Hotel De La Fleche D'or - Paris, France     

Good bits: The room was very clean. The air conditioning was really good. Quiet but very effective. Our room was very quiet, it faced into the inner courtyard and not onto the busy road. Very handy for shopping, just around the corner from Galaries Lafayette. Very handy for the tube, being between Saint Lazare and Liege. We found a fully functioning umbrella under the bed, left by a previous occupant. That'll do for my mother's Christmas present. The bathroom was a decent size with bath and an over-bath shower. Average bits: Shower was a bit weedy. The room was tiny, barely room for the bed and the double doors opening into the courtyard couldn't be opened properly because the bed was in the way. The location was good for shops but it always seemed to involve at least two metro trains to get to any of the tourist sights. At least the Paris metro is very good so this was just a slight irritation. Bad bits: TV remote didn't work. The light in the corridor outside the room wasn't working so it was a bit difficult to see enough to put the key in the door. The beds were too small, I'm 6' 1" and my feet were off the end. Large stain splashed up the wall that I initially thought was the result of a massacre but on reflection was probably red wine. The hotel is directly over a metro line. You can hear the sound of the underground train and it feels like distant thunder. Even on the third floor where we were. Like all Paris hotels, tea and coffee making facilities are not provided so take your own. There isn't a secure baggage room. We had to leave our bags by the reception desk while waiting for our room to be ready. There was no receipt system so anybody could take anybody elses bags. Other info: We didn't try the breakfast which is 10 euros per person (Sept 2007). Just down the road a few doors away from the hotel is a lovely coffee shop called midore. Four pastries and two coffees came to just over 9 euros. The pastries were fantastic, on a par with the best I've ever had in France. This wasn't open on Sunday though.

Hotel is centrally situated close to the shopping area in Madeleine, which is home to Galerie Lafayette (department store); additionally the train station is on your doorstep (Gare Saint Lazare) for links to the Parisian public transport system. Reception is small but efficient. I took the tiny lift to my room, which even by Parisian standards, was exceptionally small and would have been cramped had it of been a double occupancy (was a double room). Furniture is dated from the 1980’s with matching floral curtains, bed spreads, upholstery etc. with the in-built wardrobe small and clearly having had a busy life (see candid pictures, by others). Not withstanding this, it was clean; albeit a little ‘lived in’. Room had: TV, safe, mini-bar, phone and individually controlled a/c (at least mine had the latter, but others apparently don’t if you read other reviews). The bathroom was equally as compact with the ‘sliding’ shower cubicle door more bouncing along due to it’s age and use. Taps had their stainless steel finish worn through to expose the brass beneath on the regular contact points. Basic toiletries and clean towels (but again well worn, so they had no napp). Despite the above sounding a little negative, everything actually worked more than adequately and it was clean. Breakfast was served in the well appointed vaulted basement and offered a reasonable variety of both hot and cold buffet food; with the usual: pastries, cereals, cooked meats, yogurts and cereals. In summary, a small basic hotel, that was ideally located and did the job; but for 100 euros per night (breakfast extra) it was just about ‘value for money’ (by Paris standards).