Hôtel le Relais Saint-Germain

I’ve been to Paris many times, but this was my first time staying at this hotel. Although the lady at the reception spoke in a somewhat cold or unfriendly manner, and although the bathroom shower area is a bit small and only had a handheld showerhead with no fixed mount, the room was really spacious, comfortable, and clean. The hotel’s location is also excellent. But the breakfast was disappointing. The selection was very limited, and on the first day, the bread and croissants were far from fresh—it tasted as if it was made two days ago (The bread and croissant of the second morning was better than the first day). What made the breakfast not enjoyable was their poor service. As soon as I entered the restaurant for breakfast, I smiled and nodded at the waitress to greet her. However she only glanced at me coldly and immediately turned away to continue talking to another person (who seemed to be her colleague or possibly her supervisor, as he seemed to be sternly talking her about something). After a short while, she arranged a table for us but remained completely silent throughout, showing no basic courtesy. I took a boiled egg and while peeling it, placed the eggshells on an empty plate on the table (without realizing that it was actually a saucer for coffee). She then brought me my coffee and placed it directly on the saucer full of eggshells. She should have provided me a clean one instead. When I pointed this out, she responded rudely, insisting that it was a coffee saucer and the coffee cup should be placed there, even if it had eggshells on it. So rude! I have never had such unpleasant experience!

We loved our stay at the Hotel Relais Saint Germain. The staff was just lovely and so helpful. We stayed in one of the suites, which was beautiful and very comfortable. The bed was great, the comforter was amazing (it was January, after all), and the bathroom great. We had a shower and a bathtub, and the plumbing was great. The hotel is eclectic with different decor in the rooms. We were able to see into some of the other rooms as they were being cleaned, and the decor was different from ours. Each room is named after an author, and there are books everywhere. Since we're book people, we loved this aspect. Breakfast was in the restaurant affiliated with the hotel (Comptoir du Relais). Breakfast was very good and fresh with fabulous bread and croissants, ham, thick yogurt, and assorted fruits, granola, and coffee/tea. The hotel was impeccably clean. There is a lounge area next to the main entrance area where you can sit and have a drink. I spent some time there reading a book with a glass of champagne. The hotel has an elevator. It's very small, and really only fits 2 people. However, it is a modern elevator and worked very well. The electricity and HVAC in the rooms is modern. We loved our stay and the location is fabulous. It's only 1-2 minute walk to the Odeon metro station, and there are several great restaurants and cafes walking distance. It's very close to the Luxembourg Gardens, the Seine, Notre Dame, the Pantheon, and the Latin Quarter. Great room, great staff, great location.

The hotel reminded me of a 15th century english inn (a pub with bedrooms upstairs). The bedroom ceilings have dark wooden beams and the furniture is eclectic. It is quirky, which is not my thing but the location is excellent. Note the lift is very, very small, there are only 16 rooms in the hotel, and it is noisy with the restaurants outside and the old lift right outside the bedroom doors.

I feel obliged to report that the hotel did not meet our expectations based on our memories of staying there 8 years ago. Overall it felt a bit tired in need of a refresh. I reserved 2 rooms, one for two adult sons and was told that room had a double bed, not two twins and couldn't be made up as two separate beds and there were no other options. I had specified I needed 2 twins. The hotel still uses actual keys - but only one per room - and the last guest had left with the key to our room, so we had to wait for them to find a replacement key. I was not comforted that someone out there had a key to our room. The bed was hard and not particularly comfortable. Shampoo was provided, but no conditioner. I was told they would look into that, but they didn't. (The shampoo wasn't a combination shampoo/conditioner.) The door to our room had been painted without the brass name plaque on it having been removed, so paint was sloshed all over the edges. The small elevator hall light was motion activated, so only went on after you entered the hallway. The public reception area is very small and tired, it could really use a refresh. Departing guests who checked out before leaving the area had to leave their luggage lined up in the narrow hallway and everyone coming in and out had to walk past the luggage. The breakfast experience wasn't as enjoyable as one would expect. The tables were very small and crammed next to each other. Deliveries of produce etc. were carried through the breakfast room, extemely close to our table. The servers were somewhat surly. Dirty breakfast dishes were piled up on the counter immediately above the breakfast buffet table. I'm sorry, but this wasn't a 4 star eperience. The singular best feature of the hotel is its location.

We just spent another wonderful week at Hotel Relais Saint Germain - we've been there twice before, and it's always terrific. The staff is as friendly and competent as ever, and although everyone was amazingly helpful (and so we regret not mentioning everyone) our special thanks this time go to Marina, José, and Jeremy. Thanks to you all.

The location is great and the room is good but the bathroom is impossible. This review is about Room 20 and may not apply to all other rooms. The bathroom is tiny - think airplane or cruise cabin size. There was mildew throughout the tub/shower. Large American adults would not fit in the bathtub or in the toilet area. The room itself was large. The walls are actually upholstered, the beautiful draperies are blackout lined. Busy area but noise was never a problem. Very good linens and comfortable bed. Room was very clean. Breakfast is typical continental - fresh orange juice is nice. Pleasant staff. There is an elevator but you will need to go up flight of a narrow spiral staircase, even if you use the elevator because it starts up half a flight and stops between floors.