If one can get by with the extra small rooms, it's a nice quiet area. The hotel includes use of iPad, made to order breakfast, happy hour for wine and snack. Snacks and drinks were replaced each day and all were complimentary (hey, I hope they were anyway!) The subway station was fairly close, so we used that to go to the main Paris attractions each day. Some nice restaurants were nearby and the front desk clerks were very helpful.
We understand there are larger rooms, but did not see one of them.

We have just returned from a two night mini break to Paris, staying at Le Citizen.
We choose Le Citizen purely based on the excellent TripAdvisor reviews and were not disappointed.
The hotel is based in the Saint-Martin area of Paris, right on the canal and close to some fantastic restaurants and bars. If you are arriving by Eurostar into the Gare du Nord, then the hotel is just a couple of stops away on the Metro. Alternatively, you can walk (as we did) and it only takes around 15 minutes.
The location itself is just outside of central Paris and could be described as where ‘real people actually live’, as there are plenty of apartments in the neighbourhood where you see people coming and going. It is a little bit rough around the edges, i.e. a bit of graffiti, but nevertheless kind of trendy and genuinely a pleasant place to be staying in.
To get to the Eiffel Tower / Champs Elise / other Paris attractions etc., takes minutes on the Metro - ‘Republique’ being the most useful local station as it has the most lines crossing through.

The hotel itself is fantastic – the most important asset being the staff who look after you from the second that you arrive to the second you leave. Nothing was too much trouble- from making drinks on your arrival to booking meals in local restaurants and constantly checking you are enjoying your stay.
The rooms (there are only 12) are extremely modern with very comfortable beds, trendy bathrooms, loaded mini bars (included in the price), ample toiletries and an iPad that replaces the normal out of date information pack that you normally find in hotel rooms. We were in one of the smaller rooms, which was fairly compact – but had ample room for us for the weekend. Other larger rooms are available, but at additional cost.
The included continental breakfast was great – croissants, coffee, cakes, fresh orange juice, choice of cereals etc., again served by the extremely helpful staff.
We slept reasonably well although did get disturbed a few times during the night by a bit of street noise, just outside the hotel. However, this wasn’t too much of an issue and the hotel does include ear plugs, if it really bothers you!
We ate at Marie-Louise & Philou (both recommended to us by John at Le Citizen). The food was great (real French menus) and at a reasonable cost, although make sure you book to avoid disappointment.
I would recommend taking a walk along the canal, down to the Bastille and then down to the Seine. If you then take a right – you are shortly at Notre Dame (around a 50 minute walk from the hotel).
In summary – if you want to stay in a place that is just outside the normal touristy areas, see a bit of real Paris and stay in a trendy boutique hotel, then this could be the choice for you. I would definitely recommend staying at Le Citizen…

I love the design of the hotel and location but it is the high level of hospitality which makes Le Citizen truly unique. The staff is very warm and friendly and make sure that all your needs are met. From the time I made our reservation, e-mail correspondences from the front desk were speedy and efficient. Confirmation comes with very informative PDF's on restaurants and shops in the area so that you're "in the know." It is obvious that the management puts emphasis on customer service which is sorely lacking in many other hotels.

We had the Zen suite on the 4th floor for a family of 3, which included my 5 year old daughter. The irregular space was fun for us because there were many corners to hide around. It allowed some to sleep while another could read at the other end. My daughter enjoyed the storybook that was on the shelf. We read it every night. The little touches like daily baked goods and free beverages in our room made the stay extra special.

The location of the hotel was just perfect for us. It is in a cool neighborhood, just where I would love to live if I could move to Paris. Unencumbered by a small child, you could walk leisurely down towards the Marais and then right along the Seine. With child, we found the metro very easy to use, to getting to our sightseeing spots.

My husband says that I have to be honest and can't give a flawless review. So... he found the platform bed too creaky and did not like how the shower can accidentally flood the bathroom. I'm willing to ignore those matters because there were so many more things to appreciate about this special place. We will definitely visit again ;)

To begin with, the rooms at Le Citizen aren't anything to rave about. There are only 12 and they're generally small. We had a suite on the 6th floor, but the orientation of the room was somewhat odd as the room was elongated with the bed at one end of the room, separated by a strangely placed toilet and bathroom in the middle. We also found the housekeeping wanting as the floors were not mopped or swept and our feet blackened as a consequence. It's something the hotel should take note of.

We took the zen suite, which is as it suggests, zen. The bath and toilet though look out of synch with blue tiles throughout. It reminded me of a swimming pool changing room. What's nice about the room is the mini-bar is free, and the juices provided very nice (pear, mandarin orange etc etc). International calls are also free as the hotel uses voice over internet to connect. Very useful if you need to make long, lengthy calls overseas and even within France.

The location appears quite good, next to the St Martin's canal and near to many shops and restaurants. We found a nice Thai restaurant (called Mmm.. Shawn Thai) on the opposite bank of the canal that was good. There's also a small mini-mart about 5 minutes walk away. However, for our purposes, Le Citizen was far from the key touristy spots like the Eiffel Tower, Louvre etc etc and the key shopping hubs like Galeries Lafayette, St Honore etc etc. Cab fare to these locations was about 13 euros either way. We avoided the metro, after hearing horror stories of muggings and incidents of pick pocketing.

Now to what makes Le Citizen outstanding - its staff. John, Eric, Macky, Mario and others were helpful, showed initiative, provided good suggestions, even got us access to a members only designer discount store (called Tangara) just next to the hotel.

The staff were helpful from the start, getting us checked in a day earlier than planned, owing to our checking out of another hotel earlier than planned (see my review on Le Belle Juliet). They were also helpful in getting us cabs, and instructing the driver just where we wanted to go. On several mornings when we had to leave early for tours, the staff even offered to make us breakfast before the stipulated time of 730am, an initiative we were grateful for. Good service is indeed rare and the staff at Le Citizen exhibits the best there is in Paris.

In sum, Le Citizen is a comfortable enough hotel in a quaint location (by the St Martin's Canal). What makes it special is its staff. Good, friendly and helpful service can make or mar a holiday. In this instance, it made our overall stay in Paris a very pleasant one. Pity about the housekeeping though.