Hotel Des Grandes Ecoles — Hotel in Paris

This beautiful hotel has become my home away from home in Paris. It is ideally located in a quiet street in the heart of the Latin Quarter. It is only steps away from the lively Place de la Contrescarpe, which features a phenomenal amount of cafés and restaurants that will suit just about every taste, and which leads to the ancient Rue Mouffetard, a quiet, mostly pedestrian cobblestone street that winds its way downhill to the church of St. Médard , and is also lined with cafés and small shops, and various food purveyors. While very “touristy”, it’s still one of my favorite streets in Paris (and there are so many!)

I first stayed in this hotel back in the late 1990s and, after a gap of 20 years, I went back there again last June. In the meantime, it has been acquired by a hotel consortium, having formerly been owned and operated by a very friendly mother-daughter team.

Even after 20 years, and with the change in management, the experience of the hotel is, if anything, even better. One of the things that I love about it is the fact that there is no television in the room. When I am there, I feel like I am on vacation from current events, which la can be overwhelming. They do have free internet access and electric converters are usually available at the front desk.

The property is very secure. There are two giant green double doors that face onto the Rue du Cardinal Lemoine, and each guest is given a small electronic device with their key that activates the unlock mechanism. When you have entered the double doors, you will go slightly uphill on a cobblestone path that leads into a beautiful little garden, with tables and chairs and benches. With a full complement of luggage, and very jetlagged, it may seem daunting at first. But patience: you’re almost home.

The hotel added air conditioning just two years ago, which was very welcome during my stay when the temperatures reached 97°F (36°C). Air-conditioning is still fairly rare in Paris, in my experience. Definitely a plus if you will be traveling during the summer months.

Every room in which I have stayed had floor to ceiling French doors, which open up for a nice breeze when the weather permits. The rooms are decorated in a floral motif, French provincial, I guess. The rooms are spacious and very clean and the bathrooms are modern and the mattress was very comfortable.

The staff is multilingual and very helpful. I can honestly say that I have never stayed in another hotel in which I have felt more welcome.

Hotel des Grandes Écoles is very close to two metro lines: line 10, which runs east to west, and the metro station is downhill from the hotel, and line 7 on Rue Monge, which runs north to south..

I have already booked my room for my stay in November. I wanted to be in Paris for my birthday, and you only live once.

In short, I recommend this hotel, very highly, and suggest that you make your reservations as far in advance as possible, as this is a very poorly kept secret it seems. And I’m very glad for them that it has...

An oasis and a haven of peace in this old modernized Hemingway hang out.|For those still enticed by the packaged "romance" of Paris, a lovely quiet and calm refuge.As a previous resident of the rue Cardinal Lemoine and Place de la Contrescarpe where I spent my youth and adolescence, it certainly rings bells. However I have to admit that as soon as you open the venerable Gate to affront the outside world, you are hit by the noise and furore of what is fast becoming a third world urban jungle. Paris is decaying at a frightful pace and is in utter chaos, submerged by the invasive hordes of global tourists and the totally insane local governance. Do not even attempt to navigate the so-called "transports en commun"|unless you have nerves of steel, a stoic forbearance for mad crowds and a good life insurance. I make an exception if you are an early bird and decide to stroll aimlessly, as one should,in quasi deserted early morning streets. The window of opportunity is between 6am and 10am, after the omnipresent garbage has been collected and the madding crowds return for an other stultifying encore. Then beat a hasty retreat to the sheltered hide away, sit in the paradisical garden( stemming from the old Persian, (a walled garden) with a good book, my suggestion, For Whom theBells Toll, or, The Asphalt Jungle or, a novel by Balzac, Victor Hugo or the enthralling French poets through the ages from Francois Villon to Aragon... whatever suits your mood in harmonious resonance with a bottle of wine or champers, to mollify and jollify the spirits. Sheer Bliss! |Now, unless you think I am an irascible elderly grouch, let me reassure and encourage the true travellers, 'le voyageur solitaire est un diable", there are still a few hidden gems in this senescent Megapolis, but they are not mentioned in any guide or website and it behooves you to discover them by yourself with all the risks of failure that entails. Otherwise, where would be the adventure?||And if you find her poor, Paris won’t have fooled you.|Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,|you’ll have understood by then what this Paris means. |With apologies to...

One of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever encountered and one of the most disappointing. I called many many hours before arriving at the hotel to try and gain some information from the receptionist, because of an extremely delayed flight due to a fire at the airport. Everything was out of our control and I understand this is not the hotels problem but. The gentleman I spoke with showed 0 care or compassion for our situation. He kept interrupting me while I was trying to explain our situation and told me I was “wasting his time” and that he has “wasted 10 minutes talking to me” and was “extremely busy”. I don’t understand how he was extremely busy because every time I went to reception once finally getting to the hotel, no one was there. Appalling. Bed linen was stained (photos were taken) with what looked like makeup. Rooms are tiiiiiny for what you pay, you can barely swing a cat in them. The offering of instant coffee with a paper cup wrapped in plastic is as equally disappointing and depressing.

In a world of AirBnB’s it is hard to compete with the old school hotel BUT the staff here are arrogant, unkind and straight up rude and of no help.

Location is great if you’re a stereotypical tourist who wants to go to the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe etc etc but that’s about it.

No one was at reception for checkout despite me ringing the service bell multiple times and standing there for about 15 minutes, where I was planning on divulging my bad experience but I guess I have to put it on Google for public consumption for them to do anything.

I would love for someone (besides the gentleman I spoke with hahah) from Hotel Des Grandes Ecoles to reply so I can resolve and explain my situation and the unpleasant...