Rick and I recently went on a whirlwind trip through Europe, starting in Paris and ending in Dublin. Paris wasn’t part of the original itinerary but as soon as it became clear we could add it on and start our trip a few days early, we started looking at hotels in Paris to plan our trip!
I was able to redeem some points through Chase and we found the Hotel Du College De France on their list and would be able to redeem a healthy amount of points against our stay.
Hotel Du College De France in Paris review
The hotel was centrally-located, in the Latin Quarter, and it was super easy to get to at the end of the day.
One of the main reasons we picked this hotel was due to its proximity to our ghost tour’s starting location as that was the last activity we had on our trip before we had to pack up and head off to London. But, being a five-minute walk from Notre Dame wasn’t bad at all!
There were plenty of restaurants and shopping within walking distance and it never took us too long to get to a metro stop.
Accommodations
The room was comfortable and had a mini fridge and desk, as well as a window that opened out to a fun city view! The bathroom was big enough for one person, though we did have some issues with the shower and the glass partition swinging out and dripping water everywhere.
The AC was also off when we first arrived as part of the hotel’s eco initiatives but it was easy enough to figure out and get turned on as it was hot while we were in Paris!
Amenities
The hotel did offer a breakfast (for an additional fee of €10), that I’m sure was quite delightful, but Rick and I opted to not do breakfast and either eat a bigger lunch or find a cafe or patisserie and get a few things to snack on.
It worked out well for us, but the breakfast room was located on the first floor. And breakfast was served from about 7:15 to 11:30 a.m., perfect for both early risers and those still suffering the effects of jet lag.
Check-in & customer service
Check-in was super easy and every staff member we talked to was very friendly and ready to help. They even have a WhatsApp concierge service so you can text them for housekeeping or to get pointed in the right direction. We got a great list of nearby restaurants from WhatsApping the service.
One thing to note about reception is they use legitimate keys at this hotel and do ask that when you leave the hotel you leave your key with the reception staff. This was not a problem for us, but we did have a mishap one night when we got the keys to room 46 and we were staying in room 45. It was a real fun walk back down five flights and back up again to swap out keys, but it wasn’t a big deal.
Also, like many European hotels, the elevator is teeny tiny here. Rick and I made for a very tight squeeze and we each had a carry-on bag, not even big checked bags. Once we were rid of our rollers we used the stairs, but something to note if you’re not traveling light.
Housekeeping
Housekeeping took great care of our room and provided clean towels and tidied everything up while we were out and about during the day.
Price
The cost for our three-night stay was $1,089.69 and I used almost $400 worth of credit card points on this hotel. I still had to pay the city taxes upon checkout but it was $12.
For its location, it was worth the price to us.
Location
One of the reasons we picked this hotel was I wanted to stay in the Latin Quarter so it’d be easy to walk to a few of our planned activities that started near Notre Dame and have easy access to the metro.
The hotel is located at: 7 Rue Thenard Paris 75005 FR
It took us about 50 minutes to get to the hotel from Charles de Gaulle Airport as there was quite a bit of traffic on the Saturday afternoon that we arrived. It took us about 30 minutes to get to Gare Du Nord, about 25 minutes on the train and a five-minute walk to the station.
What other hotels should we add to our list next time we’re in Paris? Share your thoughts in the comments!
