Hôtel La Bourdonnais - Review
Written: Mar 29 '02
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Excellent location.
Cons: Staff not as nice as they could have been.
The Bottom Line: The hotel is a very good value for money. Above average for its category.
|
|
|
| kent4489's Full Review: Atel La Bourdonnais |
Note: I've just started planning our upcoming trip to Paris. As I was searching for the hotel we stayed in last year, "my" epinion of the hotel came up in the search engine. From there, I started searching through Epinions database and found that they now have a category for this hotel, so I am deleting my old review and moving it here, where it belongs. Although Epinions lists it as Atel La Bourdonnais, the address is the same, so I am sure it is the same hotel. Without further ado...here is my review of the Hôtel La Bourdonnais in Paris, 7th arrondissement.
We recently returned from a wonderful vacation to Paris. We stayed at a 3-star hotel located on the Left Bank in the 7th Arrondissement. I would like to share my opinion of this hotel.
Hôtel La Bourdonnais was a very good choice for our latest visit to Paris. I really like the neighborhood, with La Tour Eiffel being the impressive focal attraction of the area. The hotel is conveniently located to the Métro, the RER and many wonderful restaurants. The Champs de Mars Park is only a couple of blocks away, so we enjoyed a lovely stroll each evening as we made our way to and from La Tour Eiffel.
As I started making plans a few months ago, one of the big decisions was the selection of a hotel. I knew we wanted to stay in the 7th arr. and there are so many great choices. I have had wonderful recommendations on many hotels in the area. To make a long story short, after much consideration, I settled on Hôtel La Bourdonnais. I booked via fax and received a prompt and courteous reply. I communicated my concern about the size of the room, as Paris hotels are known to have small rooms, and was promised the largest double room available. I had requested a junior suite, however none were available for our planned dates. A 2001 rate of FF850 (currently approx. $112.00) was confirmed, which included taxes, but not did not include breakfast. Further correspondence was done via e-mail and again, I always received prompt and courteous replies.
Quite honestly, I was a little uncertain of how we would like this hotel. I was concerned that the rate seemed a little low for a hotel in this district of Paris, especially in high season. The Hôtel La Bourdonnais was a pleasant surprise and an excellent value for money. It was not a luxury hotel and I was not expecting that. It was however a very clean and comfortable hotel with an excellent location. Our room was indeed large and had a wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower…IF, you climbed out onto the small balcony.
We arrived after an extremely long flight, due to a delay. Although it was earlier than check-in time, we were pleased that our room was available. We were escorted to our room on the 5th floor via a very tiny service elevator. The guest elevator was not in service at the time, but was available the following day. It too was small, but could carry 4 adults, or two with luggage.
The entry and reception area of the hotel were small, but not tiny. The area was nicely appointed, with a lovely salon/sitting area toward the front of the hotel. Behind the reception area was the pleasant breakfast room with a glassed in area looking out onto an attractive garden.
Our room was tastefully decorated in shades of blue and peach. The wall coverings and paint were fresh and the room was well maintained. The individually controlled air conditioning worked very well and was welcome as the weather was quite warm. Although we prefer one bed, there were 2 double beds in this room. The bed was extremely comfortable. There was a large desk/dresser, two night tables and two chairs as well as a television and 2 telephones. The closet was large for hanging clothes on one side, shelves on the other with an in-room safe. The water closet was within it’s own quarters and the bathroom was very large with a window that opened onto a small balcony. The bathroom had a large, deep tub with shower, bidet and sizeable sink. There was a hairdryer and plenty of shelf space for toiletries. Overall, I was pleased with our accommodations.
As I mentioned, breakfast was not included in the price of the room. However, it was offered at FF50 per person/per day. We enjoyed breakfast here every day. It consisted of a hot beverage, juice, yogurt and a basket of breads (pain au chocolate, baguette and croissants-2 of each). This is what my husband and I prefer. If you want an American or English breakfast you won’t find it here. They did have the best café au lait that I’ve ever had in Europe. Breakfast could also be sent to your room as we had one day.
My only complaint with the hotel would be with the staff. Although courteous, they were rather indifferent and unhelpful. (Normally I find the French very nice, so I don't have that opinion of the French being rude.) For example, on our first afternoon, we went to the grocery 2 doors away to buy some bottled water to have in our room. As we wanted to walk around the area, we stopped in at the desk and asked if they could keep the water there until we returned to take it to our room. Our room was on the 5th floor and at the far end of the hotel and as I stated above, the guest elevator was not in operation at the time. I’m not sure if they misunderstood what I was asking, but they told me “Non”. This wasn’t a big deal, but I don’t understand why they could not keep it for us there. There was an exception; the fellow that worked evenings was exceptionally nice. He very pleasantly greeted us as we returned each evening. On the morning of our departure, which was too early for breakfast, this fellow brought café au lait to us in the lobby as we waited for our taxi at 5:30 a.m. This was not some stale coffee in Styrofoam cups, rather fresh coffee in a china pot with a pot of steamed milk and china cups and saucers. I was very impressed with the trouble he went to for us and at no charge. His thoughtfulness overshadowed the opinion that I had of the rest of the staff.
Although I like staying at and experiencing different hotels, I would not hesitate staying at Hôtel La Bourdonnais again. The guest rooms and public rooms were pleasing and the location could not be better. I thought it was a terrific value.
Hôtel La Bourdonnais
111 avenue de la Bourdonnais
Paris 75007
Telephone: 01133 1 47 05 45 42
Fax: 01133 1 45 55 75 54
E-mail: otlbourd@clubinternet.fr
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.