“Great for parties of 3 - 5! Glad I booked it!”

My friend and I were taking our teenage daughters to Paris for a girl trip. She has twins and mine is their best friend. Since we were going to be 5 women travelling alone, we were concerned about location and preferred to stay together BUT we were trying to do this as economical as possible. Eve… more

My friend and I were taking our teenage daughters to Paris for a girl trip. She has twins and mine is their best friend. Since we were going to be 5 women travelling alone, we were concerned about location and preferred to stay together BUT we were trying to do this as economical as possible. Every where we checked said we would need 2 rooms. I stumbled upon La Terrasse and found 1 review. The comment said it was great for their family of 5. It wouldn't let me book as 5 so I took a chance and booked for 4. The only review said a 2 block walk from the train station but didn't say which one. I tried to map it out and it seemed like it might be further than that but we took the chance. After doing some other reseach (finding Les Magnolias and seeing the location of the two, etc.) I discovered that we would take the B train from CDG into Gare Du Nord, transfer to the E train and get off at Nogent Le Perreux. I don't know that I would call it two blocks from that station but it was only 2 roads. It was a nice 15-20 minute walk from the train station in a very nice neighborhood. We truly felt like we were staying in France. There were mini markets along the way as well as two bakeries. Check-in was supposed to be at 2pm. We arrived at 11A EXHAUSTED. I explained that we had a reservation booked online the day before but I didn't have a print out of the confirmation. I handed her my passport and credit card and she pushed them back to me, said "Oh, you have 5", grabbed a different key, and proceeded to take us out the back of the restaurant into a little garden area. She showed us the side entrance (and security code) in case we arrived after the restaurant was closed and then took us to our room. We had 7-8 stairs to walk up OUTSIDE with flowers and vines growing along the railing and took us into our room. Having stayed in Europe many times, I was expecting something very tiny and very cramped. Imagine my surprise to find a sitting room with a couch, desk, phone, and flat panel TV (maybe 19 inch wide screen). Off to the right was a bedroom with a double and a twin bed. Off to the left was a bedroom with 2 twin beds. PERFECT for us! The toilet had it's only little "closet like room" and the bathroom had 2 sinks and a shower. The owner explained she would bring more towels to us later and left us to take a nap. We rested about an hour and then took off to explore Paris. We wanted to eat in their restaurant but we failed to check the hours. So, we headed back and took a chance. We arrived after they had closed the kitchen but they were willing to open it back up to make food for us. Five of us had full dinners, drinks, and water for about 35 Euros. The food was great and the service was exceptional. (Again, I want to mention that you need to have some conversational French to fully enjoy the experience! She told me that we could have all the appetizers, sandwiches, etc., on the menu, and the main course but only if we went with beef or chicken.) My friend didn't understand what she was saying so she would not have understood if she were by herself. On the second evening, I explained that we would be leaving early the next morning and asked if we could check out with them that night. Imagine my surprise to find out they had NOT charged my credit card from my online booking AND there were no other fees, taxes, 5th person surcharge, etc. It was simply 64 Euros per night TOTAL. So, 128 Euros for the 5 of us to stay 2 nights. We had budgeted about that per family per night. And she let us pay in Euros. She said to leave the key in the door, and exit through the security door when we left. We were so happy with this hidden jewel. Take a chance on this place if you're wanting a true french experience. I believe the Visite Paris includes busses and there is a bus stop very close to the hotel and one right across from the train station. We didn't use them, though. We did stop at both bakeries and were VERY impressed. The French really know how to do breads and desserts! Oh, and an added bonus - everything in this quaint little town was MUCH cheaper than in downtown Paris. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about location, transit times, etc. AND definitely take a conversational French class or at least get some books on tape. By trying to speak their language, I did not encounter a single rude person. I asked for directions many times and always received a kind answer and a smile... EVEN at the airport!!!!

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