Hotel des Bains

The Hotel des Bains is a bit of Paris as it used to be, with eclectic, shabby-chic decor. The exterior is classic masonry and marble with cheerful window boxes. Its front door opens into a cozy living room lounge with light-pine panelling, red leather sofas, and vibrant Oriental carpets. There's a stack of magazines, and brocade curtains tied back with tassels allow for a broad view of the busy street outside. Glass vitrines hold a collection of indigenous masks and sculptures. The reception desk is between this lounge and the breakfast room, walled in celery-green concrete and wood and overlooking a quaint courtyard of trellises, plantings, and sculpture. This property draws a tourist crowd content with a quirky ambiance at a relatively budget price. 

The hotel is in a central location, a 10-minute walk from Gare Montparnasse, a major railway station that also includes access to three different city metro lines. The Jardin du Luxembourg, the city's premier park, is a nine-minute walk from the hotel. Other sights that are within a 10- to 15-minute drive or 20- to 30-minute train ride include the Musée d'Orsay, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame Cathedral. The legendary Shakespeare and Company bookstore near the Seine is a 15-minute drive or 19-minute train ride. To reach Gare du Nord and the Eurostar to London, it's about 25 to 30 minutes by car or train. Orly Airport is a 25-minute drive. Charles de Gaulle Airport is about 40 to 60 minutes by car. 

Rooms at the Hotel des Bains include Doubles, Singles, Suites, and an apartment. All are generally small and vary in shape and decor with a palpable vibe of rustic bohemian: Folk-art sculptures and paintings enliven the white walls, and some have headboards of flowers, birds, and vines in delicately painted wrought iron. Linens are clean but look tired, with bedspreads in mauve cotton in some rooms. Small desks in honey-colored wood or rubbed-wood paint finishes are paired with cane chairs, and wall-mounted flat-screen TVs and safes are standard. There are no closets, simply a rod with hangers and a few shelves in each room; some rooms have small chests of drawers or wardrobes. Many rooms have long, narrow windows looking over the courtyard, while others offer windowed eaves with views of Montparnasse rooftops, lending the air of an artist's garret. Fifth-floor rooms, at the top of the hotel, have small balconies. But some rooms look at a blank wall or drainage pipes. The hotel offers an apartment that accommodates four people, with courtyard views. Bathrooms are small and cramped, even for one person, with dark tile and marble; stall showers have handheld showerheads and glass doors, and there are hairdryers and wall-mounted soap dispensers. 

Hotel des Bains offers free Wi-Fi and free telephone calls to 100 places, but guests would be wise to check with the front desk before dialing. Breakfast, for a fee, is offered in a courtyard-facing dining room. The hotel has air-conditioning and elevators. It also accommodates pets. But the hotel's best features are its location and its charming common spaces, including the courtyard and two interior lounges -- one of which was under construction in August 2015.