Hôtel Arotel

“Fantastic boutique hotel convenient to everything!”

As a result of booking info going to a junk mail folder, we found ourselves booking a last minute reservation at this lovely boutique hotel. Fortunately, they had a couple rooms left. What a happy accident! The hotel is new and directly across the street from the Montparnesse train (RER) station,... more

As a result of booking info going to a junk mail folder, we found ourselves booking a last minute reservation at this lovely boutique hotel. Fortunately, they had a couple rooms left. What a happy accident! The hotel is new and directly across the street from the Montparnesse train (RER) station, and located a block away from the Montparnesse-Bienvenue Metro stop. There are numerous restaurants, bakeries, and shops to enjoy all around the hotel, as well as a Monoprix (combo groceries and household goods - similar to a Carrefour), Lidl, and pop-up market and a laundromat a couple blocks away. Although anyone working the front desk can help you, Pierre, the Front Desk Manager, is very friendly and professional, speaks perfect English, eager to help, and has excellent recommendations for dining if you are looking for the essential Paris food experience. The hotel decor is an artist's palette, a charming mix of vibrant color and whimsical flourish and yet it's very cozy; the artwork seems to be different on every floor. The breakfast/lounge area is a pleasant place to enjoy coffee any time of day; it is not staffed all day, but the front desk can help you. The alcohol selection is limited but I would expect all this to change as there are plans going thru the permitting process to expand this area of the hotel to include a full time restaurant including a patio area. There is breakfast as well as room service available and each room has a minibar. The hotel is very clean; housekeeping is very thorough. While Europe can be notorious for small rooms, this hotel is very space efficient and they pack a number of high-end amenities into their rooms for big gains in comfort. Definitely use the qr-code in your room so that you know how to operate the a/c system in the room; the a/c works very well!! Plus you will learn how to use the phones, housekeeping hours, etc. Our very comfortable king-size bed had plenty of space around it, and there were multiple places to sit; a table and chair, and very comfortable padded bench. On the ninth floor, the upper windows actually opened. There is a closet, suitcase bench over a chest of drawers, a mini-fridge with minibar, Nesspresso coffee maker and coffee and tea, and slippers in the cubbies. There is a steam iron as well. A very nice full-length mirror hangs on the wall. The best part about these rooms is the shower; high-end plumbing products means this hotel is built to last. They spared no expense in making the bathroom comfortable and humidity controlled. One of my pet peeves is a shower that gets water all over the floor and steams up the bathroom so much you have to wait a bit before the next person can go. The fully enclosed shower has a handheld shower as well as a shower head. The huge rain fall shower head is very luxurious and the temperature control system responds quickly such that you never get that cold shower mid-shower, and that does happen at some hotels we stayed in Paris. Just be aware of where you aim the hand-held as you can hit the shower door seam, and although it's a good fit and designed to keep water in, you can still get a couple drops on the floor right below the shower door. The heated towel wrack is a very nice touch and clearly helps with the humidity control such that your hotel room isn't a sauna after two people shower. One other nice touch is that our room had a pair of US and British electrical sockets. I did use the gym. It is small, but it has a variety of equipment to use. The only negative I have is that, in the US in the post-Covid world, we often wipe off equipment after we use it with some kind of sanitizing towelette; I didn't see anything like that. This gym is very clean and has towels and water. While tipping in Europe is not the same as it is in the US, I tip good housekeeping service and this hotel has great conscientious housekeeping. Finally, this wonderful hotel won't be a hidden gem for long. My husband had a business conference, so I did sightseeing while he worked. This hotel is very convenient to all of the major sights, really a perfect location. It's worth every euro, and not only do I highly recommend it, I plan to stay here on my next trip to Paris.

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