Maison Barbès — Hotel in Paris

TLDR: Nice hotel with good transport links and shopping; perfect for shorter stays. The people are nice and the breakfast is adequate in variety and quality. The rooms are nice, clean and functional; as written, there is no minibar or kettle etc. (small minuses). The soundproofing is only slightly muffled (you can hear others talking, walking etc.) which can be a problem (in my case it was quiet enough at night). Overall 4.2/5.0||The location is very good, especially if you arrive by plane at CDG airport in Paris. The train from the airport drops you off at Gare du Nord, from where you can walk to the hotel in 7 minutes. There are two other metro stations close to the hotel and several bike stations available for hire. The hotel is just a few steps away from Montmartre and about 30 minutes walk from the Opera and 45 minutes from the Louvre. The neighbourhood may look a little more “run down” but it's not bad. I felt safe there throughout my trip. Some “unofficial” street vendors sell cigarettes at the exit of the metro, but everything was fine until 9pm. After that, I can not attest to the situation. Near the hotel there are some smaller shops, two Aldi`s, a pharmacy, a hospital near the Gare du Nord, cafés and bistros, McDonalds, Burger King, etc. So you can buy everything you might need. Usually some police patrols there. |The hotel looks beautiful from the outside, with a royal blue and gold theme and an automatic door. The elegant and regal dark blue and emerald green theme runs through the reception hall. I think this was perfect as I prefer a darker theme. Someone who likes pink will not like the theme. However, it was not too dark for me (it was sufficiently lit). The reception room is small, but adequate for the space available (guest number). The chairs and tables are nice and there is also a sofa. There is also WiFi access. There is also a bar in the lobby. I do not know if snacks are served there, but as it is a 4 star hotel and there is no restaurant, there must be a small snack served. I did not use the bar, so I can only guess. The staff are nice and friendly. They speak at least English and French. There is also a lift. If you want, you can use the online check-in and check-out. I prefer the old method of going to reception. There is a fitness room and sauna, but I did not use them. So I can not say anything about it. A small minus point is the deposit of 100€ for any damages. You can pay with cash or credit card (I used cash). I know this is common in other countries, but my personal opinion is against it. If I book online with a credit card, be it direct, via Booking etc, you have my details for any damages. In my own country, at least in the three hotels I stay in, they do not take a deposit as they have my details. It's not their fault, but that's a general attitude to the whole process. Overall 4.9/5.0. |Room: My room was the superior room, with 14 m2. The room is perhaps a little smaller than you would expect for a 4 star hotel, but in France rooms are generally smaller. It was advertised so I knew what to expect. However, I must emphasise that the room was very nicely designed. This means that it felt spacious and had all the features I needed. The same goes for the bathroom, where I could sit comfortably on the toilet (in some French chains you get squeezed in). The colour theme here was lighter and the room was bright. It faced the inner courtyard. The window can be opened. You also have a smaller table that fits a regular laptop, a chair, some hangers and a smart TV. The air conditioning looked new and worked well (the room cooled quickly on the highest setting when needed). The bed was large and comfortable. One small minus is that there is no skylight. If you did not cover the window and it was daytime outside, the lighting was as it should be. There are some wall sconces, but for the few minutes I would have liked a skylight, this complaint is more of a minor luxury inconvenience then a real issue. Everything in the room was as described (with the exception of the one item below). Some minor improvements could be made, especially since this is a 4 star hotel. A safe could be added and maybe some extra shelves in the room. This would be nice as there is no wardrobe. It was advertised as such and due to the even smaller room size there is no space for it. A kettle with instant coffee and a mini bar to keep your own things cool would be nice. There was an extra bottle of water which was topped up once. This items are not listed on the booking page, which is fine, but for a 4 star hotel you would still expect them. So I knew what the room would include. They were not that important to me, but they might be to others. The main issue for me was the soundproofing. Or the lack of the advertised soundproofing. I would call it sound reducing and suggest removing soundproofing from the booking description and adding sound reducing (even in the Other section if Booking does not allow other custom text). As I looked for hotels that advertised this, I was even more dissatisfied. I could hear people in the corridor in the evenings and mornings (I was not there during the day so I do not know). The main problem was one above me or the people who probably live in the building the hotel is connected to (I could not find the source). I heard some kids playing, people talking and shouting, every step and sit down on furniture. The hotel was probably not fully booked so the problem was not as pronounced. Also, in my case, it was quiet after 10-10:30pm until about 7-8am. So I was lucky enough to get a good amount of sleep. However, at full occupancy and if the other residents in the neighbourhood do not go to bed at 10pm (or you have to go to bed early/want to sleep late), this can become a problem. All in all, I would give the room 3.6/5 and I would classify the hotel as 3-star superior rather than 4-star (especially as some rooms are 12m2, which I think is too small for a 4-star classification). However, as the lack of some amnesties and even the lack of the advertised soundproofing did not bother me too much (I was lucky), I give the room 4.2/5.0.||The breakfast was continental and sufficiently varied. There were several tasty dishes. It is served in the reception area. For me it was more than enough of everything. The baked goods were probably freshly baked because they were delicious. And I think some were local products. If you wanted something special (like soup) and show cooking or other additional items, then you might be a little disappointed. But in their capacity they delivered what you need for a breakfast. Overall: 4.8/5.0||Experience: Overall the whole stay was a nice experience. Since the room is smaller and lacks some furniture and amenities, I would recommend the hotel for shorter stays. The room was adequate for one person; a couple might run into problems if one of them is travelling heavy (e.g. a lot of cosmetics). I do not know if there are larger rooms, but I would not doubt that a family could stay here comfortably (maybe with a really...

TLDR: Nice hotel with good transport links and shopping; perfect for shorter stays. The people are nice and the breakfast is adequate in variety and quality. The rooms are nice, clean and functional; as written, there is no minibar or kettle etc. (small minuses). The soundproofing is only slightly muffled (you can hear others talking, walking etc.) which can be a problem (in my case it was quiet enough at night). Overall 4.2/5.0||The location is very good, especially if you arrive by plane at CDG airport in Paris. The train from the airport drops you off at Gare du Nord, from where you can walk to the hotel in 7 minutes. There are two other metro stations close to the hotel and several bike stations available for hire. The hotel is just a few steps away from Montmartre and about 30 minutes walk from the Opera and 45 minutes from the Louvre. The neighbourhood may look a little more “run down” but it's not bad. I felt safe there throughout my trip. Some “unofficial” street vendors sell cigarettes at the exit of the metro, but everything was fine until 9pm. After that, I can not attest to the situation. Near the hotel there are some smaller shops, two Aldi`s, a pharmacy, a hospital near the Gare du Nord, cafés and bistros, McDonalds, Burger King, etc. So you can buy everything you might need. Usually some police patrols there. |The hotel looks beautiful from the outside, with a royal blue and gold theme and an automatic door. The elegant and regal dark blue and emerald green theme runs through the reception hall. I think this was perfect as I prefer a darker theme. Someone who likes pink will not like the theme. However, it was not too dark for me (it was sufficiently lit). The reception room is small, but adequate for the space available (guest number). The chairs and tables are nice and there is also a sofa. There is also WiFi access. There is also a bar in the lobby. I do not know if snacks are served there, but as it is a 4 star hotel and there is no restaurant, there must be a small snack served. I did not use the bar, so I can only guess. The staff are nice and friendly. They speak at least English and French. There is also a lift. If you want, you can use the online check-in and check-out. I prefer the old method of going to reception. There is a fitness room and sauna, but I did not use them. So I can not say anything about it. A small minus point is the deposit of 100€ for any damages. You can pay with cash or credit card (I used cash). I know this is common in other countries, but my personal opinion is against it. If I book online with a credit card, be it direct, via Booking etc, you have my details for any damages. In my own country, at least in the three hotels I stay in, they do not take a deposit as they have my details. It's not their fault, but that's a general attitude to the whole process. Overall 4.9/5.0. |Room: My room was the superior room, with 14 m2. The room is perhaps a little smaller than you would expect for a 4 star hotel, but in France rooms are generally smaller. It was advertised so I knew what to expect. However, I must emphasise that the room was very nicely designed. This means that it felt spacious and had all the features I needed. The same goes for the bathroom, where I could sit comfortably on the toilet (in some French chains you get squeezed in). The colour theme here was lighter and the room was bright. It faced the inner courtyard. The window can be opened. You also have a smaller table that fits a regular laptop, a chair, some hangers and a smart TV. The air conditioning looked new and worked well (the room cooled quickly on the highest setting when needed). The bed was large and comfortable. One small minus is that there is no skylight. If you did not cover the window and it was daytime outside, the lighting was as it should be. There are some wall sconces, but for the few minutes I would have liked a skylight, this complaint is more of a minor luxury inconvenience then a real issue. Everything in the room was as described (with the exception of the one item below). Some minor improvements could be made, especially since this is a 4 star hotel. A safe could be added and maybe some extra shelves in the room. This would be nice as there is no wardrobe. It was advertised as such and due to the even smaller room size there is no space for it. A kettle with instant coffee and a mini bar to keep your own things cool would be nice. There was an extra bottle of water which was topped up once. This items are not listed on the booking page, which is fine, but for a 4 star hotel you would still expect them. So I knew what the room would include. They were not that important to me, but they might be to others. The main issue for me was the soundproofing. Or the lack of the advertised soundproofing. I would call it sound reducing and suggest removing soundproofing from the booking description and adding sound reducing (even in the Other section if Booking does not allow other custom text). As I looked for hotels that advertised this, I was even more dissatisfied. I could hear people in the corridor in the evenings and mornings (I was not there during the day so I do not know). The main problem was one above me or the people who probably live in the building the hotel is connected to (I could not find the source). I heard some kids playing, people talking and shouting, every step and sit down on furniture. The hotel was probably not fully booked so the problem was not as pronounced. Also, in my case, it was quiet after 10-10:30pm until about 7-8am. So I was lucky enough to get a good amount of sleep. However, at full occupancy and if the other residents in the neighbourhood do not go to bed at 10pm (or you have to go to bed early/want to sleep late), this can become a problem. All in all, I would give the room 3.6/5 and I would classify the hotel as 3-star superior rather than 4-star (especially as some rooms are 12m2, which I think is too small for a 4-star classification). However, as the lack of some amnesties and even the lack of the advertised soundproofing did not bother me too much (I was lucky), I give the room 4.2/5.0.||The breakfast was continental and sufficiently varied. There were several tasty dishes. It is served in the reception area. For me it was more than enough of everything. The baked goods were probably freshly baked because they were delicious. And I think some were local products. If you wanted something special (like soup) and show cooking or other additional items, then you might be a little disappointed. But in their capacity they delivered what you need for a breakfast. Overall: 4.8/5.0||Experience: Overall the whole stay was a nice experience. Since the room is smaller and lacks some furniture and amenities, I would recommend the hotel for shorter stays. The room was adequate for one person; a couple might run into problems if one of them is travelling heavy (e.g. a lot of cosmetics). I do not know if there are larger rooms, but I would not doubt that a family could stay here comfortably (maybe with a really...

We stayed as a couple on May 12th.

The hotel lobby and reception are decorated well with sumptuous velvet like material on the chairs and well curated books and nicknacks upon the shelves. The staff were all very friendly and welcoming and all spoke very good English which helped as my French is certainly not fluent. The self serve breakfast in the lobby was small but tasty, fresh pastries, a lovely little creamy yogurt with a strawberry conserve and some tasty soft cheeses and some other items available, more than enough to get the day started. Coffee was provided by the bar. Rooms were of a petit but suitable size as a base to sleep, not huge but what you would expect from a boutique hotel and equally well furnished. As others have mentioned our view was out onto the building opposite not particularly pretty but completely out of the hotels control.

Now for the area, it is very close to Barbès - Rochechouart which is a blessing for travel but also a curse as it is certainly an experience especially around the station, there is a constant presence of people mostly male on street corners, one can only guess at their occupation but at a guess I would say it wasn't legal. Just keep your wits about you when making your way through this melee, bags on the front and valuables preferably in inside coat pockets would be the way to go. We were never hassled as two men but I could imagine it would be uncomfortable for women. I wouldn't walk around near the station at night but that's just my personal preference. The interesting thing is a few minutes walk the other side of the tracks to the south is actually great, there are sheltered parades of antique shops, old book shops and modernist paintings and prints for sale, it has a totally different feel.

My thinking is somebody has to be at the vanguard of an areas improvement and Maison Barbès is leading the way. The hotel felt secure for our stay and there was always somebody on the desk, we were able to leave our bags there for the day as our Eurostar was later in the evening. The hotel is very near Gard du Nord, walking distance in fact.

I deducted a star for the location as for the aforementioned issues out of the hotels control however it is still very well placed to get into Paris centre and for other...