Just returned President's Day from a quick 3 night jaunt to Paris with two college friends. We were three 30-something singles, 2 girls, 1 guy, looking for an inexpensive but centrally located hotel to hang our hats and get some zzzz's after a long day of walking and enjoying the city. Hotel du College fit the bill for the most part, beginning with the friendly and helpful staff.
We checked in painlessly after a long flight -- didn't even have to give a credit card, they just asked for our name and handed off a key (that looked like it was from the 19th century). We took the unimaginably small lift to the 4th floor where we found the smallest room ever. Though everything was neat, I decended the spiral staircase (which is lovely, but IMHO dangerous as it is not well lit and the stairs are black wrought iron) to the front desk to inquire about a bigger room and was told there were none available. The gentleman asked me to wait a moment and then took me to a room adjacent to the parlor/lobby, which was slightly bigger. We moved to that room (room 10). We had to leave our luggage at the front desk since the room wasn't ready which was fine with us.
Ultimately it was a smart move as we had no stairs to climb when we rolled in very very late each night. The beds, as noted in several reviews here, are incredibly comfortable -- even the cot. I was concerned that being on the first floor would hinder us sleeping, but the room was surprisingly quiet even during breakfast (which we never ate -- go around the corner and buy a croissant and get a coffee, much cheaper). The room did get quite hot at night which seems to be why the windows are opened by staff after the beds are made. It wasn't a problem for us. The TV was fine, BBC and CNN worked for us.
My biggest problem with Hotel du College . . . though neat, the room was not cleaned at all while we were there save making the beds and emptying the 1 trash can in the bathroom. When we checked into room #10 I used the bathroom (which was perfectly fine in size) and discovered many short wirey hairs (you figure it out) in an otherwise seemingly clean bathtub. The shelf above the sink had water and soap spots all over it. Towels were fine and there were plenty of them. Throughout the stay I noticed that the sink and tub fixtures were spotted with soap, watermarks and toothpaste streaks -- never wiped down during out entire stay. Also, the fact that there are no showers was a little annoying at first. It took a day to figure out that taking a bath and using the shower head to rinse your hair only was the way to go.
Other things to note, especially for Americans -- there is no such thing as an ice machine in Paris. This hotel has few amenities and ice is not one of them. However if you desire ice at 4am after bar hopping all night, Sebastian (the incredibly patient, kind, tolerant and funny overnight desk clerk) will drag himself from bed to crack a tray in the kitchen for you. Thank you Sebastian!
On to the good -- the best part is the location. You are literally 4 blocks from Notre Dame. Buses are at the corner and the Metro is 2 blocks. Great local restaurants and bars. Sebastian gave some great recommendations for local places. We had one fantastic meal at Brassiere Balzar and one terrible meal. If you go, ask for Jimmy on Friday night -- FANTASTIC waiter.
Another note of caution -- the exchange rate for American dollars is terrible right now. Our stay at the hotel came out to $149 a night, which was about $40 more than we wanted to spend per night. And frankly, this hotel is in no way worth $149 a night. But it's Paris, so go and drink the wine and eat the food and worry about the bill when you return!
