Hotel Pullman

Big Puppy

We are booked on the April 26 Rendezvous on the Seine River Cruise. We are arriving one day early and have been booked at the Pullman. After reviewing several responses in the forum, we are thinking about changing our first nights stay in Paris. Since there are over 1700 hotels in Paris, could someone who is an experienced visitor to Paris recommend a good "French" hotel that is closer to the center of the city for our first night?

We are not experienced travelers and have not used forums, so the information in the forums helps us to make better choices.

Thank You!

ndvb

We stayed in Paris at a nice small, local hotel in 2010. It was located within walking distance of the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Bastille, other museums, restaurants, subway entrances, buses, etc. It is small and has about seven rooms, if I remember correctly. The staff was very friendly and the rooms were very nice. The hotel is Hotel Briannique. You can Google it for specific information, availability, and rates for your dates. We weren't on an organized tour, we set it up on our own and stayed for four days before driving to Rome (via Normandy). Good luck.

British

Big Puppy wrote:

We are booked on the April 26 Rendezvous on the Seine River Cruise. We are arriving one day early and have been booked at the Pullman. After reviewing several responses in the forum, we are thinking about changing our first nights stay in Paris. Since there are over 1700 hotels in Paris, could someone who is an experienced visitor to Paris recommend a good "French" hotel that is closer to the center of the city for our first night?

We are not experienced travelers and have not used forums, so the information in the forums helps us to make better choices.

Thank You!

Please remember the logistics of not staying in the Tauck hotel. You will have to pay for your taxi from the airport, tips, lug your own luggage, check out early, get a taxi, lug your luggage, possibly wait for your room, My opinion, not worth it for just one night. All these things are included in a Tauck tour. You also mention you are not experienced travelers, you really have to be careful in Paris, it's a prime place for pick pockets and the like. I have to say I have not been on this trip, but I have read the past reports on the hotel. I assume the problems have since been resolved or I am sure Tauck would not be staying there. I think it is used primarily for its location to the boat. I think it might be a good idea to call Tauck and voice your concerns about past comments on the forum and see if they can update you. Enjoy your trip, Tauck are a great company.

Bosco

If you read the reviews of the Pullman hotel on Trip Advisor you will note that virtually all are positive reviews! Of course there are those who will not view hotel favorably. I believe most of the negativity was because of the construction occurring last year. This is not a boutique hotel but well located, comfortable and I'm sure meets Tauck's standards. How much time do you really spend in your hotel room?? We will be on the April 1 Rendezvous on the Seine and arriving a day early also. I agree with British's comments! Well put!

stbarthfan

We did this trip in Aprill 2014 when the hotel had just finished renovations. Agree with British the reasons to stay here for your pre-night on your 1st visit to Paris. We have stayed in the 5th, 2nd & 8th on past Paris visits. Where the Pullman is located is not as touristy as the other arrondisements, was quiet location, very convenient to the Seine, the Eiffel, granted not as many restaurants, but lovely area made for good walking. Stay elsewhere on your future visits once you are experienced Paris travellers.

jdurkin

A further point on transfers to the Tauck hotel.

If you are staying somewhere other than the Tauck hotel .... there are many reasons why this might be so .... friends, relatives, prior business .... you do not necessarily forfeit the transfer & associated services. Transport is provided to the Tauck hotel, you just have to get yourselves to your chosen accommodation from there, then back again to the Tauck hotel for the tour commencement. And tell Tauck where you will be in case they need to contact you. I have done just this on a number of occasions. You must make your own decision, hopefully well informed by your own research.

I make no comment on the dangers of travelling. They are always present, where ever in the world you might be. The goal is to blend in as best you can, rather than drawing attention to yourself as a naive tourist ripe for the plucking. I have no knowledge of the Pullman Hotel. The only comment I would make about Trip Advisor reviews is that very often, they are not genuine reviews. I get the impression that one must read the reviews, particularly the glowing ones, with a grain of salt. I'll call them "plants". I think there is a more techy, social media geek term!

Cheers,

Jan

British

Good point about finding your way to your chosen hotel from the Pullman Jan! I mentioned about being careful in Paris because we had Two incidents in as many days there and almost all the stories I have heard first hand about scams, stealing and downright being left for dead all occurred in Paris and to people I know, experienced travellers too.

jdurkin

British wrote:

Good point about finding your way to your chosen hotel from the Pullman Jan! I mentioned about being careful in Paris because we had Two incidents in as many days there and almost all the stories I have heard first hand about scams, stealing and downright being left for dead all occurred in Paris and to people I know, experienced travellers too.

Absolutely, British. You can never be too careful. I roll my eyes and wonder how some people I've "group" travelled with ever made it out their front doors, so large were the signposts on their foreheads (or fingers or necks ... that covers all genders!) saying "Me! Me! I am not aware of my surroundings!" And you are right, sadly. Bad stuff can happen to anyone. Even to Aussie golfers after a "night out" in Waikiki. (Stop laughing! Right now! Think about his family. That's better. Moving on. Nothing to see here.) I wonder about all the people I see here ... walking down the street, crossing roads, with their heads stuck in a smart phone. I keep wondering where smarts come into it. I wonder why more aren't mowed down by trams.

Which reminds me .... Metro Trains here in Melbourne put out an award winning public service, safety video. It's one of the best adds I've ever seen. Talk about catchy!

You can watch it here: http://dumbwaystodie.com

and read about the campaign here:


I'm sure the basic principles would work for Paris, too!

Cheers,

Jan

CATSOOS

I am heading in a day early for my April 1st departure trip. I have been on 9 other Tauck tours if the hotel was bad they would not stay there more then one year. You have to be cautious where ever you go it is not a foreign country issue. I don't do Metros here in the states so why do one somewhere else, use the hotel services to guide you if you are uncertain. Although I used the non desk staff to find out what to do and where not to go, waiters, baggage carriers they don't get paid for advise. It worked in Italy, Budabest and Salt Lake City. Have fun but be cautious. Bosco looks like you are on the same trip as me.

Ken from Vegas

There are certainly advantages to staying at the Tauck hotel, as others have noted. The Pullman is near several metro stations, so you should be able to take the metro to the sights (the metro is relatively easy to use - they have ticket machines that will speak English).

If you still want to find another hotel, I would recommend the Hotel Brighton. It's nothing fancy, but clean, comfortable, very well located (and reasonable for Paris). It is right across from the Tuileries on the Rue de Rivoli and a short walk to the Louvre. We also stayed at its sister hotel, the Hotel d'Orsay. It's on the other side of the Seine, but still well located. It was nice, but the Brighton is better.

smarks50

Another vote for the Brighton - great location a block from the Louvre and a wonderful cafe (Angelina's or such) right down the street. If your budget permits, get a room on an upper floor overlooking the gardens and the Eiffel Tower - beautiful views especially at night.

Big Puppy

British wrote:

Please remember the logistics of not staying in the Tauck hotel. You will have to pay for your taxi from the airport, tips, lug your own luggage, check out early, get a taxi, lug your luggage, possibly wait for your room, My opinion, not worth it for just one night. All these things are included in a Tauck tour. You also mention you are not experienced travelers, you really have to be careful in Paris, it's a prime place for pick pockets and the like. I have to say I have not been on this trip, but I have read the past reports on the hotel. I assume the problems have since been resolved or I am sure Tauck would not be staying there. I think it is used primarily for its location to the boat. I think it might be a good idea to call Tauck and voice your concerns about past comments on the forum and see if they can update you. Enjoy your trip, Tauck are a great company.

MrsB

Big Puppy wrote:

We are booked on the April 26 Rendezvous on the Seine River Cruise. We are arriving one day early and have been booked at the Pullman. After reviewing several responses in the forum, we are thinking about changing our first nights stay in Paris. Since there are over 1700 hotels in Paris, could someone who is an experienced visitor to Paris recommend a good "French" hotel that is closer to the center of the city for our first night?

We are not experienced travelers and have not used forums, so the information in the forums helps us to make better choices.

Thank You!

We are booked on the April 26th trip too. Coming in a day early to the Pullman. Like you, I've read the reviews and am anxious about the hotel. We don't want to complicate matters with switching hotels for one night. Tauck is supposed to be "top drawer" so let's see how it goes. Looking forward to the journey.

kathleen8253

I was on the May 3, 2015 tour. This was my first trip with Tauck. The Pullman hotel room was nicely appointed, with a desk for computer use, mini-bar, coffee making set up, hotel robe and slippers in the bathroom. TV with English language channels available. My room faced the street with a view of the Tour Eiffel. I have a number of good digital images taken from that balcony. After dark, for about 5 minutes at the beginning of the hour, there is a blinking light show on the Tour Eiffel.

The welcome dinner was held on the 10th floor, which also has a balcony with even better views of Tour Eiffel and the surrounding neighborhoods for pictures. The food and wine were enjoyable, the waiters attentive.

The breakfasts were provided in the hotel's restaurant, with a nice variety of cooked items and cold choices.

A word about the electricity in French hotels. There are two room access cards. One card must be inserted into a card slot, and pressed down to activate the electric lights in the room. I'd only seen this once before in another French hotel, but it might be a money saving measure in hotel management. Since I haven't traveled much, it might be a common European innovation in hotels.

Oh, I almost forgot about the elevators. There is a security feature that requires the use of your room card to activate the elevator when going up to the floor where your room is located. The room card has an RFID chip in it. You have to pass the room card in front of the card reader on the control panel, then hit the button for your floor. The elevator will take you down to the lobby without using the card. I've only seen this feature in one hotel in the U. S. in the last few years.

British

It was good to see an up to date report on the Pullman Kathleen, good for you to post this. As far as the lighting and elevator features you mention in the French hotel, I have been to many hotels over the years who do this, both abroad and in the U.S. The elevator security is a re-assuring feature in any U.S. Hotel.

AlanS

British wrote:

It was good to see an up to date report on the Pullman Kathleen, good for you to post this. As far as the lighting and elevator features you mention in the French hotel, I have been to many hotels over the years who do this, both abroad and in the U.S. The elevator security is a re-assuring feature in any U.S. Hotel.

The elevators in the new, futuristic-looking, Intercontinental in Davos, Switzerland go one step further. When you wave your key near the lobby sensor, the "computer" summons one of 6 elevators, announces which elevator to enter, and automatically takes you to the correct floor- all quite high tech.

jdurkin

Gotta love that World Economic Forum. Nothing like putting someone's money where their mouth is.

Cheers,

Jan