I stayed at the Best Western Premier Eiffel Park in early May of this year for six nights. My mother and I booked into a twin room via the Best Western website as it had the cheapest rates, around 120 euros a night for non-refundable internet rates (there were several listed rates). I chose ... Read review
Halfway between the Eiffel Tower and the Invalides, this hotel is a heaven of peace and ... more
relaxation. Be instantly transported far from the noise of Parisian life. When the warm weather arrives, relax on the rooftop terrace and dream of times gone by. Or...
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Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Advantages: Location, price Disadvantages: No air conditioning when requested
I stayed at the Best Western Premier Eiffel Park in early May of this year for six nights. My mother and I booked into a twin room via the Best Western website as it had the cheapest rates, around 120 euros a night for non-refundable internet rates (there were several listed rates). I chose the hotel based on positive reviews from a few review sites, location and price being my primary needs.
Having been to Paris once before I knew ... ...little bit wary of the Best Western chain in Paris as had read many reviews of other Best Western hotels in the city that weren't very nice and shuffled people about to other hotels. (There are dozens of this chain in Paris, although there are different "levels" of Best Western, such as this one, a "Premier", which are slightly more expensive and supposedly superior in service and design. A bit confusing but something to look ... more
I stayed at the Best Western Premier Eiffel Park in early May of this year for six nights. My mother and I booked into a twin room via the Best Western website as it had the cheapest rates, around 120 euros a night for non-refundable internet rates (there were several listed rates). I chose the hotel based on positive reviews from a few review sites, location and price being my primary needs.
Having been to Paris once before I knew that at this price range we were looking for comfortable and adequate, likely small rooms. There were a few others that seemed a bit more charming/unique but they were booked as we left it a bit late. I was a little bit wary of the Best Western chain in Paris as had read many reviews of other Best Western hotels in the city that weren't very nice and shuffled people about to other hotels. (There are dozens of this chain in Paris, although there are different "levels" of Best Western, such as this one, a "Premier", which are slightly more expensive and supposedly superior in service and design. A bit confusing but something to look out for if you come across this chain there). This one had no such complaints however so I booked it.
The hotel is situated in the 7th arrondissement, about halfway between the Invalides and the Eiffel tower, and a ten minute walk from both. It is a quietish residential neighbourhood, sedate and a bit posh in places as many diplomats live in the area due to the various embassies being located there. That said, there were plenty of shops, bakeries and restaurants, and the Rue Cler market was only a couple of streets away. It was a lot more relaxed/less touristy than the Latin Quarter area where I had stayed previously, and while I liked this, people looking for dazzling nightlife nearby would need to look elsewhere. Although that said we found it quite lovely to wander over to the Eiffel tower at night and wait for it to begin its hourly sparkle-a-thon, a more dazzling experience you are unlikely to see in the City of Lights. Also in good walking distance of this hotel is the Seine and many of the boat rides. We took one before sunset but I have taken it at night as well and that would be a lovely way to spend an evening when staying in this quiet but charming area.
Anyway I digress. Do you really want to hear about the hotel? It's Paris, there are so many other beautiful things to see…ok then, well I was quite amused to find this hotel located on a street called Rue Amelie, which brought to mind the wonderfully whimsical film of the same name. Although the film was set in Montmartre so you won't see any familiar sites from it here. The street is tiny, alley width, one way, quite tricky as our shuttle driver who actually looked a bit like the boy from Amelie discovered when trying to back up it the wrong way! Eventually we made it to the hotel after a few loopedy loops.
It has an unassuming façade and darkened picture windows on the outside. Inside it is quite nice, a desk with rattan chairs is set up to greet guests in an attractive lobby. There is also a sitting room/small bar, and a conservatory breakfast room, all nicely decorated in a sort of vaguely Colonial theme. The receptionist checked us in a bit brusquely (um she wasn't French so I can say this!), we weren't really given much information about the surrounding area, just handed a map, which wasn't quite as friendly as the prior hotel I stayed in. The room was meant to be a twin as Mother snores and we didn't want another incident with me placing a pillow over her head! (by the way she tried out those snore strips and they actually work quite well!). Well the room was still set up as a double, so much for twins having more space.
I went back down to reception where I asked if there was a twin room for us, upon which I was asked if we had "touched anything" in the room in the 30 seconds we had been there. Erm, no. Well we were given a room on the first floor which I was less keen on what with street noise but went to look at it anyway. Same thing, beds still pushed together in a rather itty bitty room. Having been up since 4a.m. we admitted defeat and took it, despite it being a bit less attractive in décor (brown satin bedspreads ugh!) than the previous room, I couldn't be bothered changing keys again with the grumpy lady. All of this said, the room was seemingly recently refurbished (it smelled of paint actually) and clean. It was stuffy however so we opened the window.
We made our own twin by pushing the beds as far apart as possible. There were two nightstands, a desk opposite the beds with no real storage, and a closet with the requisite pain in the wotsit non-removable hangers, about six of them. Also there were two shelves high up which we made use of, and a safe which we did as well. The safe required a 50 euro deposit for the key which was a bit much but c'est la vie. There was a refrigerator with various drinks inside, no food. The television was decent but French telly, while momentarily amusing to see various shows dubbed in French, is fairly useless for non-French speaking folk. There is a CNN channel which seems to rotate the same few stories over and over again, and at night there was a channel which showed some quite obscure English language films. The beds were quite comfy I thought, my mother found them too soft though. The pillows were not fluffy enough for me so I folded up a towel to make my own second pillow.
The bathroom was small but had a tub and very powerful showerhead that had a mind of its own and did result in some screeching as it went skyward every so often. The bathroom wasn't the cleanest standard I have seen, it wasn't dirty but it didn't sparkle either, and it was in need of a refurbishment in the near future. There was a small glass shelf for toiletries which meant we were basically living out of our suitcases all around storage-wise. I had expected this but it would have been nice to be surprised by less paltry allowances for guests' needs. There was one of those friendly posters displayed prominently about the hotel's deep concern for the environment if you would be so kind as to re-use towels where possible, i.e. they want to save money on washing but pass themselves off as eco-warriors. Sorry, I just find that irksome! Perhaps if they had displayed more hospitality in other areas, which leads to my main bugbear with this hotel.
On my previous stay in Paris, it was in August, when the scorching heat made air conditioning in the hotel a must. I was aware that many hotels in Paris do not have air conditioning and so went out of my way to pick one that did. Even though we were staying in May I figured it might be warm. So as this hotel displays air conditioning as one of its amenities it was a factor in choosing it. That and it is a non-smoking hotel, another rarity in Paris. Well as I mentioned earlier our room was rather stuffy. It didn't take us long to work out there was no air conditioning on, there was a remote control but no temperature change available, just a fan.
The first evening we returned from our boat ride on the Seine and the room was quite hot. The temperatures were only in the low 70's (erm ..20ish celsius) but this did not stop the rooms getting very hot. I phoned reception to much hemming and hawing from the night porter, he didn't know if it was on, if it was I should be able to use it, etc. He then phoned back to feed me the line that it was not yet summer and the hotel did not turn it on until it was. Well it was officially stifling and I wasn't impressed. I was advised to open the window, which in a first floor room is a bit noisy and prohibitive to sleep. We kept it open in the evenings, but had to shut it when we went to sleep.
The fan helped slightly but it was not the service they advertised and I was not pleased. I phoned again the next night, to make sure it wasn't just our room/a miscommunication, and was fed the same line. I found this a bit hard to swallow as the week before the temperatures had been unseasonably high, up to 30, and I mentioned this. Well it was deaf ears again, I said I had chosen the hotel for this reason and wasn't impressed they didn't offer the service they advertised. I don't think I was rude or demanding, especially when considering the lobby area was clearly air-conditioned with near sub-arctic temperatures; I thought it a bit rich for them to act as though the whole thing was beyond their control. So hospitality is not at the top of this hotel's priorities.
I don't want to discount the positives, the location is very charming, the rooms while small are probably nicer than many in the price range for such a central location. It is in easy walking distance to many museums, notably the D'Orsay and Rodin are within a mile or less, and as mentioned the Eiffel tower is footsteps away and makes a great signpost for finding your way home. You really don't spend that much time in the hotel (well, unless you are on honeymoon, in which case I wouldn't recommend this one!), and there are far worse places you could stay I'm sure. It was a quiet neighborhood generally so you will get a good night's sleep (presuming it's not too hot!).
I cannot comment on the breakfast, they do serve a nice enough sounding continental spread, but 12 euros was a bit much we thought and there are plenty of delicious bakeries and cafes nearby. They did try to charge us for two days of breakfasts which we did not have though so check your bill carefully as they must just take people's room numbers at breakfast and some people obviously take advantage.
The metro is accessible nearby in each direction, we used it to get to Montmartre and also once when we were lost! We did the open topped (L'Open tour) bus rides for two days, which I do think is a great way to see the city and would highly recommend as you can hop on and off at many tourist sites with this line, and it has a few stops near to the hotel.
As for public transport, this area is not easily accessible from Charles De Gaulle airport. It is possible if you transfer on the RER line or take the Airfrance bus and then transfer to the metro, but that is a lot of hauling around luggage and the shuttle vans don't cost much more and are much more relaxing I found. (I took the RER directly to my hotel on last visit and did struggle to get my suitcase through the metro turnstyles). The Airfrance buses do stop at Invalides nearby, but only if you are travelling from Orly airport.
Overall I would recommend this hotel, with the note that it is NOT air conditioned year round. It is nice enough, but has the feel of a place that is pretending to be slightly more chic than it is in reality. It wants to be a boutique hotel but isn't quite there yet. We did see a few other rooms and they must have been deluxe as they were larger than ours, so of course if you can afford it go for it, space is a premium in Paris! I have read enough abominable reviews of hotels in Paris to think that this place is really pretty good for the price, and I would recommend it.
I would probably shop around for another hotel on my next visit however as I like to see different neighborhoods. I would say this area, while quieter than others, has plenty of nice restaurants. Even though it was sleepy we always felt safe wandering around at night and there were usually people about, just nothing like the hustle and bustle of the Latin Quarter. For a relaxing spot at the end of a busy day the 7th arrondisement is I feel underrated and as charming as any other in Paris.
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