Grand Hotel des Balcons

A popular budget-friendly pick just off the ritzy Boulevard St-Germain, the Grand Hotel des Balcons offers comfortable two-star rooms, charming touches and a full-blown American breakfast. Oh, and lots of balconies.

The 50-room Grand Hôtel des Balcons offers Art Nouveau touches downstairs thanks to a lobby renovation, which gussied up its stained-glass windows and fanciful woodwork, and added a retro chandelier. Upstairs, the quiet rooms vary in size, although most hover in the “smallish” category. Most have some artwork livening up the walls, as well as some bold modern colors and pretty blue carpets. All rooms are equipped with a telephone, TV, safe, and free Wi-Fi. Notably, of the 50 rooms, 30 open to the street outside and have small balconies—we recommend asking for one of these.

You can expect to spend around €210 per night for a double here, although you may score rates hovering around €180 a night in the low season.

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.

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

The Anglo-American style breakfast buffet, which serves up eggs, sausage, and bacon, is available for a hefty €12.

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.

One note about booking

If you're searching above and not seeing availability through our booking partner, try searching directly on the hotel's website. They seem to have great availability.