Hotel Lutetia
Paris
from Travel Intelligence

---

"Famous old Left Bank hang-out with a vibrant bar scene and variable rooms"

Address:	45 Boulevard Raspail, 75006 Paris, France
Telephone:	+33 (0)1 49 54 46 46
Fax:	+33 (0)1 49 54 46 00
Rooms:	250
Rating:	4 star

The Hotel Writes

"Hotel Lutetia is located in Saint Germain-des-Prés, in the heart of the fashion, art and literature district, a few minutes from the Luxembourg gardens, antique shops, the Orsay and Louvre museums, opposite the Bon Marché department store and the Grande Epicerie…

Reviews

Jamie Dunford Wood:

There is a lot of tradition behind this impressive-looking hotel on the Left Bank, and of immediate interest is the red velvet 'smoking' bar on the ground floor which is fashionable still today with left bank literati, though the amount of ashtrays may put you off - as might the piped Strauss in the elevator. The style is art deco - the hotel is a famous Paris institution, built in 1910.

As for the rooms, there is a violent clash between the 50 renovated and 200 still shabby unrenovated rooms, visible where one style of carpeting abuts another in the corridors. The older style has the carpets crawling up the walls in curious 70s fashion. The rooms are on the large side, refreshing for Paris, with furnishings in deco-meets-50s style, understated and restrained, with red and orange colorways. The bathrooms are in plain marble - a few have separate showers, and some have twin sinks, but you need to ask for them.

The general feeling is of a hotel which was cutting edge in 1910 but has since slipped behind, which is precisely what a lot of people go for, and why the bar is perhaps so popular, for the hotel has plenty of character. Not so encouraging is the fact that the hotel takes tour groups from Tauck and others - but on the plus side is a regular stream of repeat French visitors. Ask for the renovated rooms, which are the same price, some of which have great views over the Paris skyline.

Check rates and availability