Fertel Etoile, Paris

Another hotel that I saw whilst visiting Paris was this particular one - I was quite keen to see this one as the company I work for sell lots of rooms here which is due to partly the location and the good price of the hotel considering its location.

The hotel:
The hotel is a pretty basic hotel of the 3 star standard that is geared at those guests on a budget. It is only a small building and is family run too.

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...hotel that is so popular because of where it is? Well it is not far from the famous Arc De Triomphe and the Champs Elysee. In fact it is only less than 5 minutes away from the Arc and is officially located in the 17th Arondissemont and located at 4 Rue Des Acacias. The location is really the true selling point of this hotel.

First impressions:
When we pulled up I was immediately struck by how plain and boring it looked. It also ... more

Another hotel that I saw whilst visiting Paris was this particular one - I was quite keen to see this one as the company I work for sell lots of rooms here which is due to partly the location and the good price of the hotel considering its location.

The hotel:
The hotel is a pretty basic hotel of the 3 star standard that is geared at those guests on a budget. It is only a small building and is family run too.

Location:
So what exactly is the location of this hotel that is so popular because of where it is? Well it is not far from the famous Arc De Triomphe and the Champs Elysee. In fact it is only less than 5 minutes away from the Arc and is officially located in the 17th Arondissemont and located at 4 Rue Des Acacias. The location is really the true selling point of this hotel.

First impressions:
When we pulled up I was immediately struck by how plain and boring it looked. It also seemed in need of a lick of paint but, if I'm a little fairer I probably felt about it in this way more because of having seen so many hotels of a really high standard before arriving at this one! However there is still nothing to make you think 'wow' when you pull up - it is just very basic and a bog standard hotel.
When I then entered the hotel I realised that my initial instinct had been right - the hotel seemed very dated and old fashioned. As soon as you enter through the door you are in the main lobby and reception area which is not that huge and the first thing I noticed was the horrible ceiling! I know this is probably the thing that is so unimportant compared to other aspects of a hotel but, to me it looked like something out of the 70's with a gold tinge and reflective panels - not very classy at all! So to say my first impression wasn't good, pretty much sums up what I thought about it just from walking inside!

The rooms:
I guess from my initial impression I already had an idea of what the rooms would be like and I wasn't far from wrong - the hotel rooms are not overly large and do need a little modernising to make them that little nit nicer. To put it in very simple terms the rooms are just bland. The room we saw was on the ground floor and also looking onto the inner courtyard. This would partly explain why the room was so dark even with the curtains open as I imagine the rooms on higher floors and also looking onto the front road would be brighter - however my opinion of the room on this aspect can only be fully drawn on the room I did see and unfortunately it wasn't the best!
The room as I said is pretty compact with the bed in the middle of the room and a small side desk with TV located on it. The bathroom door is located only a couple of steps away from the bed and is also very basic and old fashioned with a green coloured strip around the sink a simple bath tub and toilet. No fancy amenities in here although they do have a hair dryer on the wall.
I can't really say much more about the room as there isn't much to them! However I will be honest and say two things - firstly is that we probably didn't see the best room as it was dark due to the location and also smaller because of its corner location. Rooms that are square in shape would be slightly larger just because of the angle and this could make the room seem a lot better straight away. Secondly, I have started to become so fussy in terms of what I personally want from a hotel because of the amount I stay in with work and my own trips. So I see this hotel as having very basic rooms because I stay in many that have a lot more facilities to offer. The one good thing I can say is that they also do triple bedded rooms although if they are not any larger than the room I saw it would be a bit of a squeeze!

Food and drink:
The hotel has one main room for breakfast which is located on the lower floor - the room is not overly large and breakfast consists of a cold buffet type with cereals and pastries on offer. Hot and cold drinks are available during breakfast and this room also looks out onto the inner courtyard. There are no evening meals available in the hotel and there is no room service available.

Other facilities:
The hotel doesn't really have many facilities on offer because of its size but, it does have a small room that can be hired for functions in the basement. The room can hold a maximum of 50 people and actually looks a lot bigger than it is because of one of the walls being mirrored. Other than that there are no other facilities in the hotel.

Price:
The hotel is a budget hotel for the location it is in. A room starts at around £85 per night based on two people sharing and including breakfast. Of course these rates are dependent on the dates you choose to stay. The hotel do offer '3 for 2' on certain dates throughout the year which of course will bring the nightly rate down considerably so it's worth looking out for these if you are flexible as to when you can travel.

Overall opinion:
I can't lie and say I was overly impressed with this hotel as it was very basic and just seemed so in need of a refurbishment. However, as I mentioned I am quite fussy when it comes to hotels nowadays and so this is my own personal opinion. The decor is quite dated and for me it is not somewhere that after a long day out and about in the city I would think of going back to and relaxing unlike many of the other hotels I saw. However, if you are really not that fussed by your hotel rooms when you go on city breaks and really would be happy with the 'no frills' type hotel then this is probably just the right hotel for you.
I would though say that this hotel is more of a 2 star superior standard than 3 simply because of other 3 star hotels I have seen in the city which far exceed this one. 

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