Grand Hotel Francais

, Paris, France
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Grand Hotel Francais

, Paris
3 star

Rooms: 36

223 Boulevard Voltaire - Paris - 75011 - France Hotel Website | | 01.43.71.27.57
745 Traveller

Reviews - Grand Hotel Francais

8/10
Very helpful staff and quiet location
Submitted by: Roger Hovet in 04/07/05
  • Age Group: 41 - 50
  • From: United States
  • Traveller type: Mature Couple
We stayed at this family run hotel in Feb., 2004 after finding it on the internet with good reviews. It is a little out of the way but we got directions from the staff using e-mail and were able to find it easily.
The staff were very helpful with directions and spoke very good English which you don't find a lot of in that neighborhood. They gave us directions to the Effiel tower using the subway the first night but told us that to really feel the spirit of Paris we should walk and see the city. This was very good advise and many of the attractions take a little walking but are worth it.
The rooms are compatable with other European hotels (small) but very clean. The neighborhood is charming but
hard to find much English spoken, but this is part of fun of getting around Paris. We would stay there again.
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Historical Traveller Reviews of Grand Hotel Francais

Superb value for the dollar

from A TripAdvisor Member
I rented a room with a double bed and bath. While the room was smaller than anything you'd find in the States, the overall value you get for your dollar is without dispute.Taking a chance booking a room over the Internet at this hotel, I can tell you I was more than a little apprehensive of what I would find upon my arrival. So imagine my relief at finding extremely polite and helpful staff, as well as an impeccably clean, functional room. The continental breakfast they also served in the mornings was perfect to start your exploration of the city each morning.The distance this hotel is from the main attractions in Paris is so insignificant, especially when you consider the dollar savings. The Bastille is MAYBE a 10-minute walk at most. Also Metro #9 (Rue des Boulets) stop is within 50 feet of the hotel s entrance, and the Nation station (connects to almost all other major lines) is about 3 blocks (less than 3 minute walk) from the hotel's entrance.As a single, young woman traveling alone in Paris, I couldn't have chosen a better place that immediately put my accommodation concerns to rest.

Bad Services

from A TripAdvisor Member
The room was small and noisy, furniture old, but the worst thing was the very unfriendly manager at check out.He seems enjoying telling offensive jokes like "So... you wanna kill me !en? hahha!" Terrible!
There are a lot of better hotels in the price range around, so avoid to go to this one.

Bargain Gem

from A TripAdvisor Member
This is a perfect example of a small Parisian hotel that balances the friendliness and intimacy of a family-run place with the professionalism of larger, more expensive hotels. The rooms, if a bit small and spartan, are nonetheless immaculately clean and new, and the bathrooms are pristine. A standard but good-quality breakfast is served in a very cheerful, well-lit room. The neighborhood is excellent--not a tourist district, but rather a real residential quarter convenient to the Metro. But the staff is what will really inspire me to return. The breakfast staff, the chambermaids, and the desk staff were all pleasant and extremely helpful. And the manager, Si Zyad, was tremendously energetic and accommodating, whether recommending restaurants in the neighborhood or looking up obscure museums on the web. When our return flight to the US was cancelled, Si offered us an extra night at the hotel at a discounted rate and spent much of his own time calling the airline (Air India in Paris is not always easy to contact) and checking the airline's website to keep track of our flight. All in all, we were very pleased and will certainly return again.

Thankyou

from A TripAdvisor Member
thankyou for making our (short) stay with you a very pleasant and memorable one! We had a fantastic time touring Paris,sightseeing,shopping,etc.,but next time I think we should stay for at least one week,to see more of your wonderful city.Your staff at reception / bar were extremely helpful and kind with information and directions,and made us feel welcome.

perfect for us

from A TripAdvisor Member
Stayed at the Grand Hotel Francais for 3 nights. It's a great location, definitely away from "tourist-ey" places, but we like staying amongst the natives, so it was perfect. The Metro station was just a nice, short walk away, and you can get everywhere using the subway. Several tasty restaurants nearby, particularly the Italian place just a few doors down, and the Nation offers several good places. Be sure to try the creme broulee at a place called Le Propers or Prosper Cafe or something like that, it was fantastic. It was recommended by the desk staff and they were right! But, don't ever order "Andouiettes", it's very nasty stuff, unless you are into tripe. The hotel room was pretty small, but the bathroom was big by comparison to other places we've stayed, and, hey, it's Paris! If you spend a lot of time in your room you are missing the point. Great service, both by the day clerk Si and by the night clerk who's name we didn't get. Both were very helpful and cordial. they spoke a little English, we spoke a little French, it was great. Please, do all of us American travellers a favor, learn some of the local lingo and customs. For example, greet all shop owner: say hello and thank you-good bye when entering and leaving any place of business. It will go a long way. I would recommend skipping the breakfast at the hotel and hitting a local Patiseree, there are several in the area. We would deffinately recommend staying at the Grand Hotel Francais, as long as you don't require too much pampering.

Excellent Value

from Jeffo2007
Stayed here 6 nights in October 2003 based on many positive reviews from this site and booked at a discount over the internet. Had a basic room which was small, but clean and fairly modern. Management was friendly, helpful and spoke excellent English. We enjoyed being in a neighborhood that catered more to Parisians than tourists. There were great restaurants and patisseries nearby and the Metro is about 70 steps from the front door. The Avis outlet that we booked through for driving to the Loire Valley turned out to be conveniently on the same block.

The negatives? Good windows minimized traffic noise (we were also near the back) but the walls are thin and if you have noisy neighbors, it could be a problem. Also, I was surprised that none of the previous reviews mentioned the fact that the hotel sits directly over the Metro line. From about 5am until midnight, there's a subtle rumble that sounds like distance thunder about every 5 minutes. It wasn't as bad as it sounds (kinda cool actually) and didn't affect our sleep at all, but it's there. Finally, our tub had a sprayer and no curtain, which was somewhat inconvenient, but not a real problem.

For the price, we found this to be an excellent hotel and would recommend it to anyone. We were perhaps 10 minutes farther by Metro from the sites than hotels on the Left Bank, but thought the quiet, authentic neighborhood and the relatively modern hotel more than made up for it.

We recommend the Grand Hotel Francais

from A TripAdvisor Member
We've just spent three nights at Le Grand Hotel Francais. The room was small but clean and perfectly well equipped for a short stay. We were lucky enough to be given a room that had three French windows and a long balcony from which we had a leafy view down a typically Parisien boulevard. The hotel staff were all friendly and helpful. The Grand Hotel location is good; although it isn't in a smart area of Paris it is in-between two useful metro stations, both of which were onlyminutes' walk away. Breakfast was fine and there was plenty of it. The Grand Hotel is good value and we would happily recommend it.

son

from Glassart-man
We really enjoyed our stay in the hotel - it was clean; comfortable and welcoming. We particularly want to thank the manager (we think he is the owners' son) for being so helpful and attentive. His attitude really made us feel positive about returning some time in the future.

s our TERRIBLE stay in Paris!We were Being kicked out very rudely!

from A TripAdvisor Member
I am from China. On July 31,2003 , After Checked in this Hotel for 20 miniutes , We Were KICKED OUT very RUDEly by the owner of the hotel. We have complained to the Tourist Office in Paris but get no replys until now.

AND WHY?!!Here's the whole story:We also found this hotel by Internet .
On July 31, We three, including my GF, were travelling in Paris. So when we arrived in Paris, We first Made a phonecall to it ,ask for a room for three person. And the Reception told us, there were only double room and single room available.But my friend thought the price of single room is too high for him.He wanted to find a cheaper one. So When we got to the Hotel,We only opened one double room for my GF and me .And my friend wanted to find another Cheaper hotel or YOUTH hotel.

After about staying in the room for about 20 minutes from about 7:00 to 7:20,When we three got downstairs,the Owner of the hotel shouted at us.He shouted:Get out my hotel , you Three people want to stay in one Double room! He judged us by our 20minutes' stay in the Hotel. And he gave no chance to us to say anything. He kept shouting.You can't image how Rude he is.He also threatened us, he said " I am a good fighter , you want to try!!'.....

That's a terrible day in Paris!!I've read some good reviews about this hotel in Tripadvisor.If those are true , I can't understand why the same person can Act so different! the only reason I can conclude is that he is racialism!

Be cautious

from A TripAdvisor Member
I'm French and I've been in living in Paris for 5 years. Just to check if the hotels ratings were relevant or not on this web site, I had a look at the hotels for Paris. I first was attracted by the name of this hotel which does not sound really French but rather like a tourist trap. Then reading at the description I've found than the time estimation from Nation to anywhere else was under-estimated (indeed 5mn from Nation to Bastille with the 'Metro' but 20 minutes by foot). Also please note that Nation is certainely not "10 minutes from any place of the Paris tourism's" since Nation is located in east of Paris and most interesting places are located in the centre or West. What is true is that from Nation you can go almost every where thanks to its four lines of Metro. Maybe this hotel is actually a nice place to stay but they are not totally honest in its description. And most of the reviews of it are suspicious.

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Other names for Grand Hotel Francais

  • grand hotel paris
  • grand hotel francais
  • au grand hotel francais
  • Address: 223 Boulevard Voltaire - Paris - 75011 - France
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