curtains For more Paris information e-mail me: [email protected]

Sue, I'm pretty sure my husband an I stayed at Hotel de Lille in 1995. The rooms were tiny but very pretty. The breakfast room was also small but elegant. The hotel has an "old-world" feel which we found quite charming. We liked the location since it was quite close to the metro (a block or so) and Musee d'Orsay. In the evening the streets were quite empty because of the type of commerce there I guess (I think it was the embassy district) so it was very quiet (almost spooky after 6 pm). There were not a lot of restaurants very close by that I can recall which was one draw back. I hope my memory is not failing but this does sound like the same hotel based on the other postings. At that time we did find it to be pretty good value for the money (if anything is in Paris) since it was very clean, charming and pretty.

Correction!! Sue - I finally tracked down the hotel that we stayed at in 1995. It was called Hotel Solferino NOT Hotel de Lille. It at that time was a two star located at 91 rue de Lille. Tel 47.05.85.54. Very close to Musee d'Orsay etc. At that time it only had a breakfast room. Let me know if you have any more questions. Sorry I gave you the incorrect info above. I don't know what this hotel would cost at this time or its current state.

FYI-The Hotel Solferino doesn't exist anymore. The Esprit de France hotel group that owns the Hotel d'Orsay bought the Solferino and combined the building with the Hotel d'Orsay. They also own Hotel Mansart and Hotel des Saints Peres.

We are staying at the Hotel de Lille next week. Their cancellation policy is 10 days notification; there is no advance payment required. Having stayed in several small Paris hotels, we are aware of the size limitations of most rooms, so our expectations are likely to be met. My experience both over the phone and through fax and emails is that the staff is extremely courteous and helpful.

Denyse, Please post when you return. I'd like to hear your opinion about location and the rooms. I also have reservations at the Hotel de Lille, but in September. I did everything on the internet, but they were prompt in replying. Have a wonderful time!!!

Sue: I did most of my corresponding through email as well, except for faxing the credit card info, and they have been very helpful. I am actually staying at two different times in July, and the hotel managed to get me 3 nights next week with little notice, putting me on their waitlist. I have been impressed with the level of customer service so far. BTW, you can see literally hundreds of reviews from prior guests at www.paris123.com. I will be sure to post a review when I return.

BEWARE OF HOTEL DE LILLE. I am sorry to have to report, but this was a very poor choice. I normally would hesitate to post this type of response, but I also believe, "caveat emptor". As we just returned from Paris last night, this information is current. We booked Hotel de Lille for a total of 7 nights, 3 at the front end of our trip, and 4 nights at the back end. We GUARANTEED our room with our AMEX card, and communicated extensively with the hotel in advance, including flight information several days before, and a request that they hold our room as our flights from SFO and then from Munich would get us to the hotel at about 10PM the night of July 3. We arrived at the hotel without sleeping for about 40 hours, at precisely 10PM, only to learn that our guaranteed room had been given away. Please note that the hotel has a current policy of requiring 10 days notice of intent to cancel, or you are charged for the night. As you can imagine, we were exhausted, and the hotels in the area were all fully booked. The hotel finally found us a room several blocks away, and without any assistance, we got our bags to the hotel and spent the night at the alternate. We then checked into the HOtel de Lille the following night. Big mistake. We are quite used to Paris hotels, and do not mind the usually small rooms and "quaint" bathrooms. Nothing, however, could have prepared us for this. There was no room on one side of the very small and saggy double bed, and no furniture in the room save for a very small table. Literally, it was closet sized. The bathroom was worse than any we have ever experienced. The absence of a shower curtain is not normally a problem, however, the small tub had only a handheld shower, nothing wall-mounted, and the bathroom itself was small and barely functional. The room was not well-lit, and we could not open our luggage, we could only do so when not using our bed. There was nothing charming about the room, and nothing to recommend it. In fact, I would avoid it at all costs. As an example of the night-time person, when we asked if there was a restaurant or bistro in the area that was nearby (in French, I might add), we were told, "probably". This was the same fellow, I might add, who gave away our room the night before. We booked an alternate hotel (the one we spent our first night in and had to leave to check in to the de Lille), and had a very nice stay in a more kindly two-star hotel at virtually the same price point. The hotel is Hotel St. Thomas D'Acquin, and I recommend it as an alternative. The location is actually superior to the de LIlle, and the rooms and baths, although small, are nicely done, wuite charming, and the personnel at the hotel cheerful and very kind. We will stay there again without question. My apologies for having written this lengthy report--longer than I intended--but I believe that the hotel was nothing even close to what was advertised, and extremely unprofessional. The fact that they have a cancellation policy that should have guaranteed our room (had we not shown up, we certainly would have been charged for the room that never existed!) makes their conduct inexcusable and unforgiveable during a time period, the week of haute couture, when hotels are fully booked. As I said, "caveat emptor"...you have been forewarned. Regards, Denyse

This warning needs to stay current.

How can I keep the reply current? I really want to let travelers know in order to avoid what was a really horrid experience for us. Truly, we are usually very comfortable in a small Pairs hotel---this was the first bad experience, but it was REALLY bad. Regards, Denyse Thanks

Denyse, To keep this post current, just keep topping it, just like I am doing now! Topper

OK LETS TOP IT AGAIN BEWARE