Hotel Review – The Hotel Burgundy

If I were a travel agent looking to find a compatible hotel in Paris for my client, the first thing I would want to be clear on is the neighborhood.  Do my clients want to be outside of the city so they can wake up to birds chirping?  Or would they rather be on the trendiest of trendy streets, so they can wake up to barhoppers stumbling down the cobblestones at 5 AM?  Or do they prefer the third option?  In the middle of it all, but still in a quiet place at night?

If you’re in the third category, you know that a good night’s sleep in a big city can be hard to find.  Fortunately, at the Hotel Burgundy, you have no worries.  Although the hotel is smack in the middle of the most bustling Parisian shopping district, the pace settles down at night.  This means three things: first, staying at the Hotel Burgundy means you’re ideally placed to head out to the city’s major tourist destinations; second, by night time, when the stores close and the traffic slows, you can be assured you’ll get some rest, and third, every time you step out of the hotel’s doors, you’ll be just steps away from a shopping extravaganza.

Hotel Burgundy is tucked away on the quiet rue Duphot.  At one end of the one-way street is the dominating Madeleine, at the opposite end is the upscale and boutique-lined rue Saint-Honoré.  While the rue Saint-Honoré can be crowded and chaotic during the daytime, rue Duphot is always calm – both day and night.  The Jardin des Tuileries is right around the corner, and the Place Vendôme and the readily available shopping at Opéra are just a few blocks towards the north.  This location is perfect for picking up the métro and heading towards any of the major tourist stops, and Le Louvre is attainable on foot.

The hotel provides an upscale location and quality service at a reasonable price.  In fact, although technically a three-star hotel, the only details holding the hotel back from having four are a lack of air-conditioning and the need for a speedy and modern elevator (in the hotel’s defense, the elevator works just fine).

When a client enters the lobby, check-in is smooth and the hotel staff very efficient.  They are friendly and English-speaking (of course), and the wide range of hotel clients from throughout the world means that other languages are common as well.  Thanks to constant renovation, the hotel lobby is clean and well lit, although seating is sparse.  Behind the lobby is the bar, where seating is readily available.

Most rooms are surprisingly large by Paris standards.  There is a very small option – the chambre individuelle – composed of a single bed within a small space, but these rooms are offered to clients who know what they are getting into (there are only four of these rooms).  Even these small rooms, however, have large windows and are pleasant and clean.  All of the other of the other 89 rooms are spacious, with price reflecting differences in size and amenities, and each has its own decoration and style.  The “Privilege” rooms include coffee or tea, are a bit larger than standard rooms, and come with soft bathrobes.  Some have balconies, but they must be specifically requested.  The most impressive room – the suite – is a two-piece affair: one room serves as a sitting area (with traditional exposed beams) and the other as the bedroom.  The romantic view from the room looks out on an array of Parisi rooftops.  One more additional note: the bathtubs are great.  I am quite tall and find that bathtubs in France are often too short for my long legs, but that was not a problem at the Hotel Burgundy!  As for a room choice, I would recommend any of the Privilege rooms and, of course, the Suite is fabulous.

As for meals, a typical breakfast (with viennoiseries, bread, fruit, juice, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, coffee and tea) is served for 16,00 euros every morning.  If you would like to receive it in your room, you must leave out a request for breakfast the night before, but it otherwise  breakfast is available downstairs until 10:30.  The hotel restaurant is also open for lunch and often serves  Parisians who work in the neighborhood.  Although the restaurant closes for dinner, there are plenty of cafés, bistros, and restaurants nearby to check out.  A block away is the rue Cambon, where you can find the Chambrolle Café or the Bar Le Vendôme, which both serve traditional French food, or you can head towards the rue Saint-Florentin to test the Japanese patisserie/salon de thé Toraya.  The hotel is surrounded by restaurants, and even more are available if you’re willing to walk a few blocks more.

If you are hoping to have all of the major tourist attractions nearby or within easy reach, consider the hotel’s location.  Almost everything is either steps or a direct métro line away.  As the hotel is near to both Madeleine and Concorde (and fairly close to Opéra), the Musée d’Orsay, the Champs-Elysées, and the Eiffel Tower are easy to get to and reasonably close.  However, if you’ve come to Paris to spend your time shopping, you won’t even have to leave the neighborhood!  Both to the north and to the south are busy shopping districts, with the ever-tempting grands magasins a pleasant 10-15 minute walk away.  And if you need to put your feet up after a long day of spending money, you can do so in the Jardin des Tuileries, which is so close you can almost see it from the hotel entrance.

All in all, this is a pleasant hotel in a great location at a reasonable price – a difficult find in Paris, indeed.

Hotel Burgundy
8, rue Duphot
75001 Paris
Phone : +33(0)1.42.60.34.12
Fax: 33. (0)1.47.03.95.20
email: [email protected]
www.burgundyhotel.com

Métro: Concorde or Madeleine