Merrisr

Has anyone ever stayed at this hotel (on rd du CDT Mouchette - near Luxembourg Gardens)? If so how would rate the hotel and the location ?

rkkwan

Did not stay there, but we stayed at a Mercure nearby, so I'll say about the location:

- The Air France Bus to/from CDG and Orly stops right across the street.

- From Gare Montparnasse, you have TGV and local trains to all of Western and SW France, and Spain. Also fast regional train to Versailles, Chartres, etc. Bakery inside the train station opens at 6:45am, so you can get bread early on.

- Four Metro routes have stops at Montparnasse. However, the actual platforms for lines 4 and 12 are on the north side of Tour Montparnasse, so those are a long walk. Lines 6 and 13 are much closer.

- There are also buses from the front of the train station to various points in Paris, including Etoile.

- Many restaurants surrounding this area. On Sunday, there's an artists' market with more than 120 stalls on Blvd. Edgar Quintet, very close to the hotel, selling their art work. Pretty interesting.

suncityjim

My wife and I stayed at this hotel in October 2001. It is the tallest hotel in Paris and adjacent to the Tour Montparnasse, the tallest building in Paris, which made us a bit post-9/11 nervous. It is a commercial hotel without Parisian charm but more than acceptable with all mods cons. The breakfast buffet is extraordinary but we ate no other meals there. The virtue of its height is that you get a stupendous view over Paris. It was hard to tear ourselves away from the windows before dinner as we watched Notre Dame turn golden in the rays of the setting sun. There are a sufficient number of restaurants nearby (we enjoyed one on a hidden square behind the buildings just across from the hotel) and there is an extraordinary supermarket (sorry, I forget the name, directly across from the Tour) with the most amazing basement delicatessens (one for cheese, one for sausage, one for smoked, one for salads, etc) if, like us, you overindulged at lunch and just want something light for dinner. As the previous poster noted, being at Gare Montparnasse is great for connecting to public transportation. Hope this helps.

WillTravel

suncityjim, that's very helpful. We're staying at the LMM this summer, due to my previous bid on Priceline. Did you ask for a specific floor or view at check-in?

WillTravel

Also, did you ask for a non-smoking room?

hla

We stayed there last summer, during the Paris heat wave. Our first room's a/c had trouble keeping up with the afternoon sun. We requested a change of rooms, and they were happy to move us. Moved to the other side of the building with the morning sun, facing Sacre Coeur and the rest of beautiful Paris (nice view). A/c worked fine in that room.

We had a room with two double beds (an executive room?) It was modern and fine. Probably close to the room quality of a Marriott in America.

The location includes a lot of brasseries and creperies, which are relatively inexpensive. It's a bit far from the tourist sights and the charm of say the Latin Quarter. But it was certainly no problem to metro around the city. If I were going back to Paris, I would probably look to stay in a more typically Paris neighborhood. But the hotel provided a comfortable, modern, quad, non-smoking, air conditioned room.

Andre

Hi Merrisr,

The supermarket suncityjim refers to is called INNO and it's between the Tour Montparnasse and the Edgar Quinet metro stop. In addition to the artists' market on Sunday at Edgar Quinet, there's also a nice normal food market on Saturday mornings. Another great food market is the all-organic one on boulevard Raspail between rue de Rennes and Sevres-Babylone on Sunday mornings.

Never stayed at the hotel, but used to live nearby - great neighborhood, but I prefer being located closer to the Luxembourg gardens and away from the cluster of skyscrapers around the Gare Montparnasse. Look at the hotel Sainte Beuve.

Hope this helps,
Andre

Marko

Stayed there in 2000, big, efficient, impersonal, expensive, clean, comfortable , high. The "china town area" just behind it had some good asian restaurants and some "interesting" movie theatres ( with attendant non salubrious types hanging around outside)

Merrisr

Thank you for the feedback. I will check out the Sainte Beuve. Any other suggestions for a hotel a little closer to Notre Dame ( or just Latin Quarter area. The company is paying (yeah!) so we can tolerate something around $200 - 225 USD.

Appreciate all the help!

Betsy

For others who might be considering this hotel, a friend stayed there recently for 100 USD/night through Priceline. She liked the hotel (wasn't looking for French charm).

Andre

Merrisr, other hotels which I would consider, but haven't stayed in (yet) are:

Hôtel de l'Abbaye
http://www.abbaye-paris-hotel.com

Hôtel Bel-Ami
http://www.hotel-bel-ami.com

Hôtel Madison
http://www.hotel-madison.com/

Hope this helps,
Andre

Merrisr

Thanks for the suggestions - I will check them out. My husband actually added a further complication - he'd like a hotel with an exercise room if possible. I found a hotel called the Westminster Warwick on rue de la Paix that has one. Anyone ever stay there?

ms_go

I stayed at the Westminster for a business meeting, but it was about four years ago. I recall that my room was a little small (but it might have been a single), but comfortable and quiet. Service was very good. Unfortunately, my most vivid memory of the hotel is the conference room because I spent about 10 hours a day in there.

IMO, it is a great, central location for walking around Paris and has easy Metro access. I've also stayed in that area at Le Grand Intercontinental. I would definitely consider staying there again (although my first priority if/when I get back to Paris is to try out the renovated Pont Royal, budget permitting).

Andre

Don't know the Westminster Warwick, but it's on the Rive Droite near Opéra, so the location is not quite as nice IMO. Perhaps the Lutetia is in your price range:

http://www.lutetia-paris.com/anglais/index_f.html

They have a fitness center.

Hope this helps,
Andre

suncityjim

The thread seems to have moved beyond the original question but in response to WillTravel's query I will just contribute that we did not know enough to ask for a specific floor at the Meridian at the time of booking, although we did ask for, and receive, a non-smoking room. I believe we were on the 16th or 17th floor and the rooms on the north side have that incredible view overlooking the city. In many trips to Paris this was our first stay at an "international" hotel rather than a smaller, more Parisian, hotel. As with poster "hla" when I go back I would also seek out another, smaller, hotel but there was nothing wrong with the Meridian. And, thanks to Andre, yes, it was the INNO supermarket that I referenced.

Merrisr

I so hate to be stupid - but what does IMO stand for?

WillTravel

Merrisr - In My Opinion.

Thanks suncityjim. Sounds good.
My main concern (as I posted in detail a while back) was to get a room with air conditioning. I hope we are lucky enough to get as good a view as you did. I am also happy that the rooms should be of a fairly reasonable size, and that the bathrooms contain a proper bathtub/shower combo!

SuzieC

The Sully Saint Germain has a fitness center...and the prices are correct for your budget. A friend of mine stayed there and enjoyed it.

suncityjim

For WillTravel: the whole hotel is air-conditioned. I would ask for a room on the north side either at booking or at check-in. The rooms are large and the bathrooms luxurious except for the damned marble floor (slippery when wet). When will interior designers recognize that functionality has a value that may supersede appearance? (The major cause of hotel accidents is slippery marble bathroom floors). As a previous poster noted, think Marriott rooms for an idea of Meridian rooms.

Underhill

Andrea,

Please tell me what you like about the Ste-Beuve; we're trying to decide between it and the Madison for next September and are having a really hard time of it.