Grand Hotel des Balcons

The 50-room Grand Hôtel des Balcons is a well situated two-star hotel with some Art Nouveau touches and, you guessed it, loads of balconies.

Quick read

Pros: Great location near St-Germain and Odéon. More than half the rooms with private balconies.

Cons: Can be noisy, especially if you sleep with open windows. Smallish rooms.

Rooms

The rooms at the Grand Hotel des Balcons vary in size, although most hover in the “smallish” category. Most have some artwork livening up the cream-colored walls, as well as some bold red-and-orange bedding. All rooms are equipped with a telephone, TV, and Wi-Fi access (for a charge).

Notably, of the 50 rooms, 30 open to the street outside and have small balconies—we recommend asking for one of these.

As with most two-star hotels, the rooms don’t have air conditioning (although you can request a fan). This normally isn’t a problem in Paris, but it could prove to be noisy if you sleep with open windows. The street is relatively quiet, but you might pick up the noise of nearby motorists and passing pedestrians. If you’re booking during the summer months and noise is a concern, you may want to ask for a room off the street—or at least pack ear plugs.

Bathrooms have nice fixtures, brown tiles, and most have bathtubs (request ahead).

Hotel

Downstairs, the gold-painted lobby swirls with Art Nouveau touches, including large stained-glass windows, fanciful woodwork and fresh flowers.

The Anglo-American style breakfast buffet, which serves up eggs, sausage, and bacon, is available for a hefty €12. For those guests sick of the petite French-style breakfast, it could be worth it. Otherwise, we’d recommend heading off to any of the neighborhood’s many cafes for a lighter (and cheaper) petit déjeuner.

Location

The Grand Hotel des Balcons sports a very convenient location near endless shops, restaurants and cafes. Make a left out the door and you can head to the Odéon National Theater and the Luxembourg Gardens. Make a right and you'll step onto the Boulevard St-Germain. Heck, go straight across the street and you'll end up at Berkeley Books, a pleasant English-language used bookstore.

Metro: The Grand Hotel des Balcons is located one block south of the Odéon Metro station (lines 4 and 10).