L'Hotel Pergolèse
Paris
by Sarah Shuckburgh
The Hotel Pergolese is well situated, in a quiet street
five minutes' walk from the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs
Elysées. The nearest metro station, Argentine, is on Line 1,
providing a direct route to the Louvre and Le Marais, or to
La Defense business district. If you arrive by car, you can
park conveniently at La Porte Maillot, just minutes away.
The hotel itself is comfortable and stylish - indeed it
prides itself on being a 'Design Hotel', as well as a hotel
'de Charme et de Caractère'.
Behind the 19th century facade with its 1930s glass and
metal canopy, everything is new, and is the unique creation,
twelve years ago, of Rena Dumas-Hermès, the wife of the
owner of the Hermès fashion house. Her unusual mix-and-match
colour schemes, and dramatic, lopsided-looking furniture -
two-toned in golden mahogany and palest ash - are found
throughout the hotel. The striking carpets and paintings in
the public areas are the work of the Paris-based American
designer, Hilton McConnico, and the free-standing chrome
basins in every bathroom are by André Putman.
The decor may not be to your taste - the diagonal sweeps
of the wooden bedhead may collide just where you want to
rest your head while you sip your night-cap - but the hotel
is lovingly maintained and is impeccably clean and polished.
The bedrooms all have double glazing, air conditioning,
cable TV, two phones, internet sockets, minibar, and a
kettle for making tea or coffee.
The forty rooms, arranged on six floors, come in four
sizes (VIP, Superior, Standard, and Attic), but all have the
same facilities. Some rooms are designated as non-smoking.
As with most hotels in the centre of Paris, even the largest
bedrooms are quite small, but the VIP rooms have spacious
marble bathrooms, and come with two doors between the
bedroom and the corridor, ensuring peace and quiet.
Downstairs, in the open-plan foyer, there is free
internet access, a 24-hour bar, two clusters of sofas and
comfortable chairs, and a colourful dining area where breakfast is served until 11am. Lunch
and supper are not served, and room service is limited, but the hotel
provides a list of dozens of local restaurants, all within a
few minutes' walk.
L'Hotel Pergolèse
3 rue Pergolèse
75116 Paris
France
First published by Travel Intelligence Ltd
©SarahShuckburgh |
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Hotel la Manufacture
Paris
by Sarah Shuckburgh
The Hotel la Manufacture's name refers not to heavy
industry, but to La Manufacture des Gobelins - the elegant
stone building on the nearby Avenue des Gobelins, which once
housed the renowned tapestry workshops of Louis XIV.
The hotel itself is in the up-and-coming 13th
arrondissement, just off the Place d'Italie. A short walk
along the Avenue des Gobelins takes you to the cobbled rue
Mouffetard and the leafy Place de la Contrescarpe, with
small restaurants and cafes, arty shops, and medieval houses
with beamed ceilings. The hotel is convenient for the Gare
d'Austerlitz and the Gare du Lyon, and Place d'Italie is on
Metro lines 5, 6 and 7. Orly airport is about 20 minutes
away.
The hotel was refurbished four years ago, and the ground
floor reception, bar and breakfast area have wooden floors
and Ikea-type furnishings. The small bar is open 24 hours a
day for hot and cold drinks. Breakfast is served between 7
and 10.30am, either on gingham upholstery downstairs, or in
your bedroom.
The hotel is on seven floors, but there are two lifts. The
57 bedrooms range in size from small to very small, but they
are clean and newly decorated, with air-conditioning,
satellite TV, and computer sockets. Some rooms face the
street, and some look on to a quiet but charmless central
well. The seventh floor has slightly bigger rooms and gives
you a choice of two famous views - from number 74 (the only
room with a mini-bar) you can see the Eiffel Tower, and from
the bathroom of number 71 you can glimpse the Pantheon. The
second and sixth floors have some rooms which open on to a
narrow balcony which runs along the front of the building,
above the bustling street.
On each floor there are pairs of interconnecting rooms, with
a shared door to the corridor, to accommodate families.
There is also one suite with a double and a single room.
Hotel la Manufacture
Paris 8, rue Philippe de Champagne
First published by Travel Intelligence Ltd
©SarahShuckburgh |
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