Timhotel Opera Madeleine, Paris

Had a short break with my wife in Paris on end-Nov last year. Eurostar is not cheap, so many things to do and see in Paris, pocket is quite tight. Did quite an extensive internet research for accomodation and this hotel came up quite reasonable to my pocket and located quite nicely in heart of Paris. Didn't expect too much as it is only rated 2 star. But I was quite suprise with the comfort that it provide. It is a small hotel but not the smallest ...
...will change your definition of small hotel. This hotel have pretty much everything that you need. We were given a twin size bed, quite a firm bed, just what you need after a long day walk. Shower over bath, the water pressure is good, water pressure is consistent. Heating is good. There is a small balcony that you go out to have a smoke without giving the room the stench. Litle thing that you usually don't think of, but made a lot of differences ... more

Had a short break with my wife in Paris on end-Nov last year. Eurostar is not cheap, so many things to do and see in Paris, pocket is quite tight. Did quite an extensive internet research for accomodation and this hotel came up quite reasonable to my pocket and located quite nicely in heart of Paris. Didn't expect too much as it is only rated 2 star. But I was quite suprise with the comfort that it provide. It is a small hotel but not the smallest one that I have been in. Try Tokyo, Japan, it will change your definition of small hotel. This hotel have pretty much everything that you need. We were given a twin size bed, quite a firm bed, just what you need after a long day walk. Shower over bath, the water pressure is good, water pressure is consistent. Heating is good. There is a small balcony that you go out to have a smoke without giving the room the stench. Litle thing that you usually don't think of, but made a lot of differences to your appreciation. There is nothing special about the view though, my room were facing another building which happen to be a hotel as well. 14" television, don't speak french, so I was not bothered as all the channel is in french.
The customer service is good, friendly reception. You could even leave your baggage there after checkout and collect it back before you depart back home.
The most likeable thing of this hotel is its location. It is located very very close to the St Lazare train station which connected a lot of line. In fact, the stairs to the station through underground tunnel is located right next to the hotel. There is a direct train from Gare Du Nord if you are taking Eurostar and save you a lot of hustle on dragging your luggage on train change. The area itself have quite a few attraction within the walking distance. Lafayette took about 5 minutes walking to. A compass might be worth taking to accompany your map reading.
Within the hotel building there are:
1. Entrance to St Lazarre train station
2. Nice restaurant (in the building and accross the road)
3. MC Donalds - you do need Mc Donalds to balance your dining expenditure, Paris is quite expensive for dining, tasteful but costly. A bit of balance wouldn't hurt.
4. Pharmacy (accross the road)
The combination of cheap but accomodative hotel, accessibility, mobility and friendliness of the staff, two star is well under-rated. If that is what you are looking for, this hotel should be on your top option list. If you are travelling without kids that is. With kids, this definitely have to be your last resort. The lift is too small for prams or buggies, stairs is quite steep, there are not much place to move around in the room, the small balcony is dangerous for the kids and the door is big to restrain access to it, it is quite noisy for baby to sleep at night with the typical road noise and all. But Paris city is never about kids anyway. 

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