When I decided to take the train from Barcelona to Paris it was to relax and recharge as my first trip to Europe since the pandemic was a whirlwind of great cities (London, Madrid, Barcelona). With no plans for Paris, I thought it was best to stay again at Hotel Therese in the 1st arrondissement near the Louvre. I wasn’t keen to use the metro during my visit when temps were over 90 degrees, so I planned my activities (making macarons, baking croissants and a Citroen tour) within walking distance. I had visited Paris with mom five years ago and we really loved the hotel. This time I found a great deal at the Hotel Therese website and booked the classic room. The classic room is their smallest room configuration and good for a solo traveler. As I was keen to keep costs low, I thought the total of €500 for 3 nights in Paris in June was great deal.
So, what’s changed in the five years since my last visit? Not much to be honest. The décor still looks as if it was styled by a design magazine and the staff continue to be friendly and accommodating to my awful French. I did miss the chocolate bars from Angelina and handwritten welcome note. Small touches that I hope return in the future to this family-owned boutique hotel.
My room, chamber 11, was on the 1st floor (one flight up). I used the elevator only with my luggage and chose to use the stairs otherwise. When I opened the door to the room, I could see that it was facing the street and the décor was as I remembered. But this room was noticeably smaller or was it that I was just too big for the room? I am jealous of those who can just drop their bag and enjoy a hotel room. I usually need to do a bit of rearranging and this room was no different. For those that know me, this is normal, for others, it may seem a bit…much.
Rearranging the Hotel Room
The desk chair impeded my walk around the bed, so I folded the chair up and put in the corner along with the side table in my way. I opened the front windows despite the sign saying to keep the windows closed. The outside noise was surprisingly minimal but once I shut the windows it was instantly quiet. The windows are thick (likely tripled glazed or other) and kept all noises out. The heavily draped curtains helped to keep all traces of sunlight out of the room. So this room was made for relaxing in quiet and sleeping without a trace of light to interfere. A lie in (aka sleeping late) in Paris? Seems dreamy.
With the table and chair out of the way behind the heavy curtains with ottoman, I set about fixing a few other things in the room. The bedspread and accent pillows were removed and put in the wardrobe (closet). The bathroom had two thick robes on the door so I put one in the wardrobe and the other on the room hook so that I could close the bathroom door. A few other touchups and the room was ready for me. I took the slippers out of the plastic and put those on to explore the rest of the room (pretty much five paces long and two paces wide with my size 11 feet).
The bed had two insets next to the pillows – on my side was the phone, on the other side empty space to hold your phone or bottle of water. Near the window, the tall cabinet held the safe as well as the minibar and extra space for storage.
I needed to use the desk to charge my phone as there were no outlets near the bed. It’s helpful to have an alarm that makes you physically move from bed to turn off otherwise you run the risk of sleeping all day in your Parisian room.
Paris Bathroom Humor
Now about this bathroom. It’s very pretty and functional in the small space….a very small space.
Sometimes I’m glad I travel alone and am not sharing space with another person – those clear showers can get interesting. In this room, not only was I enough for the room with my luggage but this bathroom was oddly shaped which caused endless laughter. My long legs stuck out of the bathroom so I couldn’t shut the door properly if I needed privacy.
The corner shower doors opened out halfway and I took my shoe to demonstrate how big the opening was, roughly the length of my sneaker. Once inside, careful that my curves didn’t touch anything, my head was inches from the shower head, so while I had clearance, anyone taller than me, at 5’9”, might want to book a larger bathroom or ask about options. At one point, I dropped the soap and was glad I was done with it because despite my years of yoga there wasn’t a way to bend down to retrieve it in the small space. I kept thinking this was a luxury version of the childhood game of Operation where you tried your best to not to touch the sides.
Solo Room in Paris
Now all of this said, the room was very comfortable, and I slept well each night (8+hours each night my Oura sleep tracker was quite happy). As with any older building in Europe that’s been converted, you need to have a sense of humor with the space. For one person, this was a great room. For a plus size person with size 11 (EU 42) feet like me, it was definitely a slight challenge in a funny way. But then again, I paid such a low rate in high season in a great location with much needed air conditioning.
Paris Bistros
But this is Paris, and the point is to wander aimlessly, find a bistro, drink some wine and admire the history along the Seine. The hotel needs to be comfortable but frankly this is not a city where you’ll spend much time in the hotel room, or at least you shouldn’t. The staff recommended Bistrot Vivienne, a few minutes’ walk from the hotel and it was the perfect welcome back to Paris meal. I enjoyed a glass of French wine, steak frites and of course saved room for the chocolate mousse. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Luxury Solo Room in Paris
Hotel Therese continues to be one of my favorite boutique hotels in Paris for a solo traveler. It’s a family-owned hidden gem with only 40 rooms, including a street level accessible room. The location is fantastic with a short walk to the Louvre, Tullieries and Seine in one direction or opposite to the Paris Opera and Galleries Lafayette. I enjoy walking in Paris but if you prefer the metro, there are a few stations in the area as well. Despite its small size, the hotel is big on style, it feels like my secluded hideaway in Paris. I’ve stayed in so many fantastic hotels in Paris, large and small, in various neighborhoods over the years and now I feel like I found my little home on Rue Therese. Don’t worry I put all the furniture back in its place before I left!
