Hotel de Rouen

The family-owned Hotel de Rouen offers the simplest of one-star rooms at rates that won’t break your purse—or the massive Banque de France located across the street. Its prime asset is its location, a five-minute stroll from the Palais du Louvre, the Musée de la Mode et du Textile and the Jardin des Tuileries.

Quick read

Pros: Central location near the Louvre. Cheap, cheap!

Cons: Small and very simple rooms. Interior rooms quite dark.

Rooms

The Rouen provides 22 recently painted and bare-bones rooms, each equipped with a television and free Wi-Fi. A 2009 renovation of the stairwell and rooms brought new beds, wooden flooring and bathroom tiles.

Single and double rooms are available with either simple private or shared bathroom facilities.

These rooms and baths are small, basic and clean, and are probably best occupied by real budget travelers, backpackers and students. If you’ve ever been called “fussy,” move on to another hotel now.

Hotel

The reception desk closes at midnight, but there’s no curfew. You’ll be given a “digicode” password to access the building after hours. Breakfast is available for €6. Note that the hotel is not air conditioned.

Needless to say, the hotel does not have an elevator.

Our verdict

Expect no frills and you will be satisfied. While the hotel’s sparse lobby and rooms were squeaky clean, we also found that they lacked warmth. If you’re a hopeless romantic, the Hotel de Rouen is probably not your match. (Again, price and location are its alluring traits.)

On the flip side, we appreciated certain details about the place, like the cool pairing of mint-colored accents with Norwegian wood and the fact that someone there has a mad penchant for collaging. Keep your eyes peeled for these creative touches (which resemble ransom notes) on the interior and exterior signage throughout the hotel.

Location

Aside from its low rates, the Hotel de Rouen’s chief selling point is its fabulous location. The Louvre is less than a five-minute stroll south (we could do it in three). Most of Paris’ Right Bank attractions are within walking distance.

Metro: The hotel is located a quick walk from several stops, including the Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre station (lines 1 and 7) and Châtelet Les-Halles (1, 4, 7, 11 and 14). The Les Halles stop also serves RER lines A, B and D, and line B offers a direct connection to Charles de Gaulle airport.