Hôtel Dame des Arts — Hotel in Paris

We just got home from our trip and I want to share some info on this hotel for anyone that has an upcoming trip.

What went well: The style and decor of the hotel is beautiful. The woman at the front desk with long braids was wonderful. She was informative, kind, and relatable. The location in the Latin quarter worked well for us. We both really enjoyed the Italian restaurant next door. Great food and service. Pre-stay communication from the hotel was great. They shared some helpful recommendations and were very responsive. The balconies and rooftop deck offer nice views of the Eiffel Tower. Their espresso was delicious. There are cute branded chocolates, snacks, waters, etc. available in the room. The smoked almonds were especially good.

What didn't work well: We knew this stay was a splurge. Out of the four hotels on our 3 country trip, this was the most expensive, but the value for the money was not worthwhile. We didn't have AC for 24 hours. They didn't tell us that it was broken, so we kept thinking that we weren't using the thermostat correctly. Finally, we called for help and they offered to send up some fans. It was very uncomfortable and annoying that they didn't proactively reach out to us. There is no manual privacy lock on the doors. This ended up being a big issue when the above mentioned fans were delivered. I was on the deck when I heard the for open and there was a man in the room when I turned around. It was extremely unsettling. They said that they knocked, but I didn't hear anything. We felt unsafe for the remainder of the stay realizing there was no way to prevent workers from entering the room. Cleaners entered immediately after a quick tap tap on the door as well. Awful. There's no full length mirror anywhere in the room. Not a deal breaker by any means, just strange for a hotel and a bit annoying. The food situation is absolutely ridiculous. They have a daily buffet breakfast for 31euro. It's a sad assortment of pastries, breads, and made to order eggs. Don't do it. There are plenty of local options that are a much better deal. I don't think they have a kitchen at all. It legit might just be a couple of burners. We ate there twice. The first time, they screwed up my order completely. They comped it and redid it. They were very kind, but it was still missing an ingredient. However, we were in a hurry, so we ate and left. The second time, we were ignored for a solid 20 minutes. Eventually, the hostess apologized and took our order. But after another 20 minutes or omelets still hadn't arrived so we had to leave. They said it was comped, but we had tickets and didn't budget over an hour for eggs and coffee. They kept apologizing to everyone around us for being so late. The restaurant is tiny. I'm not sure what happened. There are stairs between reception and the elevators. You will be dragging your bags up and down stairs. The soaps and lotions smell awful. If you're on the fence, pack your own. The bar prices are nuts. Even for non-alcoholic. Just be prepared. I think it was around 8 or 9 euro for a Coke. It's a great view, but give me a break. The rooms are stylish and well decorated, but they are small and dark. I like mood lighting, but let me turn lights up when I want to. The woman worth the long dark straight hair at the front desk was so rude. She was condescending and dismissive. She doesn't belong in customer service industry. There was a ton of loud construction outside of the windows every day starting early in the morning. Think clanging metal for hours. There was no warning about that either.

All in, I wish we would have stayed somewhere different. It might be the right fit for some, it definitely wasn't right for us. My biggest warnung: you won't feel safe here with the current lock situation. And prepared to be annoyed by the food, construction, prices, AC, and some staff. I wish I had this info...

We absolutely loved our stay at Hotel Dame des Arts in Paris. Our group consisted of 3 adults and 2 children (ages 3 and 1). We stayed for 6 nights in two rooms that were adjoining. We spent a lot of time searching for the right hotel in Paris and when we found Hotel Dame Des Arts it was an easy decision considering the location, quality and price.

Some additional details for those who are interested:

Kids. We did not know what to expect from this vacation given that we were traveling with two young children. This hotel really made the difference. The hotel staff was exceptional. The staff was friendly and playful with our kids to give us some space to enjoy breakfast or a cup of coffee (shout out to Eva, Frederico and Roxolana and many others who really made our stay so special). Our son spent a lot of time driving his trucks around the lobby and talking to the people at the front desk or the restaurant. The staff at the restaurant was so kind and helpful in finding food for our children. We had a crib brought to our room and our 1 year old daughter slept soundly during our vacation. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for going the extra mile to make our stay a truly memorable experience.

Airport. It is very convenient to take the RER to/from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the Hotel. There is an elevator on the corner of Quai Saint-Michel and Rue Xavier Privas (GPS Location 48.853247, 2.345851) that goes directly down to the platform (no stairs or escalators). You will have to navigate additional elevators, escalators and trams at the airport (the signage isn't great), but not in Paris. We took the RER from Paris to CDG with 3 suitcases, 2 children and 1 stroller and it was pretty smooth (and very cost effective).

Lobby. The lobby is one of the highlights of the hotel. There is plenty of comfortable sitting space and often people eating or having coffee. Given we were traveling with 2 kids, we spent a lot of time in the lobby in the mornings or transitioning between activities.

Rooms. The rooms are well-appointed and decorated and the beds are very comfortable. Each room has a mini-fridge, Nespresso machine and electric water boiler. The rooms are a bit on the smaller side, but it's justified by the location and value. The room safes are small and cannot fit laptops or large tablets.

Restaurant. The food, coffee and wine were all excellent and well worth the price. The breakfast buffet really stood out with fresh bread, pastries, juice, cheese, fish and meats. We often stopped by the restaurant for a midday coffee. The wine selection is excellent and the sommelier made excellent and spot on recommendations.

Amenities. The Hotel has a rooftop bar, but it was cold/rainy in early April so we did not get a chance to enjoy dinner/drinks on the roof. The rooftop does have a fantastic view of the Eiffel Tower and we did go up to see the Eiffel Tower light up (every night on the hour). The Hotel has a beautiful fitness room and sauna. The sauna is by reservation. I'm including pictures of the fitness room in my review because it's beautiful and I didn't see pictures elsewhere.

Walkability. Very walkable neighborhood and we honestly walked everywhere. On our first day we took a cab to the Trocadero by the Eiffel Tower, but we then walked from the Eiffel Tower to the Arc de Triomphe, down Av. Des Champs-Elysees, through the Jardin des Tuileries, past the Musee du Louvre and back to the Hotel). If you plan out the walk, it's about 15 minutes to walk to Musee du Louvre.

Safety. We never had any safety concerns.

Nearby Activities. Being in the heart of the Latin quarter, there was no shortage of activities or food within...

A very good hotel that deserves five stars but fair warning that there were some blemishes that prevent it from perfection — you can read all of the reviews like we did and feel like this is the perfect hotel, it isn't, and we've stayed in better, but don't let a few oddities hold you back from booking at what is a very good hotel.

In the rooms, there are no hooks 😂 so we weren’t sure where to hang things that didn’t fit in the very tiny closet. The same is true for the bathroom and we had to get creative with where to hang wet towels. There were smart spaces to add hooks on walls so I guess it’s just part of the aesthetic that they didn’t. It was a weird but minor hurdle.

To American readers, the rooms are VERY small. We upgraded to an Eiffel view with balcony and wow what a view (!) but the room was so small that the luggage had to go under the bed. Most Europeans will be accustomed to the room sizes but we were tripping over things all week. Hooks would’ve helped 😉 we stayed in two other hotels on this trip and Hotel Dame des Artes was by far the smallest, even with the upgraded room. Be warned. The room did get stuffy as a result, which pushed us to turn on air conditioning at night, which actually worked, so kudos for properly functioning AC.

Room service came into our room three times without knocking. We know because we were in the room with the “do not disturb” sign hanging. This is a foul and we let the hotel team know at checkout. We travel a lot and this was a first for us, and three times raised an eyebrow.

Something was going on with sewage drainage in the pipes or other rooms — must’ve been maintenance or something — but three out of our five days our room smelled like sewage. A hotel staff member helped clear the air in our room but it wasn’t long before the room smelled again. By our last day, the odors were gone thankfully, and while unpleasant, we hit the streets to explore the city.

There was a full evacuation alarm the night before we checked-out. These things happen but again it’s a first for either of us; thankfully hotel guests only had to stand outside in the street in their pajamas for about fifteen minutes before all clear was given.

The sauna, restaurant and rooftop are open to the public. You’ll be advised on check-in to make reservations because spots fill-up. You’ll be competing with the general public and not just other hotel guests. Other hotels take reservations from outside guests as well but I mention it because you’ll notice other people mingling in common areas and, for us, it made the experience slightly less quaint and exclusive.

We didn’t eat the Mexican food at the hotel restaurant. Some reviewers gave blanket five stars but one person from the US didn’t for exactly the reason we expected: We have exceptional Mexican food in the States and Europeans simply don’t have a good eye for recreating it, and she wasn’t happy after eating it. I only had the brunch, which was good but not great (the pastries are sourced from Liberté and you can walk two minutes down the street for fresher pastries and an adorable experience for 2x less at an actual Liberté cafe). Try the Mexican food and see what you think; we could easily be wrong on this point and this is more a heads-up for American readers who are spoiled for Mexican food like Parisians are spoiled for croissants.

If you’re still reading, don’t let these blemishes hold you back from booking. Upgrade to a room with a view, pack minimally, and you’ll have an exceptional experience in one of the best locations in the city. This hotel shines on its aesthetic....