The Relais du Pre is certianly no 5 star hotel, however, at 65 Eur for a night the cost/value ratio is very hard to beat. This is place wehere you will want to stay if you're staying in the city of lights for a few days. The hotel is tucked away in a quiet litte cobblestoned-street but not far from the action. The location is really pretty good to discover the city on foot.
I found my small room quite charming - colorful wallpaper, dark red carpret, a cupboard, TV, comfortable bed. The bathroom is also small but features a small but deep bathtub. I'm always a fan of this kind of old-school flavor. The receptionist was very friendly and surprised me by his mastery of French, English and German - this is certainly way above standard for a French hotel. Check-out was friendly and quick - the staff know what they are doing. I did not have breakfast and did not access the web, so I can't rate this. The only negative comment I can make is that the room is poorly sound-proofed. My neighbor was relatively quiet so this didn't bother me much.
I am happy to recommend the Relais du Pre and am quite sure I'll be back on another occasion.

Located 12 minutes away from Gare du Nord on foot, this is your typical Parisian budget hotel, renovated lobby, shabby rooms, bad insulation, unsupportive mattress and ridiculously tiny. The location is the best thing going about this hotel, everything else is pretty poor. Not recommended. Try the ibis styles across the road.

We stayed 3 nights in the beginning of september on the second floor. The hotel (together with two other hotels of the same chain) is located in a typical narrow Parisian street and neighbourhood. The street is a bit dull and quiet but you can hear passing vehicules (esp. scooters) from your room. I don't know if the fifth floor could be a remedy. Noises from the street begin ussualy round 7 o'clock in the morning. The Montholon square nearby is a typical small and busy neighbourhood park.
The room is just big enough and the bathroom too. The lack of a curtain for the tube is a big mistake of the decorator. We din't need airco so I can't remember if there was one. Altogether we found the hotel good.
Some tips:
- bus 42 near the hotel takes you to many worthseeing places in Paris: Opera, Madelene, Concorde, Champs Elyssee (partly), Eifel.
- Gare du Nord (imposing facade) is 12 minutes walking, also for the train to Ch. de G. airport; the metro station is 5 minutes away on Laffayette blv.
- a nice place to see together the Concorde and the Eifel at night is at the beginning of Rivoli avenue; every round hour the Eifel is glittering for 5 minutes. Also the bridge from the Concorde is a good place for a nice view at night.
- fine pastries you can find at Laduree (some locations) and caffe Carrette (pl.Trocadero) : 5-7.50 euro for tasty pieces of art to take away. Also the cheapest typical pastries at Carrette were tasty.