Ellie & I recently spent five nights at the 4-star Hôtel Littéraire Arthur Rimbaud in Paris’s Gare de l’Est neighbourhood in the 10th arrondissement. North of the city centre. Half-way between Notre Dame and Sacre-Coeur.
BEST WESTERN SIGNATURE COLLECTION
The hotel is part of the Best Western Signature Collection. I hadn’t realised that there are 16 different brands under the BWH umbrella, including the regular Best Western, of course, but also seemingly unrelated ones such as WorldHotels, Aiden, or Sure Hotel. BW Signature Collection are marketed as affordable, 3- and 4-star ‘homes away from home,’ that have been “thoughtfully designed to reflect the unique atmosphere of their destination” and “where no request is too big.”
All pics (c) BerkeleySqB, except where otherwise mentioned.
THE LITERARY HOTELS
The Hôtels Littéraires were created independently from Best Western by the collector and bibliophile Jacques Letertre. His vision was to share his passion with all guests and to offer them an immersion in the world of his favourite authors. Today there are three Literary Hotels in Paris, one in Rouen, one in Nancy, one in Clermont-Ferrand, and one in Biarritz. Management of the Hôtels Littéraires has remained within the family and has passed on to Alban Letertre.
CULTURE AS ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY
The hotels consider culture to be an essential element of sustainability, just like the United Nations do. Consequently, they also follow high standards with regards to other aspects of sustainability, such as green initiatives, waste reduction, energy efficiency, etc.
FIRST EDITIONS, ART BINDINGS, PAINTINGS, READINGS, TALKS & A LIBRARY
Ellie & I loved the vibe of our hotel. There are first editions, art bindings, paintings, drawings, sculptures, curious artefacts, a library, and myriads of other references to Rimbaud everywhere. The hotel also organises regular literary readings, talks, and other events about the author.
Rimbaud’s life is as fascinating as his revolutionary oeuvre, which greatly impacted modern literature and even artists like Bob Dylan or Jim Morrison.
1st pic (c) DayUse dot com dot hk, 2nd pic (c) Tripadvisor.
THE ORIGINAL ENFANT TERRIBLE – A PROPER PUNK
The enfant terrible par excellence was born in 1854. A prodigy at school, he started writing in his early childhood. Many of his most important works were created when he was in his mid-teens, around the age of 16. By the age of 20 he had decided to drop the pen forever and he never looked back. He became a businessman, coffee trading company executive, fixer, and world traveller. Sadly, he died at the age of only 37 from bone cancer.
THEMED ROOMS
While most rooms are themed on the great master himself, some are dedicated to his friends and family, such as his mother and sisters, his lover Paul Verlaine, Etienne Carjat, and Georges Izambard. The top floor decorations focus on the cities where Rimbaud has lived, from Charleville to Harar (Ethiopia), via Brussels, London, and Aden (Yemen).
THE ‘CLASSIC ROOM’ WE BOOKED
We stayed in a ‘Classic Room’, the most basic of 4 types of accommodation. The hotel’s website is very upfront about the small size of those rooms. It specifically mentions, right at the top of the description, that the rooms are 12 (130) to 14sqm (150sqft). That’s very small for a 4-star hotel, but no problem in our book, as we had been made aware of it, before we booked.
WIFI, COFFEE MACHINE, AIR-CONDITIONING, ETC.
The description does mention a bedside table, which our room didn’t have, but that’s no biggie. It is clear about the fact that there is no fridge. All rooms have a TV, a desk, a safe for the valuables, reasonably fast, free WiFi, a coffee machine, and air-conditioning.
WALLPAPERS ARE A NOD AT ABSINTHE-INDUCED HALLUCINATIONS
Those double rooms feature green décor in allusion to the master’s love of nature. Or, like our room, wallpaper with purple patterns, that are a nod at his absinthe-induced hallucinations. The rooms all have names inspired by one of Rimbaud’s poems. And each room has an original water-colour by the artist Jean Aubertin, based on the theme of the respective poem. Next to it, you’ll find a framed text, referencing the poem. In every room, there is a copy of one of Rimbaud’s books for the occupants’ perusal.
‘SUPERIOR’ / ‘DELUXE’ & ‘FAMILY ROOMS’
On the hotel’s website the information about ‘Superior Rooms’ is very limited, possibly due to a glitch. But they seem to start from a tiny 14sqm (150sqft) in size and have bigger wardrobes and fancier bathrooms. ‘Deluxe Rooms’ involve yet another small upgrade in size & furniture. Family rooms are simply bigger versions of Superior Rooms.
PRICING
On Booking dot com we had booked 4 months ahead of time and chosen the non-refundable/pay-now option, which is why we paid £130 instead of £160 per night. This was cheaper than booking the non-refundable option through the hotel’s website. Breakfast would have cost an extra £32 per day for the two of us and we always prefer to check out as many cafes as we can, anyway.
ELLIE’S BIRTHDAY WEEKEND – SOMETHING SPECIAL
As it was Ellie’s birthday weekend, I had chosen to pay £16 extra for rose petals on the bed and £29 for a half bottle of champagne, all ready for us at arrival. Because Rimbaud was pretty much drinking absinthe like other people drink water, I felt compelled to take our Rimbaud-themed hotel up on their incredibly good-value offer of an absinthe tasting session for £13 for the two of us.
WALKING DISTANCE FROM GARE DU NORD & GARE DE L’EST
As we are good walkers and there were queues for the taxi at Gare du Nord when we arrived, we decided to walk the 20 minutes’ distance to the hotel. In hindsight, perhaps not the ideal choice, as we did have a fair bit of luggage and it was an unnecessary hassle. Even hopping onto the metro for the two-stops journey would have been easier, but no complaints.
MOST SIGHTS WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE
We had chosen the location in the 10th arrondissement, because of its proximity to our favourite quarter, the Marais. A mere 12 minutes’ walk away. The up and coming, very hip Canal Saint Martin neighbourhood is 20 minutes away. Nearly all the Central Paris sights (and Montmartre!) can be reached on foot within 35 minutes or less. From the metro station, which is 5 minutes away, it is extremely easy to get to all the sights that are further away, like the Champs-Elysees, Eiffel Tower, Saint Germain, the Quartier Latin, and so on.
MOST NEIGHBOURHOODS HAVE A FEW ROUGH EDGES
Just like many other parts of France’s capital, the neighbourhood around the hotel has a fair few rough edges. Especially at night, don’t be surprised to see a few members of the world’s oldest profession, small-time crooks, and homeless people. The same, of course, goes for many of the most popular, including very upmarket, areas in town. We weren’t too bothered about this.
A VERY FRIENDLY WELCOME
When we arrived at around 10pm, the staff at the reception, a gentleman and a lady, greeted us very friendly, as if we’d been regulars for years and they had missed us. They were extremely quick and helpful in getting us checked in. In no time did we make it to our room on the first floor.
A FRESHLY RENOVATED, OLD BUILDING
Various reviews I’ve read complain about the tiny elevator, which is probably just good enough for three or four people with luggage. It surely was no issue for Ellie & me. And yes, sometimes during our stay we had to wait a little while until the elevator arrived, but we were on holiday, not on the run.
NARROW HALLWAYS
It’s an old building, and even though they’ve renovated it only last year, they can’t just tear down load-bearing walls, I guess. Hence the hallway leading to our room was and is exceptionally narrow.
HAPPY WIFE, HAPPY HUSBAND
My plan to impress Ellie with the rose petals and the champagne seemed to work. I had one happy birthday princess with me on that trip. She still nagged a tiny little bit on the odd occasion. But that just comes with the package.
ARRIVING AT OUR ROOM
We very much liked that our room, like all the others, was far enough from the busy Boulevard de Strasbourg to miss out on most of the noise. Rue Gustave Goublier is a pedestrianised, tiny side street. Two of the restaurants there have outdoor seating in the street, but we didn’t notice any noise coming from there.
While we liked the relatively basic interior design, we decided straight away that we’d hang our jackets over the wardrobe door that had an oversized portrait of the weird teenage writer on it. So that we could no longer see it.
FURNITURE / BATH
Most of the furniture was in top shape. That said, and just for complete transparency, there were a few minor bits. Knobs and the screws holding up one of the towel racks had loosened. Surfaces had been scratched, etc. We couldn’t even be bothered to tell reception. While the shower cubicle is very small, there was a pleasant amount of water pressure and everything was up to a good standard.
LEAVING TOWN FOR THE DAY
On one of the days we went on a day trip to Le Mans to wander around the medieval Cité Plantagenêt and to catch up with friends of ours, who live near there. This meant that there was little time for breakfast before we had to take the metro to the train station. So we decided to try the hotel’s offer.
THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY
In a perfect world, we might have been able to order one hot dish per person, like eggs benedict or omelette. However, there were plenty of great choices from the buffet. Ellie also loved the pancake maker. You simply have to switch it on, then add the pre-prepared mixture from a bottle and wait until the pancakes are done. There were also scrambled eggs, sausages, and a couple of other hot options to choose from. We enjoyed our meal.
UNDER 20 MINUTES TO MONTPARNASSE STATION
The metro ride to Montparnasse took less than 20 minutes, despite going to the other side of town. Very convenient.
ABSINTHE TASTING
On the second-last evening, we finally managed to ‘squeeze in’ the absinthe tasting we had pre-booked. We hadn’t realised that quite some preparation and effort goes into it. So we were grateful that the hotel staff were able to make it all happen on short notice, when a time slot in our diary had opened up.
It’s quite an elaborate show and our MC was very knowledgeable and entertaining. You can pay extra to taste more than two of the eight or so varieties available. But we chose to just try two different ones and then switch glasses.
EXTREMELY HELPFUL STAFF
There were a number of occasions during our stay when we asked for assistance, for example to get a corkscrew or cutlery. Without exception the staff were always very cheerful, polite, and helpful.
CONCLUSION
We felt that, considering that we had booked so far in advance with the most highly discounted option, prepaid & non-refundable, the cost of £130 without breakfast was more on the northern end of the scale. The room, somewhat in line with our expectations (the website is clear), didn’t feel like four stars at all.
Overall, we still had a good experience. 4 out of 5 in our book.
Looking for more posts about Paris? Check out my write-ups about Unusual Things to do in Paris, the near-by four-star Hotel Le Mareuil, the Marche Aligre Food Tour, the Marche des Enfants food market, the Paris Catacombs, the restaurant La Vache et le Cuisinier, or that time when I tried French ‘fart sausage’ (andouillette).
