I recently returned from a pleasant vacation with my girlfriend in Europe. The Paris segment was only 3 nights, so renting someone's apartment was not feasible. To reduce our eating expenses, I chose an aparthotel in the Latin Quarter, the Residence Villa Daubenton (part of the Federal Hotel chain), which offers simply furnished flats from studio to 2-bedroom duplexes. On the whole, this turned out to be a good choice, esp. as I got a cheaper rate through Expedia (~$240/nt.) than at the Villa's official website (180 euros). The standard rates for the 1- & 2-bedroom flats are E250 & E297 respectively.

The aparthotel is on a quiet street, Rue de l'Arbelete, about 10 minutes' walk from the Port Royal RER station (on a direct line to/from Charles de Gaulle Airport). The only noticeable congestion occurs in the afternoon, when children are let out from a school across the street. Cafes, restaurants, and food shops are plentiful, and one can easily find better deals in the neighborhood than the Villa's 8-euro breakfast. The location has the advantage of being away from the more touristy areas, yet still within walking distance of the Left Bank sights. If one wants to explore the rest of Paris, there's a Metro station to the east, and the RER station to the west (both systems use the same tickets).

The staff is cordial, efficient, and reasonably fluent in English; depending on the transaction, we would switch between English & French, and there were no misunderstandings. Oddly, the only real technical difficulty was in opening the door to our flat. The key was of an unusual type, and it took many tries before I realized just how far to turn it. Once that was clear, it was no trouble at all.

Our second-floor studio overlooking the street was quite spacious by European standards, with a large, comfortable bed. There was actually more cabinet space than closet space, sufficient for 2 people. The cable TV was small but functional, however the remote didn't work. The safe (inside a cabinet) seemed to need a new battery to unlock consistently, so I didn't use it. If you want to do ironing, there's a board in the closet, and you just borrow the iron from the front desk.

The bathroom featured a full-size tub, a marvelous thing to see after a long journey. The shower was a handheld type, and unfortunately its wall mount was neither secure nor high enough to be of any use. The kitchen had a fridge, electric stove, coffee maker, kettle, toaster, and a minimal assortment of cooking & eating utensils. Wi-fi was available at extra cost, but it was slow. With a little hunting, free wi-fi can be found in public places.

In general, all the essentials worked, but I would not call the conditions first-rate. I notice details like when a curtain isn't fully attached to the rod, and I think, "C'mon, how hard would it be to fix that?" To put it bluntly, our room looked about 10 years overdue for remodeling. But perhaps that's why the Villa doesn't cost an arm & a leg like the posh Hotel des Grandes Hommes by the Pantheon. All in all, we were satisfied. To be blown away, one merely had to go outside and see Paris.

http://www.residence-villa-daubenton-paris.federal-hotel.com/page_en_1.html


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