We stay at the Hotel Picard every summer and love its proximity to 'Le Marais': that sole surviving medieval quarter of Paris which you can easily walk to from this hotel.

Summer in Paris is a great time to visit but it is prohibitively expensive (hotel charges are at their highest), and so staying in the fashionable Marais during this time of the year is even more costly, so Hotel Picard is a great option for the seasoned traveller on a budget who wants to see the real Paris and not just the typical tourist attractions (eg. Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, etc.) from an air conditioned coach.

The Hotel Manager is a real character to banter with over the breakfast table. There is even 'Johnny' a female parrot to befriend (see my pic)! And last year the hotel staff were very supportive when one of our colleagues had her purse pickpocketed while travelling on the Metro.

The Hotel Picard is by no means luxurious, but it makes up for that with real character, rooms that are clean and simple, a very good location and best rates for those on a tight budget.

My friend and I have just spent 4 nights in a twin room at Hotel Picard and thought the location was excellent, the service good and most of the staff were very helpful and cheerful. The room was good value for the price paid with comfortable beds, two delightful double windows with flower boxes over Rue de Picardie and lots of powerful hot water in the shower. Breakfast was 6 euros which included large pots of boiling hot tea and coffee, fresh croissants, baguettes, orange juice , hard boiled eggs and plenty of jams, butters and cheese. We were directed to a free internet service close by or you could use their free wifi. The manager was charming, amusing and spoke excellent english. The hotel's vicinity had plenty of cafes and restaurants and a indoor / outdoor market area which housed a large variety of eating stalls. It was a 20 minute walk to the Marais district and only a few more minutes to Notre Dame and the Seine We would definitely go back to this hotel which is 10 minutes walking from Republique Metro.

Do NOT under any circumstances stay at this hotel. Those who have written it's clean and "reasonable" must be mistaking this place for another. The accommodations (I use that word with tongue in cheek) are ridiculous. I understand and am ok with "bare bones" and a good price. I am NOT OK with dirty, dangerous and scary. I was afraid of the staircases at night--going to the loo was akin to high wire walking with no handrails and no net. Also be aware that some booking services actually charge more for this hideous place--we paid 99 Euros a night which is not a bargain considering the conditions. The location isn't bad--it certainly is close to things, however, most cab drivers don't even know where it is and there is a lot of construction going on. Location doesn't make up for the stained rugs, curtains or the noise and the smell. I assume the owner checked us in---he was fairly good humored at first but then started down the path of creepiness after several innuendos were ignored. Small lifts in older Paris buildings are normal--this one wasn't out of the way unusual. If you have a lot of luggage--forget it. No where to put it in the room and with two of us in such a small space, every movement had to be negotiated. The windows were the one saving grace--if you opened them up you could try to imagine you were somewhere else!
Bottom line for me is regardless of the room size, the decor, the location, you need to feel safe and this hotel doesn't give you that. The locks are flimsy---I would never leave anything valuable there --even downstairs in their safe. No cheap room is worth the loss of peace of mind. There are other good bargains in Paris and if you are strictly a value traveler, then this doesn't even meet that criteria. Don't stay here!!!

House of Horrors
Creepy, dirty, and unsafe are three words to best describe Hotel Picard. To say it is the worst hotel I've ever seen anywhere would be putting it mildly. The entire experience here has been a living nightmare. If zero stars were a choice I'd rate it negative zero. Stay away!

Details: i booked this hotel during fashion week when all other options were unavailable. It was listed as 2-star so i had pretty low expectations. But this is NOT a 2-star hotel by anyones reckoning in the civilized world.

Upon arrival we walked into a disheveled and awkward lobby that was permeated with a sickly sweet odor. Thinking they were doing remodeling, we stepped around a strange construct to be greeted by a seemingly jovial older desk clerk. His friendly banter quickly escalated to creepy sexual remarks and then became outright insulting. After my friend rebuffed his suggestive remarks he told her that she could just sleep in the garbage. Shocked, we followed up to the room.

I went upstairs with the bag in a creaky single person lift while they ascended four flights on a narrow, dimly lit and winding staircase with iffy handrails. A warren of dark rooms and hallways awaited us on our floor. Inside room 403 we found the barest of accommodations. Scanning the room, it was obvious by the mismatched colors, styles, and patterns of everything in it that the room was outfitted with flea market items. No attempt was made to create a pleasing atmosphere whatsoever. In one corner of the room stood a sink draped with two old mismatched towels. Exposed conduit pipes lined scuffed, dingy and peeling walls. Stained gray industrial carpet appeared dirty and unfit for bare feet. Thin worn mattresses were covered with even older ill-fitting toile coverlets. There was a tiny old table with two rickety chairs. No TV. No amenities save a tiny bar of soap. Not even a clock. The wall phone hung precariously on a nail and fell off the wall with the slightest touch. (And what about that advertised free wireless Internet? It was accessible but only in the dingy dilapidated lobby.)

Our toilet was situated in a dark hallway one floor down a curving and dangerously steep and narrow staircase without a handrail. Getting there was so unnerving in the dark passageways we went only in pairs and locked our room behind us. Next to the toilet room was a shower stall that costs an extra 3 euros should anyone be brave or desperate enough to use it. 

Out of concern for bedbugs and fleas and fear of who knows what else, I slept fully clothed on top of the bed with my own airline pillow and covered myself with my coat and airline blanket. 

Last but never least is the safety issue. In addition to the creepy desk, the dark halways and the people encountered in the lobby made us concerned for our well being. Each time we left 403 I carried everything of value with me in a huge bag because there was nowhere safe on the property to secure anything. Our room had no security chain or door bolt. It was locked by a flimsy interior door style mechanism that any 6-year-old could open with a credit card. We kept chairs and a table piled in front of the door to secure us in the room at night. This was good practice because at one point someone did try to enter the room without a knock or verbal warning and was thwarted only by the furniture. 

I finally found another room elsewhere after two awful nights as an inmate of this insane asylum. Had to fight to checkout early without being charged for the last night of my reservation. When I told the owner I was leaving because his hotel is filthy and unsafe he told me my room was bad because I booked on the Internet. Huh!? He actually followed me onto the sidewalk as I was leaving to berate me and argue about the quality of the rooms and blamed the experience I had on the price point and the fact I used a booking service. Seriously? Shouldn't a hotel at any price be clean and safe, at the very least.

I sat in the lobby for over an hour watching people depart. It became obvious that no one left smiling and all seemed to flee from this place.

Bottom line: Stay away! Stay far far away!