Hotel Saint Honoré

I booked this hotel by mistake, meaning to stay at a similarly named hotel where we had stayed in 2012. When I found out I would be charged for the entire stay (NOT the hotel’s fault — never using
again, but that’s a whole other story), the manager, Mr. Driss, offered us free breakfast for the duration of our stay. While the staff speak English, I was able to practice my French.
For we Americans used to some elbow room, the room was quite small, but a marvel of efficiently using a small space. The bathroom shower was about 3′ x 3′ so overweight folks might not fit. My husband and I were able to fit in together as we like to shower together (that’s also a whole other story, but not one I will print :-)), but could not move. Our room had a nice large window and the area was quiet when it came time to sleep. The hotel offers free Wi-​Fi.
Location, location, location. We could walk to the Louvre and in the other direction, just past the Paroisse Saint-​Eustache church were two well-​known Paris streets with café after café. We found Rue Montorgueil had especially yummy places to eat. In case you don’t know, cafes charge around 6 – 8 euro for water. Just regular still water.
Conveniently located to the Les Halles, Chatelet, and Louvre-​Rivoli metro stations, we could hop on any metro line we needed to get where we were going, but ended up walking most places in the gorgeous weather-​we averaged six miles per day.
The breakfast, which is 14 euro, is served in the basement. It’s continental fare with some fresh fruit, cereal, pastries, jams, cheese, yogurt, fruit juice, and a fun coffee machine that I used for hot water for tea, and my husband used for Café au lait. Had it not been free, frankly we would have gone just down the street and gotten quiche and coffee at Boulangerie Julien or split a crêpe and one of the many creperies and come out ahead money-​wise.
We had a pharmacy, launderette (which we used mid-​trip and is why we were able to visit Paris for eight nights with just carry-​on luggage), market, fresh fruit market, pastry shop with wonderful quiche and even crème brûlée as take away options, and several cafes all within two blocks of the hotel.
The staff consistently greeted us with a smile and «bonjour.» They were very helpful when we had questions.
While we really enjoyed the place we stayed in 2012, my error in booking turned into quite a happy accident and we were very pleased with our stay. Given the convenient location in the first arrondissement, the price was pleasantly reasonable.
If we return to Paris, we will stay here.

This hotel was really great for several reasons. First, the location was really convenient. It’s 5 minutes from the Louvre-​Rivoli metro station and it’s surrounded by cool boulangeries, brasseries, and cafés. There’s a pharmacy, liquor store, and market a block away, and the Louvre is a a 7 – 10 minute walk away. Second, the small room is cozy and inviting. It’s quiet and the bed is really comfortable. We couldn’t figure out how to work the heater, but the blankets kept us warm. Our bathroom was really cold, and the shower had ½ a door, but the water was quick to get warm. Third, the breakfast buffet is a great value. For 14 euro per person, you get all-​you-​can eat cereal, croissants, assorted pastries, baguettes, cheeses, jams, butter, dried fruits, fresh fruits, water, milk, juices, assorted hot drinks (coffee, teas, hot chocolate), and eggs made to order. Lastly and most importantly, the staff was really friendly and helpful. They helped us with directions, always greeted us with a smile, and really made sure we were comfortable. Everyone spoke and understood English, which was really helpful. The free wifi was mostly reliable, and we just needed to get a different code from the front desk every four days. They also helped us book a shuttle to the airport; 18 euro per person. We’d stay here again!