Best Western – Hotel Victor Hugo

This was the best of 3 hotels I stayed in while in Paris. I ended up here because my airbnb cancelled last minute, and my sister was able to arrange this in 5 minutes online while my flight was boarding. I was initially really bummed to be staying at a BW abroad– I assumed the clientele would be ten-​gallon hat sporting obese midwesterners who spoke too loudly and ate all the continental breakfast, however that was not the case.
The hotel was about a 15 minute walk from the nearest metro station, through a very classy neighborhood. Nonetheless, a drunk man and the stench of urine greeted us at the street corner just outside the entry way.
Nonetheless, the inside was clean and fresh-​smelling. The staff spoke excellent english, though it took a while to locate the reservation.
The room was fairly small, but had a queen bed, blackout curtains and a safe. This room was incredibly quiet thanks to a deep plush (and clean) carpet, and 2 doors between the bedroom and bath, and between bedroom and hallway. I head only a single door closure from another guest during my stay, and heard absolutely no hallway chatter or movement.
The continental breakfast, at 13 Euros, was the best of the 3 I experienced. Two or more friendly hotel staff constantly managed the seating, maintained the buffet and provided freshly brewed coffee or nice hot water for tea. The buffet featured several wheels of fresh cheeses (one soft, one hard), as well as prepackaged soft cheese, and at least 10 different types of thick and drinkable yogurts. There were fresh croissants and breads, butter jellies, nutella, juices, cereals, and best of all a boiling water bath with several egg timers and fresh eggs for a boil-​your-​own egg station.
I would have stayed here many more nights, but the place was fully booked!
To note– they do accept credit cards, but Americans need to obtain a chip-​and-​pin card from their credit company, and alert the company they’re traveling abroad. My card did not work, which was not an issue of the hotel, but an issue of the American system.

Wanna wake up to the smell of cigarette smoke? No housekeeping past 3:30pm? One gel for all your bathroom needs?
This hotel keeps one employee to tend to the entire hotel in the evenings; reception, guest services, you name it. Want fresh towels in the evening? Forget it. «Housekeeping ends at 3:30.»
It’s a really cool area, but there are a ton of options nearby. So book early and find a better hotel.