SMALL-TOWN GIRLS, MIDNIGHT TRAINS

— travel inspiration for small budgets and big dreams —

travel inspiration for small budgets and big dreams

Grand Hotel du Loiret_01

As much as possible when I’m traveling, I like to stay in a central area that will allow me to walk to places of interest and easily access public transportation. The drawback of centrally located hotels is that they tend to be more expensive than those in the peripheries, but with a bit of research you can almost always find one that is an acceptable compromise in terms of convenience, comfort, and cost.

A good example is the Grand Hotel du Loiret in Paris. Located just a few steps from the Rue de Rivoli, it is within walking distance to the Seine, the Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Place des Vosges, to name a few. There’s a Metro station just a few short blocks away and the Hotel de Ville stop of the Batobus is nearby as well. There are also many cafes and grocery stores in the area, and BHV is just around the corner.

Our room was big enough and simply but tastefully furnished. The hotel had a lift, worth mentioning because many small hotels don’t (a big problem if you have luggage). The only significant drawback for me was the WiFi; the process for logging in (back in January 2014 anyway) was so complicated that I never quite managed to figure it out. Fortunately, many of Paris’ parks — like the Place des Vosges or the Square Jean XXIII at the back of the Notre Dame — had free WiFi, so the hotel’s internet foible didn’t matter as much as it could have. At 100 euros per night for a double, the Grand Hotel du Loiret is not exactly cheap but it is definitely less expensive than most of its neighbors of comparable quality.

Plus: the reception staff were great. There seemed to be three of them on rotating schedules. The guy who checked us in spoke excellent English and was very friendly. The next one we encountered was also friendly and helpful; one time, before giving us our key, he asked us to say our room number in French and looked absolutely delighted when I was able to comply (but not as delighted as I secretly was, heh). The third guy was elderly, not as fluent in English, and seemed grumpy at first, but he turned out to be nice enough. He even shared a bit of his hard-earned wisdom when my travel buddy anxiously asked him if he’d seen me. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Women. International! SHOPPING.”

(Actually I was attending vespers at the Notre Dame but whatever.)

Recommended.

15 Responses

  1. Nice room! But a bit expensive than the hostel we stayed a before — oops! Hostel paris. At 30euro per bed with free wifi and bfast. They have a 4-bed room and there were 3 of us so we just booked the whole room at 120euro. Should have been cheaper if there were 4 of us. Also centrally located with metro stops 200meters away.

    1. Sounds like a very good option, especially for groups!

      I think I chose a hotel over a hostel at the time because there were only 2 of us, and I tend to be willing to pay a bit more to have privacy and an exclusive bathroom. And I liked being able to just walk to the Notre Dame and the Seine and the Louvre. But if there had been 3 or 4 of us, I would most likely have gone for a hostel like yours as well. (Especially as breakfast was included in the price!) Thanks for the recommendation!

  2. I’m bookmarking this hotel for when I get to Paris(someday!) it hits some of the must-have requirements on my list. I love how you were reduced to woman, international, shopping-ok!

  3. Yes, there is a bathroom inside. OOOPS hostel has a variety of rooms, they also have double rooms at 70euros, and dormitory type rooms with 4,6,8 beds. But lately when I travel, I usually find accomodation that is wiithin walking distance from trains stations, since we usually take the trains from one city/country to another, which for me is very convenient when arriving and departing. Ive done this in Milan, found a hotel across the street from the Milano Centrale, also in Japan because we visited a lot of cities around Japan using the Japan Rail.

  4. i will take note of this and i think you know what i mean (wink wink) haha! our hotel got wifi but you should pay for it. around €10 per hour but if you get a longer plan (like 20hrs) it will be cheaper.

Leave a Reply to smalltowngirlsmidnighttrainsCancel reply