Hotel Helvetia - Paris, France     

Booked the Helvetia for one night purely because of the location: we had an early train from Gare de Lyon next morning. The hotel was what we expected - no nasty surprises, just a good 2 star property. Our room was clean and comfortable and the reception staff were pleasant. We did not have breakfast in the hotel - went next door to the little bar for coffee and croissants. This was our first time staying in the 12th arondissement and we were pleasantly surprised. Plenty of restaurants nearby and a 15 minute stroll will bring you to Bastille. The promenade plantee is also close by. If ever we need to use Gare de Lyon again we will certainly stay here.

I spent one night in this hotel. I choose to stay here due to the proximity of the hotel to Gare de Lyon as I had an early morning train to catch. It is just a few steps away from Gare de Lyon and so is very convenient if you have a train to catch. In addition I believe a bus from Charles de Gaulle airport stops at Gare de Lyon. The area around the hotel seemed safe enough although I was only there for one night. I paid 62 Euros for a single ensuite room. This price didn't include breakfast and thus I felt this was quite expensive for a basic 2 star hotel. My room was clean but quite small. The bathroom was also quite small and didn't have a door to close it of from the bedroom. The shower head didn't have a bracket or anything to hold it up with and so I had to hold the shower head while showering. The room didn't suffer from any noise either from outside or inside the hotel which was a plus point. As mentioned earlier breakfast cost 7 euros. I would not recommend having breakfast in the hotel as it certainly wasn't worth 7 euros. It consisted of coffee, juice, yogurt, a roll, a croissant, and a slice of cheese. The staff in the hotel were quite friendly. If you are looking just to get your head down for a night before getting an early train from Gare de Lyon then this hotel is fine but it probably isn't the best for a prolonged stay in Paris.