Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Hotel Madison

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Hotel Madison - Paris

Forgot to ask about this one. Any feedback??

I've always admired that hotel while walking by and even stopped it to look at the lobby once and try to get a feel for the place. I've read numerous reports on it, and although there are sometimes some pretty glowing reports, especially from those who get deluxe or top floor rooms, the general opinions seem to vary from lukewarm to negative. Considering it is pricier than many other apparently nicer hotels in the area, I've written it off my short list. But maybe you can get some newer responses here that are more first hand.

What a coincidence, I am staying at the Madison and I am using their computer in the lobby for guests right now. The hotel is in a great location, they went out of their way to let me hand pick the rooms for my friends who are arriving this afternoon, the rooms are large and roomy, decorated well and you cant beat the view of the eglise st.germain and the metro across the street. Lovely breakfasts too... Prices are around 170 e... Have you seen their website? I am here for three weeks with my freinds and can share more information if you need it? Best, Wendy

We are looking for a hotel in Paris for July and are considering the Le Regent. Patrick, do yu know anything about this hotel or can you suggest others in the $100-$150 range? Is AC an absolute necessity in July? Thanks.

Thanks Wendy for your response. I guess for 170E you must be staying in the deluxe room? They have available during my stay the deluxe and jr suite w/jacuzzi (of course this is considerably more). I need a room w/twin beds and didn't know if you could enlight me on the major differences (other than the jacuzzi) if you know of any? Also, do the showers have curtains? Got to admit I dread not having a curtain b/c I know I'll soak the floor. Also, I was considering the right bank near the opera, too. What are your thoughts? Thanks so much for your help. Mary

Yes, I have stayed at Le Regent twice and like it very much. Unless you don't mind extremely small rooms (the standard ones) you really need to opt for the much larger and more comfortable deluxe rooms which all face the front and also have a lot more light. They have very nice bathrooms as well. Le Regent is a very nice hotel in a great location -- but again, I'd opt for the deluxe room if you can swing it. And yes, I wouldn't think of staying in Paris in a non airconditioned hotel in July (or any time May through September for that matter). Even if it isn't exceptionally hot, you need to be able to close the windows for noise control --even the quiet streets will have too many early morning noises for me. While we're at it, double glazed windows make a lot of difference from single ones. That extra layer of glass is really the only way to shut out the noise.

Mary, Just returned from the Madison (Wendy, we surely must have crossed paths in the lobby!) and were delighted with our stay-everthing wonderful, as Wendy knows (lucky you!), including the sweet, caring attention from the bellman-concierge in perpetual motion, Alain, who's quite a character and kept us entertained. The staff couldn't have been nicer! Christian also took very good care of our rest. res. and personally drove us to CDG. Our room, #36, on the street side, but not directly on the Blvd., was quite large for Paris standards, beautifully designer-decorated in tones of blue and mauve, had a huge amount of storage space, mini bar, sat. TV, closet safe, trouser press, lovely antique bureau and desk, terrific reading lights, comfortable twin beds put together to make a queen, a great view of the Eglise St. Germain, where we attended Easter Mass (but yet no street noise when windows closed), and glorious brown tiled bathroom with double sink, shower curtain, h. dryer, bidet and a plethora of very classy toiletries on a scalloped ceramic pedestal. The copious buffet breakfast (full American style) is served in a pretty room off the lobby decorated with lovely murals, banquettes and pillows for comfy seating and is served on Limoges. Nice staff there too. Our deluxe room (there are also suites) with brk and VAT cost 230 euros per night, admittedly a splurge for us. But we compared it with a comparable rm at the d'Aubusson and de L'Abbaye and found it to be a slightly better "value" due to the sheer spaciousness factor, although for 20 euros more, the gorgeous, secluded de L'Abbaye looked extremely tempting. Patrick, I'd put the le Madison back on your short list. Although we liked the le Regent, the Rue Dauphine has become a very noisy area, and the street is torn up now due to construction. In the quartier, we also like the Millesime on Rue Jacob and the classy Relais St. Suplice behind the church of St. Suplice (fantastic shopping area and beautiful square!) We'll definitely returned next spring to the Madison and ask for a rm on the 2nd or 6th fls with walk-out balcony.

Mary; The prices do range a bit from 135 to 175... but as Maribel said, it is the most spacious and believe me, a few extra feet and exceptionally helpful staff that go out of their way to help makes a wonderful difference...and worth a few extra Euro. Maribel, I just showed Christian and Alain your e-mail and they blushed but said how kind and they were happy you enjoyed your stay! We MUST have passed in the lobby...how bizarre!!!! Patrick, come by and introduce yourself to the hotel? Bon Voyage to all and best of luck Mary! Wendy

I stayed there with my parents years ago and found that the rooms really vary. My room was beautiful and fairly large (on the top floor?) overlooking the boulevard. My parents, for some reason, were given a room on a lower floor, facing a brick wall. Any efforts to switch rooms were rebuffed. In fact, the hotel staff was always very rude and unfriendly, not just to us, but to other people staying there. And I speak fluent French. At one point, I really dressed one of the guys down in rapid fire French because he was nasty to my mother -- I had just finished a year studying at the Sorbonne so my French was not rusty like it is now -- and he was so shocked! But you should hear from people who have stayed there recently to see if the current staff is friendly. The location is FANTASTIC, and the rates are reasonable. Even though they were rude, I would consider staying there again.

Hi Wendy, Thanks for showing them my email! Please give both the energetic Alain and Christian and all the desk staff our warm regards and thanks for making our stay so memorable. We didn't encounter one surly staff member at le Madison (we noticed that Alain went out of his way to accomodate some last minute requests from guests), and they all spoke excellent English as well. And Wendy, have a wonderful 3 weeks (and happy dining-more about that topic later-we may have coincided in our dining choices too!). Hope the weather still stays beautiful for you! Maribel

Nice reports. Maybe I will add the Madison back to my short list, although the deluxe rooms still seem very expensive (230 Euros?)-- for a similar amount I'd rather stay at my favorite, Relais St. Germaine, for a really beautiful and very large room.

Hi Patrick, The 230 euro tariff at the Madison initially seemed quite pricey to me too, until I did the comparison shopping. A deluxe double at the beautiful and more intimate Relais St-Germain (with VAT and full brk.) would have cost 270, at the Relais Medici, 239-258 (with VAT and cont. brk), the de l'Abbaye, 254-284 (VAT & cont. brk) and the Relais Christine, a princely sum of 395 for our dates (needless to say, they long ago priced themselves out of our "splurge" budget!). I was surprised at how expensive the upper end, designer hotels in the 6th had become. The Fleurie at Odeon was also 244-274 euros. This is why the Madison actually seemed like a very good value for the comfort and style it offered us, plus the perfect location. But you can still get a double for 180+ at le Regent or the Relais St. Suplice, but the larger "Millesime" rms hit the 210 mark.

Topping for susan who's looking for boutique style Paris hotel in May.

The Madison is in a fabulous location, and is a lovely property...BUT... we stayed there in the fall of 2000 - I will never stay there again nor recommend it. We have traveled all over France and Europe and have always had extremely pleasant experiences...we are easy and low key people and seem to always develop a friendly rapport with our hosts. Madison did not have our reservations when we arrived with bags in tow, even tho I had personally called the day before to confirm. The man at the desk (I won't name) just shrugged and said "too bad." I had copies of my emails with them, etc.- could not care less. We finally got two rooms - and even more bizarre episodes ensued. We certainly did not let this ruin our trip, but I promised I would throw in my two cents if the question arose.

to the top for carrie