Elysa-Luxembourg - Paris, France 

Average hotel, but good location.
Posted: Thu, Jul 24 2008
We stayed here for three days in July 2008. The hotel was okay, nothing special and a bit worn down, but it had a Parisian charm to it. I felt it was a tiny bit expensive considering what you were getting, but then again I guess one has to remember it's Paris. The room was bright and clean, but the furniture was very basic and the wall behind my night table had a rather large hole in it. Our room had beautiful French windows that opened into a quiet street(I imagine it would have been a lot noisier to have a room facing the St Michel Boulevard). I can't really complain about the service, seeing our requests were met, but there was something to be desired when it came to attitude. Sometimes we felt like we were just a bother to them. The location of this hotel is great though. Right at the doorstep of the beautiful Luxenbourg Park and just a couple hundred metres from the Pantheon. There was also a metro stop just outside the hotel and busses frequented the street often. You can walk to many of the biggests sights though. All in all, an okay hotel, but nothing more.

Met our needs perfectly. A real find.
Posted: Fri, Jun 13 2008
The hotel Elysa Luxembourg surpassed our expectations. Since we also stayed in a hotel in Paris that cost about 80 Euros more a night on the same trip, we feel we have a good context for reviewing it. ROOM: Our standard room was bigger than the more expensive hotel's standard room. Although the Elysa Luxembourg was somewhat less elegant (no faux antiques), the room was more functional. Both hotels had mini bar, hair dryer, TV, and individually-controlled heating and cooling. There was some slight street noise since we faced rue Gay Lussac, but it was not really a problem. Bathroom at more expensive hotel was larger, with a full window, but Elysa Luxembourg's bathroom was new and more than adequate. The superior room at Elysa Luxembourg was very large, with a corner exposure and a window in the bathroom. COMMUNICATION: Elysa Luxembourg charged for wireless by the hour, but did not charge for "800" calls. More expensive hotel was just the reverse. Instead of paying Elysa Luxembourg, we went to internet cafe a block away at the corner of rue Goff and rue Soufflot. It cost 7 Euros for a card for two hrs. and would have been cheaper per hr. if we had bought more hrs. However, this meant we had to deal with the frustrations of using the French keyboard. BREAKFAST: Both hotels charged 12 Euros for a large breakfast. Although the idea of paying around $18 for breakfast initially floored us, we decided to go ahead and pay and eat a lot! both hotels had juice, hot beverages, yogurt, cereals, cheese, fresh fruit, and lots of kinds of breads, croissants, etc. The Elysa Luxembourg also had eggs and meats. If you were content to have a coffee and croissant, you could get by for much less. at a cafe. We ate big breakfasts and had small lunches. The best deal for lunch was to buy a sandwich at a bakery -- about 4 Euros max -- and have it cut in half to serve two. Uniformly delicious fillings and fresh bread. FRONT DESK: The staff both hotels were friendly and helpful. The day clerk at the Elysa Luxembourg realized that we were unable to make dinner reservations at a restaurant that was not open so early in the morning, so he spontaneously offered to call them during the day while we were out sightseeing. The night person offered to make an international call from the front desk since we were having trouble with the menu choices on our pre-paid card. Since the call was to an 800 number, there was no charge from the hotel. MEALS: We had a really special dinner at les Papilles on rue Gay Lussac -- www.lespapillesparis.fr. The unusual menu was delicious and the servings plentiful for 31 Euros, tip and tax included but without wine.The Friday night we went they were turning away people, so a reservation is a good idea. Another night when we wanted to eat cheaper and lighter, we had a fine Thai meal at Royal Thailand, 4 rue des Fossees Saint Jacques, a few minute walk from the hotel. LOCATION: Being so close to Luxembourg metro stop was really convenient since the line (RER B) is direct to/from Charles de Gaulle airport. However, the station at Luxembourg has escalators only part of the way, and you still have to lug suitcases up or down a flight or two of stairs. A real pain. There are 2 bus lines (21 and 27) in front of the hotel and one at the side (85). We took the bus to the Gare Saint Lazare to get the train to Giverny rather than deal with multiple metro changes. Since the bus lanes really do work in Paris, the trip across the city took much less time than we had anticipated. MISC: We needed an emergency eyeglass repair, and the optometrist at the eyeglass store directly across rue Gay Lussac did the repair for no cost. He was extremely generous with his time and really knew what he was doing. For souvenirs, there is a Monoprix on Blvd. St. Michel a few minutes walk, right near Gibert Joseph books. Bought little gourmet mustards with different herbs and chocolate and jars of spices for much less than they cost in the high-end stores. Probably not quite as good, but no one will ever know!

OK, a little quirky, but great location
Posted: Thu, Mar 13 2008
We were staying in Paris for a joint birthday/work meeting (which made a change!) I needed to get out to Palaiseau on the RER-B regularly, and my wife wanted to be fairly central (within Zones 1/2 so she could get a sensible day-pass on the Metro/RER). The Luxembourg area is very convenient and meets both sets of requirements. There are lots of hotels in this area. Colleagues had stayed at the Elysa before so we decided to give it a try. Pros: + Great location, 3 minutes walk from Luxembourg RER station. Walking distance to Notre Dame (10 minutes). Good restaurants in the area though most are extremely touristy. + Comfortable bed; shower had good water pressure. + Helpful, friendly, sometimes very funny staff members at the front desk. + Decent room rates for this part of Paris. Cons: - When we checked in our room smelled as if someone had dropped a bottle of perfume, or spilled air freshener. It turned out that the cleaning staff had over-sprayed carpet freshener. The room simply reeked. No problem though: the front desk staff simply moved us, and the manager herself checked out the room and expressed her disappointment and apologies. - Breakfast was pretty expensive (12 Euros) for the usual stuff. It was all fine but after the first day I passed and grabbed a croissant and coffee at a cafe. - People in rooms on lower floors might be disturbed by the noise from the street. We were on the fourth floor and it was fine. - The room were were in was starting to look faded and could use an upgrade. I understand that some rooms have been upgraded, but ours hadn't been, yet. Everything seemed clean but it needed work. Overall, our stay was fine, and the location was great. We'd probably stay again if we got a decent room rate.

Disappointed
Posted: Thu, Nov 22 2007
We had planned a trip to Paris for an older relative to celebrate a birthday. Having found before (in any hotel) that booking a single room usually means that you will be given an inferior one, on this occasion we booked 2 x superior rooms (one for single occupation) at the same price. We were disappointed, therefore, to be given two very different rooms - basically, our double room was much superior to our relative's double (for single occupation) even though we had booked two of what we fully expected to be the same. Ours was obviously newly toshed-out and the other was a bit scruffy, with a cracked bath. Not wanting to make a fuss on a special occasion (and after an unexpectedly troublesome journey due to French railway strikes) we decided the best thing to do would be just to swap rooms with our older relative - apart from anything else, the small bath with hand-held shower in the room she had been allocated was simply not practical for her. The other room, on the floor above, had a walk-in shower, a separate WC, and vastly superior fittings and furniture. Another problem with the hotel was that one of the reception staff was notably difficult to deal with - this person was, unfortunately, on duty on two of the three days we were there On our second morning, he asked us about how many breakfasts we had consumed and to which rooms they should be charged - we told him that we had swapped rooms but it shouldn't make any difference as we'd still eaten the same number of breakfasts and were paying our bill all together anyway. He got into a bit of a flap about this and said he couldn't understand my French - to be honest, his English was no better (and that's being kind!) He was very ungracious and grumpy. Earlier on, while I was looking up some information in the hotel lobby, I overheard a very nice couple came up to thank him for a pleasant stay. His reply was, "You have to leave by 12. Do you want your bill now?" Even allowing for language differences, it was not the nicest of "au revoirs." The other staff on reception were, thank goodness, helpful, courteous and pleasant. The difficult member of staff also got into a tizzy when I asked him for another blanket for our relative's bed - the rooms were cold (the heating not working properly) and, in late October, you would expect some more coverings on your bed. He fussed about which room number this was needed for and kept me hanging about for quite some time while he flounced off and found a duvet. Really, I would have expected it to have been delivered to the room with no questions asked. Also, the breakfasts were expensive (at 12euros each) and nothing special. On the first morning, I tried to adjust the temperature on the egg-boiling machine and was set upon by a member of the kitchen staff, clucking and flapping and telling me not to touch it. The time he adivsed for egg simmering was woefully inadequate and I really think at £8 - £9 a head, you should expect to get your egg boiled for you. I feel annoyed and let down and would certainly not recommend this hotel to anyone.

A very nice hotel in Paris
Posted: Wed, Oct 24 2007
I spent two nights this September in the Hotel Elysa Luxembourg. The hotel is at a very convenient location, extremely easy to reach from the airport (CDG). You can also just walk to many interesting sights from the hotel, or take the RER which has a station just outside the hotel. I had booked a deluxe double and was given a triple room on the fifth floor. The room was obviously renovated recently, in excellent shape and very clean. The hotel staff was very helpful and kind. The only small complaint I had is about the breakfast which was served in a small room and I also think it was rather overpriced at 12€ for what was offered at the buffet. But on the other hand almost everything seemed overpriced in Paris. There are also many restaurants, brasseries, fast food etc. nearby the hotel. I believe the hotel is a very good choice for a visit to Paris. Recommended.