My Paris Home Away From Home

 My Paris Home Away From Home

After the long flight, the drive in from Charles de Gaulle, and my first glimpses of Paris through the car window, there was one destination that suddenly became more important than all the others:

My hotel room.

There would be plenty of time for Paris. First, I needed to find Room 306. And the very friendly front desk staff could allow me to check in early!

First, a little French elevator lesson

The elevator provided one of those tiny reminders that I really was in another country. In France, the ground floor is 0, not 1. The next floor up is 1, and so on. There is even a -1 below ground level.

It is a small difference, but travel is filled with these little moments when something completely ordinary suddenly requires a second look.

And then it was down the quiet, rather dramatically dark hallway in search of 306.

Room 306 — found!

There is something wonderfully satisfying about finally seeing your hotel-room number after a day of traveling.

I opened the door and was pleasantly surprised.

The room is bright, contemporary and much more spacious than the stereotypical tiny Paris hotel room I might have expected. The enormous white bed certainly dominates the space, but the room doesn’t feel cramped.

And then there is that headboard!

The floral pattern stretches almost the entire width of the wall, with muted greens, pinks and reds, while a brilliant mustard-yellow pillow and matching yellow chair add just enough color to keep everything cheerful. Even the little flamingo print on the wall seems to be joining the fun.

It isn’t traditional Parisian décor at all. It feels modern, playful and comfortable.

After traveling all night, comfortable was exactly what I wanted.

A room with a view — just not

that

Paris view

No Eiffel Tower outside my window.

No Sacré-Cœur rising above the rooftops.

No romantic row of zinc roofs and chimney pots.

Instead, my window looks down into a surprisingly green interior space tucked between the buildings. Trees, vines and shrubs fill the courtyard below, and beyond them is an interesting jumble of rooftops and neighboring buildings.

I actually rather like it.

Paris has a hidden side that you don’t see while walking along its streets. Behind all those continuous façades are courtyards, gardens, terraces and little pockets of green that are almost completely invisible from the sidewalk.

From Room 306, I get a peek into one of them.

And look at that sky! After the heavy gray clouds that greeted me on the drive into Paris, patches of brilliant blue were beginning to appear.

The bathroom gets bonus points

One of my favorite surprises was the bathroom.

Instead of predictable white subway tile, the walls are covered with slightly irregular, glossy tiles in soft shades of sage, cream and pale green. They have a handmade appearance, and the variations in the surface catch the light beautifully.

There is a full bathtub with a glass shower screen, a large overhead rain shower and a handheld shower.

And after an overnight transatlantic flight, I can assure you that the quality of the shower suddenly becomes a very important hotel amenity.

A few thoughtful details

The room has a large television and a long desk that will give me plenty of room to organize photographs, charge electronics and undoubtedly accumulate all of the miscellaneous things that somehow migrate out of a suitcase during a trip.

There is also something I hadn’t necessarily expected: a portable air-cooling unit beside the window.

But one of my favorite conveniences is tucked into its own little illuminated alcove.

A Nespresso machine.

Coffee, tea, cups, sweeteners and supplies are waiting right there in the room.

That little coffee station may not qualify as a Paris landmark, but after crossing the Atlantic, it looked pretty wonderful to me.

And one clever little French hotel detail

There is also the familiar European energy-saving system near the door: slip the wooden room key card into the wall holder and it activates the room’s electrical system. When you leave and take the key with you, the power switches off.

Simple. Practical. Energy efficient.

It is another one of those little travel details I enjoy noticing because everyday things are often done just a bit differently when you leave home.

So this is home—for now

A big white bed. A splash of yellow. A flamingo on the wall. Green tile in the bathroom. Trees outside my window. Coffee waiting in the corner.

And somewhere beyond those walls…

Paris.

But after the airport, the luggage, the drive through the suburbs and my first ride through the streets of the city, I was perfectly content to close the door to Room 306 for a little while.

Sometimes the best sight on the first day of an international trip isn’t the Eiffel Tower.

Sometimes it’s your bed.

Pricing: One night  

I am an IHG member so there appears to be a discount

Does not include breakfast  three choices - Togo, Continental, Buffet