Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Adventures in Paris: Residence Henri IV

Our visit to France was comprised of two different locations: Paris and Chateauneuf-de-Mazanc in the south of France.  We were very confident of the quality of the place where we were staying at the latter, since my friend Dani had stayed there last summer with her family and highly recommended it!  See her great posts about this spot here.  I will have a few more photos myself later this week.

Paris was more complex. We wanted a suite, since there was four of us, and we did not want to pay a fortune.  We were not going to be there for a full week, so apartment rentals were out as they only rented by the week.  Oh yes, and we wanted to be on the left bank, ideally in the Latin Quarter!  Not an easy feat!

I spent many an evening in January surfing the web for the perfect spot, when I stumbled upon Residence Henri IV:


It had it all - 3 blocks from Notre Dame Cathedral and Ile Saint Louis, 4 blocks from the Luxumbourg Gardens, and located at the end of a very tiny cul-de-sac off Rue des Ecoles.

This picture, from their website, is of the bedroom of our two room suite:

Hotel Henry 4

It was lovely and clean, and the staff could not have been more helpful! The second room was comprised of a sofa bed, small desk and a gorgeous view.  The bathroom was good size, all marble, and off the bathroom was a small kitchenette (and I mean small!) if you are so inclined to out a kettle on! My husband, who has slept on many a sofa bed in his long life, said it was the most comfortable sofa bed he had ever slept on and my son concurred.  In fact, both mattresses were comfortable and thick!

In the basement is a small orangerie where breakfast is served to guests at a very reasonable 8 euros a person.

Hotel Henry 4


There is a wee tiny elevator for taking up your luggage - one person at a time - and a gorgeous spiral staircase that goes up 8 or 9 stories:

Hotel Henry 4


On our last morning in Paris we waited outside for the cab to take us to the airport, sad to leave such a charming little spot:



"plaisant hotel" basically says it all!




If you are looking for a small hotel, reasonably priced, that has rooms for both two persons and for four persons, in a vibrant and central location, this is the spot for you!

Have a wonderful day!

UPDATE:

I am just in the throes of reading "Paris, A Love Story," by Kati Marton, who was married to Peter Jennings and is recently widowed by Richard Holbrooke (can you say it like that?  Gawd!  I need you WFF!)  Last night, I was reading about her Paris apartment, which is literally right around the corner from Residence Henri IV, as in maybe 5 buildings away!  She captures the essence of the neighbourhood very well, which is a combination of great boulangeries, cinemas playing old Hollywood movies (the Deperado was having a Cary Grant week when we were there!) and some really funky science fiction and camping shops (along with the requisite cafes).  It is an interesting book - not great literature, but fun for me havng just been in all these places and you can buy yours here!
have a wonderful day AGAIN!

9 comments:

  1. Oh it looks like such a wonderful place to stay, WMM! Thank you for sharing the information and the photos. You are making me wish I was there now! :)

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  2. This place looks perfect and I know very well how difficult it is to find a hotel for four people on the Left bank. I'm definitely making note of this place.
    Thanks for the kind mention, I can't wait to see your own pictures of our house in France!

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    1. Oh - I have to call you this week! We stumbled upon the cat house in Grignan as well - but I didn't know you had blogged about it till I was linking your post to this last night!! That is worth a conversation!

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  3. Oh WMM, now you have me pining, badly, for both Paris and Rome. (Venice and Florence actually top my major trip list. The DH has been, as part of his then work, lucky sod. But before yours truly.) And the Beeb keeps running that Milviori story. My favourite hotel in the 6th was a last-minute pick thanks to a cheap as chips flight from the UK. Also marble bathrooms, big windows and massive gilted mirrors - and they said in late spring and summer they serve their breakfast in the courtyard too. Hopefully we can manage a return trip this decade to try. So many places, so little _______. www.hotelabbayeparis.com

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    1. I hear you! Rome is sloop on my list, too! Thanks for the heads up about your hotel!

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  4. I love your descriptions. They really bring the place to life. What a lovely hotel. A perfect smaller lodging is a rare treasure!

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