Paris - Montalembert Hotel
Summer 2008
Frank's view 
'Claustrophobic camel'
‘Kylie’s favourite hotel in Paris’, claimed Elle magazine.
‘Kylie is staying at the £250-a-night Montalembert’, wrote the Daily Mail newspaper in February 2008.
£250 a night?
A few months later at the beginning of June 2008, this Camel booked a junior suite at the Montalembert and the cost was €630. That’s over £500, and it was so compact even tiny Kylie might have found it tight.
Situated just off rue du Bac in the trendy Saint Germain des Pres district of Paris, this hotel is a short walk from the river and the Louvre. It is a grand old building which has been converted into a 56 room ‘boutique’ hotel with bar, restaurant and dining terrace.
The photography on the hotel web site is very clever and creates an illusion of space and ambience which does not exist. The restaurant is a small dark area to the left of reception and the bar is so unappealing, we decided to have an early night.
The rooms are squashed into 8 floors and our suite was on the 7th. Two miniscule lifts have been built on either side of the staircase, one to carry 3 people and the other barely 2.
The first impression of our suite was the carpet, coffee coloured with dark brown stripes, it presumably was intended to give the effect of wooden decking. It’s a pity they didn’t use the real thing.
A sofa, table and glass desk were squeezed into the first room which opened into a bedroom, so tight that the left side of the bed did not have a table, or indeed anything to place a watch, glass or book on.
The suite had a bathroom and shower room, but both were converted cupboards. Showering necessitated ducking to avoid banging one's head on the sloping ceiling. Remove the mirrors and you’d realise just how small the space was.
A Nespresso coffee machine was provided, but only two capsules. The wireless Internet was efficient but not a bargain.
The web site said that the junior suites ‘offer a great view over Paris’. My vista was rooftops, chimneys, and satellite dishes. Below was a dilapidated courtyard. That is not a great view over Paris.
The Montalembert Hotel was a massive disappointment. It was expensive and without question the smallest junior suite I have had anywhere. It does seem to attract a trendy, young clientele. The reception area was cluttered with creative types on their Mac Books.
They’re welcome to it.
Hotel Montalembert
3 Rue de Montalembert
Saint Germain Des Pres
Paris
+33 1 45 49 68 68
http://www.montalembert.com/
‘Kylie is staying at the £250-a-night Montalembert’, wrote the Daily Mail newspaper in February 2008.
£250 a night?
A few months later at the beginning of June 2008, this Camel booked a junior suite at the Montalembert and the cost was €630. That’s over £500, and it was so compact even tiny Kylie might have found it tight.
Situated just off rue du Bac in the trendy Saint Germain des Pres district of Paris, this hotel is a short walk from the river and the Louvre. It is a grand old building which has been converted into a 56 room ‘boutique’ hotel with bar, restaurant and dining terrace.
The photography on the hotel web site is very clever and creates an illusion of space and ambience which does not exist. The restaurant is a small dark area to the left of reception and the bar is so unappealing, we decided to have an early night.
The rooms are squashed into 8 floors and our suite was on the 7th. Two miniscule lifts have been built on either side of the staircase, one to carry 3 people and the other barely 2.
The first impression of our suite was the carpet, coffee coloured with dark brown stripes, it presumably was intended to give the effect of wooden decking. It’s a pity they didn’t use the real thing.
A sofa, table and glass desk were squeezed into the first room which opened into a bedroom, so tight that the left side of the bed did not have a table, or indeed anything to place a watch, glass or book on.
The suite had a bathroom and shower room, but both were converted cupboards. Showering necessitated ducking to avoid banging one's head on the sloping ceiling. Remove the mirrors and you’d realise just how small the space was.
A Nespresso coffee machine was provided, but only two capsules. The wireless Internet was efficient but not a bargain.
The web site said that the junior suites ‘offer a great view over Paris’. My vista was rooftops, chimneys, and satellite dishes. Below was a dilapidated courtyard. That is not a great view over Paris.
The Montalembert Hotel was a massive disappointment. It was expensive and without question the smallest junior suite I have had anywhere. It does seem to attract a trendy, young clientele. The reception area was cluttered with creative types on their Mac Books.
They’re welcome to it.
Hotel Montalembert
3 Rue de Montalembert
Saint Germain Des Pres
Paris
+33 1 45 49 68 68
http://www.montalembert.com/
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
