The first time I ever visited Paris I stayed at this hotel. I just left it up to my boyfriend and his dad to choose the accommodation as I knew nothing about this city at the time, except that it had the Eiffel Tower!
When we looked it up on the internet there were a few flattering photographs, and because it was so close to the Gare du Nord (where we arrive from the Eurostar) it seemed like the perfect little hotel.
It's in a great location for a hotel that isn't too pricey, or too cheap.

It's located in the heart of Paris, it's a lovely traditional looking building and is in the immediate neighbourhood of the amazing St Quention Market. This is a indoor market, it's hard to miss as it's a large metal stucture and is quite impressive and attractive. It's a good place to buy 'real' French food, although there is a no food policy in the hotel.

• Breakfast room
• Disabled facilities
• Lobby
• Parking facilities
• Photocopying facilities
• Reception
• Safe deposit box
• Tour desk

First Impression

From the outside it looks quite small, when you go through the doors there is a seating area on your left which tends to have newspapers and magazines, some are in English. There is also a stand with leaflets to give you advice on great days out etc.
There is a smaller seating area on your right where there is a computer with free internet access, this is really useful, except I can't get used to the French keyboards!
There is always a friendly person working at the reception (occasionally they've popped out to the very local supermarket for something), we do our best to speak French but some of the staff are good at English.
Just past the Reception is the entrance to the stairs, which is a large sort of spiral staircase with big banisters, I've only used it once as I'm more of a lift person! The lift holds only two people, and your luggage can fit if you don't have too much. It also shakes and wobbles if you jump up and down as I realised.

There is also a breakfast area it's not huge so it's down to luck if it's empty or quiet, as most people staying there are in small groups. They offer a standard breakfast or cereals, french breads, croissants, toast etc. There are free machines for instant hot drinks, and a machine for orange juice - with or without bits. As you can eat as much as you like it's worth the money, the earlier you arrive the more fresh and bigger the selection. I notice people like to touch the food and not take it so maybe get up early to avoid that!!
The last time we stayed here, for some reason it worked out cheaper if we had bought breakfast included which is good if you're on a tight budget. I think it's worth visiting the many cafés in the area as there are so many, what's the point in eating in your hotel with other tourists when you have Paris!

• Air conditioning
• Cable / Satellite TV
• Hairdryer
• Mini bar
• Modem / data port connection
• Private bathrooms / Ensuite
• Telephone

The hotel has 51 good quality bedrooms, some rooms are slightly smaller than others but there is everything you need in them.
I always said to my boyfriend if we came back to Paris let's try another hotel, but for practicality reasons we always end up here, so I've seen a few of their bedrooms.
So far I've noticed if you have a slightly smaller room the view or bathroom seems better, the last time I was there it was a small room but we had a little balcony with some little chairs and tables on them so you could see much more of Paris from that room, which made up for the smaller bedroom.
We had a big room once but the view wasn't great at all, if you look at the fire map you can see there seems to be one big room on each floor.
The telephone ring is very loud and sounds like a fire alarm, it's horrible! There are a few English channels, CNN is quite good to have. So far our double beds have always been two single beds together which is a big annoying. I haven't fallen down the gap in the middle just yet, but I'm going back to this hotel on my birthday next month, so we'll see! There is always spare bedding and

Pictures of Relais de Paris Lafayette, Paris

Very clean

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The bathrooms vary a little too, the first time I went there was a bath, no shower, but last time I had a bath and shower. The water has always been very hot, and long lasting, this is great when you've been walking around all day. There's always shampoo, soaps, lots of towels and a shower cap! There is a hair dryer too. I've noticed the bathroom's are always very clean, and there are plenty of large and small towels, toilet paper and tissues.
A cleaner comes and replaces anything you've used each day, they also sort out your bedroom too so your room always looks like you've just arrived each day.

There is a mini bar, you drink what you like out of a selection of soft drinks or alcohol, and you tell reception when you leave how much you've drunk, I assume the cleaners make a note of it too, as they'll replace anything you've used.

I sleep lightly so this hotel isn't great for me as you hear other people running about, and shouting at their children etc. The bedroom doors shut hard to ensure they shut properly so people tend to let them slam. It was better last time as we were on a higher floor and weren't near the rattly lift either.

There are small windows in the corridors and some of them have have a view of the Eiffel Tower, it's very small though but at night its lit up and easier to see.

Noisy nights and dangerous driving

Hotel policies

• Check in 14:00 hours
• Check out 07:00 - 12:00 hours
• Cancellation: If cancelled or modified up to 1 day before the date of arrival, no fee will be charged. If cancelled or modified later or in case of no-show, the first night will be charged.
• Children and extra beds: One child under 5 years stays free of charge when using exiting bedding. One child under 2 years stays free of charge in a baby cot. Maximum capacity of babycots in a room is 1. Extra beds and baby cots are upon request and need to be confirmed by the hotel.
• Pets: pets are not allowed
• Accepted credit cards: American Express, Visa, Euro/Mastercard, Diners Clud. The hotel reserves the right to pre-authorise credit cards prior to arrival.

• Single GBP 126.86
• Double GBP 134.47
• Twin GBP 134.47
• Twin for sole use GBP 126.86
• Triple GBP 160.69

I don't think this hotel is a rip off at all, you get what you paid for with some added charm. The staff are polite and helpful. When I looked this hotel up on the internet it said it was a one star, but I'm pretty sure it's a 3 star now. If not, it's pretty good for a one star!! I definitely recommend this hotel because of it's fantastic location, they try very hard and keep things clean and presentable. It's a lovely simple hotel, and I haven't ever had any problems or complaints. I hope this review helps, and makes you want to visit this great city!
I think this is my biggest review so please let me know if I'm made any silly mistakes, thanks for reading, and I'd appreciate feedback.