For me, Paris is about art, history, design and food.  I wanted to find a hotel that encompassed all of this – a boutique hotel that I could love – a new way to see and stay in Paris.  With the Paris Air show in town during our stay, all rates were higher than normal (June is already high season so they were higher than that!).  I wasn’t able to return to the Paris Westin on points, nor could I afford the rate during our visit.  I scoured the internet looking at blogs, reviews, TripAdvisor and every other booking site I could find.  I asked friends who live there, friends who visit on a regular basis and also sent a tweet to find help.  With so many hotels in the city, I narrowed it down to five small boutique hotels scattered in various neighborhoods in my price range before narrowing it down to two hotels.  I chose both (opting to hotel hop) and started our stay at Hotel Atmospheres Paris, a very cool boutique hotel marrying contemporary design, photography and a small number of bedrooms for an intimate hotel stay.

 

 

Hotel Atmospheres – Location:

In the 5th arr, a few blocks from the Sorbonne in the Latin Quarter with the Pantheon around the corner and Notre Dame a short walk away, this was a perfectly situated hotel to explore.  Even better was that there were many restaurants and cafes in the area with English menus that made my niece feel better as she wanted to be in control to choose her foods. We also had a small market across the street to buy fresh fruit, bottled water, juice, wine, etc.  You can walk to the Luxenbourg Gardens in about 15 minutes up the Boulevard St. Michel or alternatively go in the other direction toward Notre Dame.  If you didn’t want to walk then the metro line 10 was nearby (stop: Maubert Mutualite). At the metro stop, the fresh market stalls/shops were set up each day – the cheese store, meats, fish, breads, etc. – you didn’t need to travel far to eat amazingly fresh foods.

Hotel Atmospheres – First Impressions

The 56 room hotel is unassuming outside,  just an awning with it’s name, Atmospheres Hotel Paris (I prefer Hotel Atmospheres).  The large sliding entry door is the first sign that this is a contemporary hotel that focuses on design.  Once inside, this is confirmed as the interior design is just very cool.  It looks just like the website so there are no surprises.  With the photos of Thierry Des Ouches (warning: his website photos and music are stunning and you will be instantly lulled into wanting to find a French cafe or a ticket to Paris) throughout the lobby and in the rooms which are Paris themed – nature, monuments, by night, urban and macaron.  I instantly felt at home here (if only I could replicate the design at home!), it was a happy feeling.

The front desk is just a small area on the left.  Check-In was easy and we were given the radio key to the room on the 5th floor.

Hotel Atmospheres – Club Room

The elevator was fun – the floors announced in French and Aubrey, my niece, thought that “d’etage” which means floor/storey sounded like “my name is Josh” so for our stay we laughed and said “my name is Josh” in the elevator rides (she is eleven and I’m a child at heart).

Opening the door to our room we were faced with the twin beds and a black/white photo over the bed of the Pont des Arts (famous for the love locks that adorn it). The room, a club room of twin beds, was small as we expected and the side wall sloped as we were on the top floor.  We had a window opening to a view of the under construction Pantheon. With a small desk space and a large wardrobe, this compact room was pretty functional and ceased to feel small. The wardrobe had a safe that was operated by credit card instead of code, the hairdryer which confused me as the blue button (cold to us here in the US) is the on button that you need to press continually to operate and the faux refrigerator with minibar drinks (it isn’t cold so don’t store food here).

 

Hotel Atmospheres –  Bathroom

Sliding the pocket door open after our spin around in the bedroom, we were pleasantly surprised by how large it was.  The shower was the size of two showers next to each other with two sets of controls and rain shower features.

The sink was fun and interesting.  The toiletries were local and my one pet peeve was the all in one shampoo which was to act as shower gel, shampoo and conditioner.  For me, this never works.  I am always prepared though and had brought soap with me.

Hotel Atmospheres – Breakfast room

We attempted  breakfast in the hotel (it wasn’t included in our rate).  The space can be reached by elevator or the lobby spiral staircase.  There was a continental setup with a few hot dishes but they didn’t have a chef for ala carte orders (or special orders that I needed).  So rather than pay 16 euro each, we were told to try the diner down the street, Breakfast in America (opened and owned by an American of course). The French don’t do eggs I was told – fair enough, so to the diner down the street we went (another option is the luxurious famous Angelina near the Louvre).

Hotel Atmospheres – Common Areas 

We did a quick tour of all the common area amenities/spaces (lobby, computer room, outdoor patio/garden), missed the gym and sauna but didn’t use any of it as we were out and about all day exploring the city. Each time we came back to the hotel, the spaces were empty so not sure when they got used but nice to know they are there.  There is an honor bar in the lobby which is amply stocked and reasonably priced.

Hotel Atmospheres – Front Desk/Concierge

All interactions with the front desk were friendly and they were very helpful during our stay. Restaurant recommendations, directions, suggestions, order taxi, etc. they handled easily and we had good experiences.  One guy remembered us front check-in and had our key ready as we walked in (it’s very European as you leave your key with the front desk when you go out).  He joked with us and was very nice.  This kind of interaction was appreciated 24/7 – further adding to the good feeling of the hotel.

The hotel does not have a concierge per se as I would learn in my advance email contact.  The front staff was quick to reply but I wasn’t confident in their ability to arrange tickets for us. For example, my request for Eiffel tower tickets (which I knew were sold out online months ahead of time) came back with a “you can buy these online at the Eiffel Tower page”.  So I would use the other Paris hotel we were staying at later in the week to arrange tickets/tours for us with their preferred vendor.

Hotel Atmospheres – Overall

I’d definitely stay at Hotel Atmospheres again as it was a fabulous Paris boutique hotel both in design and welcoming spirit.  It was quiet at night and close to so much (shops, cafes, restaurants, attractions) in walking distance.  I love to walk (my 11 year old niece, not so much) as I generally need to walk off French indulgences such as macarons, croissants, chocolate and wine.  The metro needed a connection (or two) given that we were on the other side of the Seine (the left bank) but it was easy to do.

My rate averaged out to 222 Euros per night for the Club Room (twin beds) which is above the standard room category (this was an advanced internet pre-paid rate without breakfast during the Paris Air Show week when rates were higher than normal). The hotel has solo rooms starting at 139 Euro and goes up to suite/apartment like spaces for families.