Residhotel Imperial Rennequin - Paris, France     

My wife and I had the pleasure of staying at this lovely little hotel for a couple of weeks during the Autumn of 2006. The hotel is brilliantly situated about 5 - 10 minutes walk north of the Arc de Triomphe and surrounded by just about every amenity that one could want. The hotel consists of self-contained apartments which are well appointed and new. The rooms have a queen bed, kitchenette, cable tv, desk and a balcony/back deck. The bathrooms are new with shower/bath, toilet, vanity and heated towel rack. There are excellent patisseries, charcuteries and supermarkets within the block as well as a large variety restaurants - which makes living there quite easy. The concierge staff were absolutely brilliant - anything from accommodating our 8am arrival, to providing directions and even referrals to their local doctor (and coping with our very clumsy French) were no trouble at all. Despite most guidebooks writing off the 17th E as being dull and uncentral, we found it to be quite a lot of fun and the proximity to the Charles de Gaulle Metro/RER station made it easy to get around Paris and back. Tips for staying there: - The coffee in the local bistros is pretty poor - coffee pods and UHT milk - but there is a cafe on the Ternes round-about that does a proper coffee that might even stack up in Sydney. - The patisserie on Rue Rennequin is easily the best in the area. The almond croissants in particular are fantastic. - Don't miss the local markets (at the end of Rue Poncelet) - foodie heaven. - The supermarket is on Rue des Renaudes but there is a late opening kosher deli across the road from the hotel that has some basics.