Paris boutique hotels continue to impress me with their style, warmth and service levels.  Finding a new luxury gem to add to my Parisian collection has become my new obsession in Paris (it takes hours of research before I commit to try a new hotel).  Hotel Therese in Paris made my radar three years ago when I was researching small boutique Paris hotels.  The design was contemporary and the colors on the website seemed warm and welcoming. Sadly, on my last two visits to the city, I was unable to find a room, but for Mom’s Luxury trip to Paris, I wanted us to stay here.  It was the type of hotel that I knew I would like and hoped Mom would too.

 

 

Location – Rue Therese in the 1st (Right Bank)

Hotel Therese has a fantastic location on a quiet street, Rue Therese, on the Right Bank in the 1st arr., not far from the Louvre, the Seine, the stunning Paris Opera and Galleries Lafayette.  An added bonus is that the area is surrounded by restaurants, cafes, shops and if you are feeling wealthy, rue Saint Honore. Less than ten minutes walk you have the Metro Line 1 (yellow) which can easily take you up the Champs Elysses to La Defense with stops at Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe.

If you walk to the Seine and over the bridge then you arrive at Musee D’Orsay and have access to the RER C (yellow) line that can take you along the water up to Eiffel Tower (stop: Champ de Mars Tour Eiffel or Pont de l’Alma) or as far as Versailles, the last stop (if you want to DIY your visit instead of a tour from Paris)

 

Hotel Therese – Arrival

When we arrived, we entered and were instantly transported into a cute luxury boutique hotel.  After our long journey, we felt welcomed by both staff members at the front desk who said both “Bon Jour and Hello” covering all bases. As it was after 4 pm when we arrived, our rooms were ready (check in is at 3 p.m., check-out is noon)

While I took care of providing my passport, credit card and filling out the registration form, Mom was relaxing in the lounge and a staff member took our bags to our rooms and said he would come back for us as we all couldn’t fit in the lift.  The elevator is small holding two people or one person with the big luggage that Mom brought with her – he managed to squeeze himself and our two bags.

Our rooms were next to each other which made it easy for mom to knock on the door in her robe when she needed me for something.

I was handed our room keys in pure European style – they are massively large and unique (sheared leather ponytail).  Mom looked and said “I can’t fit that in my bag” and I explained that we give the keys to the front desk when we leave each day and of course this freaked her out a bit.  I said “hotels can get into your room at any time with or without your key to clean, fill minibars and fix broken items”  It was funny because so many first time travelers to Europe find the handing of keys odd and unsettling but really who wants to carry this with them?

 

The Lobby Lounges

The lobby has two side lounges – one before you reached the front desk and the other next to the front desk.  Each was private and comfortable with magazines and newspapers available to guests.  In the smaller room next to the front desk there is an honesty bar at night.  From 4pm – 6pm, there is a complimentary tea time set up which we unfortunately missed each day. If you are meeting friends or just want to relax outside of your room, these lounges are perfect.

Hotel Therese Room(s)

The hotel is a renovated 18^th century townhouse with 40 rooms all with different layouts in five room categories, including a ground floor room that is accessible (not that the lift to the breakfast room is up a few stairs though).

The smallest room is called “Tiny Classic”, you can’t fault them for being honest about 10m2/107 sq. ft.  For Mom, I reserved the “Small Tradition Double” (11-13m2/150sq ft.) and for me, the “Medium Tradition Twin” (15m2/182 sq. ft.). For context, most U.S. hotel rooms are about 250-300 sq. ft. so cozy is the right description for the Parisian rooms.

After exiting the elevator we had a few stairs to go up and the lights automatically went on (European hotel hallways are often dark unless used and go on with motion control).  Our hallway had just five rooms – the two rooms across from us was being used by one family. The key is electronic so you only need to tap the end to the metal on the door.  I showed Mom and she got it on the first try so it’s easy to use.

Small Tradition Double Room (Mom’s Room 56)

Given that my Mom hasn’t traveled much to have her own room, she loved her small space   When you enter the room the desk/tv/minibar are on the left with the double bed and bathroom on the right.  The design was contemporary luxury.  The windows opened for fresh air and the air conditioner was working very well to cool the room.  As the view looked into the courtyard, it was quiet and opening the windows to sleep would be an ok if that’s your preference.

The desk contained a hand written welcome note, bottle of water and a bar of Angelina chocolate (the kind of welcome I like!) Mom doesn’t like chocolate so more for me!

Mom’s bathroom was the only surprise for her and an oversight for me.  It had a tub to climb into which is typical European for me unless at a new or renovated property that has a shower only like a few of my past boutique Paris stays.  Now all I thought about was Mom falling in the tub (thanks Mom!) but I showed her how to hold the rack above to get in and out.  She opted to sit on the side of the tub and enter that way.  Here I thought I had thought of everything but missed this one piece (I did buy travel insurance!)

Medium Sized Tradition Twin Room (My Room 58)

Located at the end of the small hallway, I opened the door and was surprised to see a long hallway to the bedroom with two doors on the right for the closet and bathroom.  I instantly loved this room form the moment I opened the door and even more love for the welcome note, bottled water and chocolate (same as Mom’s).

I noticed the sloping ceiling by the windows and took note to duck a bit when I opened the double windows which were shorter than me.  I could see Mom’s window and had a similar view of the interior courtyard of buildings.

My room was larger than Mom’s (I had two single beds pushed together in this double room).  I had more space with an armoire filled with coffee maker, safe, minibar.   The desk had room to work and the television above was a good size if I wanted to watch TV (I didn’t). The bed was firm but that didn’t prevent me from soundly sleeping.  The wifi was included and required a password to use.

Here’s my video walk through of the room

 

The Marble Bathroom

The bathroom felt a bit smaller in layout than Mom’s but was fine for me.  The toiletries were local and lovely with a nice scent – one annoyance is that they have the little foil seals that are hard to peel off especially, if like me, you are in the shower, your hands are wet and you lose patience so you squeeze really hard to pop it open.

Hotel Therese Breakfast Room

The basement breakfast room is adorable, original vaulted ceilings and brickwork and while we were usually the only ones there because Mom liked to sleep in, one day there were three full tables (the only time we saw other guests) the server asked for the room number and whether you wanted coffee or tea.  She got confused with Mom & me as we had two room numbers and did different breakfast each day (extra charges on my bill but the front desk sorted those easily). Mom enjoyed her cereal and coffee each day while I overlooked the fact that it cost €15

The breakfast choices are Full, Continental and Express costing €6-€15 per person.  Of course, Mom’s cereal was part of the full breakfast so that was €15 each day.  It was funny to see the face she made with the Yoplait yoghurt as it is so much different than the U.S. version. The breakfast included scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, cereal, fruit, cold cuts and a bread table, which included a basket of gluten free bread.

We ate in the hotel each day since it was the quickest coffee fix for Mom and on the last day treated ourselves to Angelina (known for their chocolate).

The Front Desk

The staff at the front desk were always pleasant and accommodating.  The older gentleman on the overnight shift got to know Mom as he called her each day for her wakeup call (there are no clocks in room).  When I inquired about taxi vs. Uber they were very frank to recommend Uber given the added costs that a taxi may charge from time of call to arrival (they could get stuck in traffic in the area causing your costs to be high before you get in).  I appreciated the honesty and noticed they also have the taxi notice posted at the desk to avoid meter shock if they order a cab for you.

Airport Pickup Arranged

The hotel arranged for a taxi pickup from the airport.  Our driver was waiting with a sign and escorted us to the airport parking lot to find the van.  The cost was slightly more at €75 than a taxi or Uber would have been but we took comfort in knowing that the driver was waiting and knew where we were going. The driver spoke a bit of English.  The only confusion was that I provided a credit card to the hotel thinking I paid in advance but that was only to hold the reservation, I needed to pay cash to the driver at the hotel (lucky for me I had Euro on me)  Next time, I would pre-pay to avoid the confusion. The cost to the airport is less (no waiting time) at €60.

 

Hotel Therese Rates

I booked via email because I had the two room query with a request to be near each other which is harder to do online with two separate reservations.  The hotel website is easy to use and the photos are a good representation of the property. During our visit in early September, the rooms were discounted online (always check their website for specials and sign up to receive emails).

Mom’s Room (Small Traditional Double Room) – Normal €250, Discount Rate €207

My Room (Medium Traditional Twin Room) – Normal €290, Discount Rate €243

Hotel Therese – Final Thoughts

I loved the Hotel Therese Paris as did Mom.  The location was fantastic for a first time visit as we were so close to everything Mom wanted to see and given her limited mobility (at the time) made for easy walking.  The staff was five star, the room quiet and comfortable, the free Wi-Fi fast and easy and the welcome note/chocolate a wonderful personal touch. For a luxury boutique hotel experience in Paris, the Hotel Therese is at the top of my list and should be on your list too!