The BEST hotel in Paris - Hotel Signature St Germain des Pres

Where do you begin when looking for a hotel in Paris? We had a few ideas and wishes. We wanted our stay to be more local and "Parisian" (rather than your normal chain), we were looking for chic but cozy, a hotel located in a great location (and safe), and just welcoming all around. Ta-Daaaaa.....we found it! The Hotel Signature St. Germain des Pres met all of our expectations AND MORE.

We can't say enough about the Hotel Signature St. Germain des Pres. It is a family owned hotel. The family actually runs three "homes" throughout Paris that are operated by the dad, mom and daughter.  This one is the daughter's and if you read the reviews, over and over you'll read how helpful Delphine is. As well as the other fabulous ladies who also are part of the hotel - Manuela, and Alice. They all go above and beyond helping their customers from planning trips, meals, etc... They were life savers for us! We were lucky to meet each one of them throughout the week we were there!

There are only 26 rooms in the hotel, and we reserved ours as soon as we knew we were going! As soon as we reserved they contacted us and sent us information about the area. We stayed in constant contact while planning our trip. If we ever reached out with a question, they quickly gave us the best advice! Through their recommendations we had our favorite tour of the trip (the food tour!) and ate some of our best meals!

Because it's such a small hotel, when we arrived -- they were waiting on us! We had arrived from London fairly early and only had to wait a few minutes before going to our room. It was the CUTEST HOTEL EVER. Super fashionable and trendy, yet immediate warmth and welcome! Here is the lobby. Isn't it great? They always had fresh flowers throughout. Since we were there for a week, we got to see a few varieties of fleurs. Lovely.

 

Our room was finally ready, so we went up the lift to our little home away from home for the week. Everything was so clean and you can tell every detail was thought out to make the most of each aspect of the hotel and room. 

 

 

Little touches like this personal note and a welcoming gift of L'Occitane En Provence products were such a special and personal addition to our stay! Lavender pillow spray for nights of Parisian dreams also included! Ooh la la!

One super neat thing is that our room had a little balcony! We could open the windows and let the air in, and watch the hustle and bustle of the Paris streets.

We only ate breakfast in the hotel one day.  There is a charge, but it was so convenient and such a spread! They call it "A la Francaise". Such a special feast for the lucky ones staying at the hotel!

 

The hotel was the PERFECT BASE to explore the city of lights! We could not have been more happy with the St. Germain neighborhood. It was full of cafes, restaurants, shops, schools (there was one right across the street!) - everything you needed. We could've spent the whole week just getting lost in the little streets around us. We always felt safe, and coming back to the hotel was a welcome treat to rest and rejuvenate! And a nice warm up with some tea and a view! :-) 

We would not hesitate at all to recommend this hotel, and we hope to return one day soon! A big and special thank you to Delphine, Manuela, and Alice for making us feel right at home on our Parisian adventure. Until next time...

XO,

@SisAdventures

London Marriott Hotel Park Lane

One of our (ahem, @aushellbell's) biggest stresses when planning a trip is deciding where to stay. This was no exception. We researched & researched and read blogs & reviews until we were blue in the face. We ended up selecting the London Marriott Hotel Park Lane. GUYS. Let us do you a favor. Stop your research - STAY HERE! It more than exceeded our expectations for many reasons.

• Location - It's right across the street from Hyde Park
• Transportation - There is a tube station literally outside the door
• Safety - We always felt safe in the area (important for two female travelers!)
• Comfort - the rooms, the beds, the amenities were all top notch
• Customer Service - the staff was second to none

When you walk into the lobby, you are greeted with a sitting area with steps leading up to "check-in". Everything is crisp and clean. At the top of the stairs, there are two desks where you you sit and meet with the staff to check-in for your stay. The concierge is right around the corner.

We had chosen a double room. Every detail is thought of. When we walked into our room, this was our first view:

The beds were to the left. They were so COMFORTABLE. The rooms were very large and very quiet. We never heard a peep from another guest from within the room. We did not have any real view to speak of but did read there are some rooms that have a view of Hyde Park which would be very neat! There was plenty of room to store your luggage.

The bathroom could be a post in itself. Look at this oasis. Plenty of room for all of our toiletries. There are also shelves to the right where you can store additional things. A new amenity for us was that the toilet was HEATED. We had never experienced that luxury, and we're already researching how to get one installed at home. ;-) There were also speakers in the bathroom, so you can relax or catch up on the world news as  you are getting ready!

As Marriott rewards members, we were allowed access to the lounge for breakfast and other food and snacks throughout the day. The breakfast was amazing. It was a huge variety and the perfect way to fuel up before your day of adventure or business.

You could come in during the afternoon and get a drink, snack or a sweet treat! Every time we came back from an adventure, we at least stopped in for some water. It was so convenient. 

 

The hotel's fitness area is called The Club at Park Lane. It has a gym, steam room, AND a swimming pool! Not many hotels we had looked at included a pool on-site. You can also use their services to book a massage. That's one ideal way to help you with jet lag!

There is also a restaurant on site, Lanes of London. We never had a chance to eat there, but it looked very nice. They have all-day dining as well as an afternoon tea.

There were always fresh flowers to greet us, and a smile on everyone's face. Aren't these flowers so pretty?!

It's true, if you are in London for leisure, you won't spend that much time in your room; but the time you do spend needs to give you the rest you need to relax and be ready for another day of fun! 

We both said this is one of the nicest most customer-friendly hotels we have had the pleasure to stay in. Every person we met went beyond their way to make sure we were having a pleasant stay. Thanks to the bellmen, who always opened the door for us, the front desk staff who greeted us with a smile every day, and the housekeeping staff who made our stay so special. 

Thanks, London Marriott Hotel Park Lane. You added to the delight of our week in London. Can't wait to come back!

XO,