Quality Hotel Abaca Paris 15th

Good location, friendly staff and great breakfast!

The Quality Hotel "Abaca Messidor" is located in the 15th arrondissement, just steps from Metro Convention. While there's nothing "touristy" about this neighborhood, consider that a reason to like this hotel and location. After staying here for 8 nights, I have a completely different idea about "prime locations" in Paris. Sure, we'd all like to stay at the Ritz or have a view of the Eiffel tower. But, for those of us who can't spend a small fortune, I can't see how this basic, neighborhood hotel and it's pleasant, helpful staff could have been much improved on.

First, the location. It's certainly not in what's considered the heart of the city, although we loved being in a "real" neighborhood - with reasonable cafes, a grocery store for wine and cheese, and an open air market on the weekend. The hotel is just steps from the intersection of Convention and Vaugirard, with Dupont and Convention Cafes, Le Source Bistro, McDonald's, KFC and a Monoprix (think French Super Target) all on (or very near) the corner. More importantly, the Metro (line 12) at the same intersection has a rare escalator exit - a welcome reward at the end of day spent walking Paris. We enjoyed using the Metro, and within 7 to 12 stops you could be in the city center - with time to read up on your destination on the train. The Metro is simple, never more than one train change, and a midnight cab ride from the Marais to the Hotel was only about 10 Euro. All in all, the laid back neighborhood feeling and all the reasonably priced wining and dining choices made this hotel a real bargain. One hot afternoon, we stopped for Cokes at cafe in front of La Madeleine. After almost choking on the 27 Euro tab for 3 sodas (about $38US), we realized how lucky we were to be staying in a "real" neighborhood with bourgeois prices.

A word or two about the hotel rooms. They are spacious by European standards. The beds were comfortable, sheets just okay, but bathrooms are newly renovated and spotless - with a 120v plug for charging cell phones and laptops. New double pane windows kept out all noise (we faced the courtyard), and we only heard neighbors voices one time in 8 days. Our room a/c was great, very cold, with remote control on the wall by the bed. No closet in 206, but the large armoire, with 2 extra pillows, was more than adequate for 2 people's clothes (we stored luggage under the bed for more space). A nice flat screen TV is mounted on the wall, making it comfortable to watch from bed. A small desk/table with lamp was large enough once we moved all the requisite advertising off of it, and a Chippendale chair completed the furnishings. Nothing fancy, but compared to some of the nightmares I've heard about budget hotel rooms in Paris, this place was tasteful, quiet, spacious and comfortable. I don't think all the hotels rooms have a/c, so be sure and request if that's important to you.

Wi-fi is available in the hotel lobby, and while they don't have a business center per se, they do have a PC desk in the rear lobby / bar area that charges by the minute. We even had a nice glass of wine one evening while we were waiting for another room to come down. Downstairs is the breakfast area, and it was a full breakfast. Yes, they had all the pastries, butter, cheeses, cold cuts, fruits (dried and fresh), cereal, granola, juices, coffee, hot teas of an elaborate continental breakfast, but they had a big warming tray of bacon, scrambled eggs and little sausages, too! I don't know what breakfast cost, as it was part of our tour package, but we were very happy to have a hearty breakfast each day before setting out. Breakfast is served from 7 to 10am. For the rest of the day, room service is provided by Dupont Cafe on the corner.

The hotel staff, with one overnight exception, was always friendly, helpful and spoke English. The hotel is close to a fine dining restaurant we had read about in Food and Wine magazine, Afaria, and the desk made our reservation for us with no attitude whatever. They also made sure we got a message about our shuttle pick up time change. As for Afaria - highly recommended!

Initially, I was very disappointed that we were not staying closer to the center. However, we loved the neighborhood, having reasonable and good choices for food and wine nearby, and a very efficient and quiet little hotel to come home to each night.

• Opinion of Price: N/A
• Related to: Historical Travel, Arts and Culture, Music

Quality Hotel Abaca Paris 15th Photo: Standard room

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