My husband and I spent four nights at this hotel in September 2006. I booked the hotel for 101 euro/night including breakfast through the Hotel Reservation Service (HRS) website. This was a great rate considering our visit was scheduled during the Paris trade show season.
The hotel is easy to locate if you are arriving via the RER B from the airport. You will exit at Chatelet Les Halles taking the stairs up many flights. Upon exiting the station you will walk past Saint Eustache church toward the Rue de Louvre. Cross the street and make your way to the Place des Victoires where you will be only one block away from the hotel at 3 Rue de la Banque. With luggage, it's a 15 minute walk from the station to the hotel.
Check-in at the hotel was smooth. The clerks at the front desk spoke English. They did not take a credit card imprint or ask for our passports (unlike previous trips to France). They said breakfast was not included in our rate so I showed them the confirmation of our room rate and they apologized for the mistake.
We were located on the third floor (US system) or the second floor (European system) in room 205. The elevator to the room held two people and one suitcase comfortably. We've experienced smaller elevators in Europe.
The room, however, was very, very, small. Although not the smallest room we've stayed in (Cherry Court Hotel, London) it was barely big enough for the two of us to move around comfortably. We looked at the map of the rooms on the back of the door and if it was drawn remotely close to scale, we were in the smallest room. Also, peeking at other rooms as the maid cleaned confirmed that other rooms were a little larger than ours. Just a note if they put you in room 205. We did not change rooms as it wasn't that important to us.
The bathroom, too, was tiny. My husband described the shower stall as "cozy." Also, to illustrate how small the bathroom was, sitting on the toilet, your knees will touch the opposite wall. It's funny if you have a good sense of humor!
I found the bed hard (matter of preference) and small for two people as it was a full size bed rather than two twins pushed together. The room has individually controlled air conditioning which was great and the room and bathroom were cleaned well.
As previous posters have mentioned, noise is a factor at this hotel. The walls are thin enough to hear the television from the next room over (if your neighbor is in) and the bedroom doors tend to slam on their own if you don't hold on to them to gently close them. Our floor was occupied by a loud group of ladies and we could here their early morning/late night comings and goings as they discussed their daily plans in the hallway.
The breakfast room is on the ground floor. It is a self-service buffet with coffee, juice, tea, milk, breads, ham, cheese, fruit cocktail, pineapple slices, yogurt, cereal, hard boiled eggs. A good start to the day if it is included in your rate, however, it may not be worth the price at 10 euro/person. The breakfast room staff work hard to keep the tables cleared and the food and drink stocked.
The location of the hotel is quite ideal. It is on a quiet street that hosts a market on Saturdays and Sundays. The market is more like a giant yard sale but it is still very neat. The hotel is within walking distance to the Louvre, Pompidou, and Notre Dame. Several metro stations are nearby as well as many places to grab a bite to eat or buy groceries.
