In Paris, A Secret 'No-Star' Hotel
Who says Parisian hotels are outrageously and insanely overpriced thanks to the flyweight value of the U.S. dollar? Just because the meticulously renovated, five-star Hotel Meurice can command $1,200+ a night for a basic room (and another $50 for breakfast) does not mean you can't find a reasonably priced bunkhouse for a business trip.
The purposely little-known Hotel des Bains won't force you to take out a loan when you check out. The 45-room hotel in the 14th Arrondissement, eight minutes by Metro from Notre Dame, is rated a "one-star" hotel by the French government. However, a night clerk told me it was a "zero-star" hotel.
Why downplay their ranking, especially when most hoteliers puff out their chests and regale you with amenities fit for a count or countess to get a booking? The secret is that every star in the French hotel-rating system adds more taxes, so this hotel's canny owner goes starless. It keeps his prices down, generates repeat business, apparently makes a good profit and he doesn't have to pony up extra to the tax collector.
Says the night clerk: "We are really about a three-star hotel, but we'd rather not promote ourselves."
Karen Fawcett, the ex-pat American journalist and president of the Bonjour Paris Web site, admires the hotel's reverse obsession with stars. "To outsiders, Hotel des Bains wants to be known as the worst hotel in Paris, but it's a great value. You can get a single or double room here for 90 euros.
"The Hotel des Bains is quite respectable, hardly a hostel or a YMCA," she adds. "But the rooms are small and there's not a heck of a lot of space to run around in."
The six-floor hotel (with elevator) may not be the Ritz, "but it's more than acceptable when it comes to décor," she explains. "You don't see any peeling wallpaper. The location is a three-minute walk to all the legendary literary cafes on Montparnasse, where Hemingway and the Lost Generation of writers and artists drank. You can get a cheaper room--if you're willing to go further out [from central Paris] and walk up 14 floors."
The hotel's smallish rooms have television and bathrooms equipped with a shower, but no bathtub. (Larger suites sell for just 15 euro more.) By French law, breakfast is supposed to be included in the room rate, but there are no freebies here. However, 7.5 euros buys you a "rich" continental breakfast that includes juices, croissants, fresh fruits, yogurts, cereal, cheeses and coffee.
Business travelers will love the WiFi throughout the hotel and the extraordinarily reasonable 2 euro daily charge. There's no bar and the hotel doesn't sell alcohol, but the large "living room" has spacious tables. It's good for conversation--or turning on your laptop and spreading out your papers.
If it's important to save the two Euros, you can go to any park or train station and pick up a wireless Internet access signal for free. Fawcett, an entrepreneurial type who's been living and writing about Paris for decades, has some other money-saving recommendations:
· Bring wash-and-wear clothes. Hotel laundry and dry cleaning costs are shocking.
· If you're craving an alcoholic beverage, buy a bottle at the supermarket and sip in your room. Fawcett says she recently had the "smallest vodka ever" at a hotel bar and was charged 21 euros, or roughly $35 at current exchange rates. "The bar nuts were nice, though," she says wryly.
· Do not call for a taxi because you are charged from the minute the driver gets the call, not when you climb into the cab. Also, street-hailing a taxi is illegal in Paris. If you're not loaded down with bags and it's not pouring rain, go to a cab stand.
· The Metro, Paris' legendary subway system, is the fastest, most efficient and cheapest way to get around town. Buses are clean and plentiful, too. (Late-night trips will require a cab, however.) And if you're an adventurous type, ride a bicycle and charge the rental fee to a credit card.
Where to eat? Fawcett insists that Hungry for Paris: The Ultimate Guide to the City's 102 Best Restaurants, by the witty gourmand Alexander Lobrano, is the best book of its kind. A paperback edition is available from Amazon.com and sells for around $11.
And a reminder: France has banned smoking in restaurants unless there is an outdoor area. But the nicotine-addicted French have adapted without much complaint.
ABOUT CHRIS BARNETT Chris Barnett writes about business-travel tactics and strategies that save time and money and help minimize hassles. He is based in San Francisco and has written for a wide variety of major newspapers and national magazines. Barnett on Business Travel is syndicated by Copley News Service.
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