Unusual Hotel in Paris

In a past entry, I mentioned the Hotel Saint Merry, 78 Rue de la Verriere in the 4th arrondissement. Today, I noticed that it’s the only Paris hotel on the site: www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com. This site offers some photos of the hotel which seem to give a pretty idea of room size.

Although I haven’t stayed at Hotel Saint Merry, it’s extremely well situated if you plan on spending a great deal of time on the Right Bank. You might want to check out some of the reviews posted on www.Tripadviser.com - which range from rave reviews to disappointing.

Hotel Saint Merry is a small ’boutique’ hotel and certainly small hotels will not appeal to everyone. But who wants to go to Paris and stay in a hotel that looks exactly like the hotel you might check into in the Bangkok Airport? Clearly, choosing a hotel depends on the place you’re visiting.

If having spacious accommodations is important for your comfort and well being in a hotel, I’d suggest:
a) looking for a hotel on the Left Bank or at least not in the central part of Paris, and b) consider upgrading from a 3-star to a 4-star hotel.

Remember in ’boutique’ hotels, you may discover that so-called inconveniences also can add to a hotel’s charm and character i.e itsy bitsy elevators.

Many of Paris’s hotels and apartment buildings have the most ‘unusual’ elevators - they can be wrought iron cages that click away from floor to floor, or they can have accordion folding doors. Often the elevators fit two people comfortably.

You may also find some hotels that don’t have elevators. Be sure to inquire about this if you have problems with steps. This is another good reason to pack light!

One of the hotel reviewers on Trip Advisor.com mentioned the pleasure of hearing the bells ringing form the adjoining Hotel Saint Merry church. There’s nothing quite like bells ringing to remind you that you’re back in Europe.