Sweet Travels and Food: Pullman Paris Montparnasse

Hotels, motels, and Holiday Inn's.

That is all I can think of when booking a hotel of any kind.

For those of you that do not know that song...look it up.

Sugerhill Gang--Rappers Delight

I spend more time than what I should looking at pictures, reviews, and locations than the normal person does. Normally all of the reviews are the same, "It was a good hotel," "Great location." but there is never practical information about the service that is provided. If there is a bad review it is mostly about how below standard it is with a few pictures.

I had spent around six months looking at what area we would want to stay in, would we want to be close to all of the major tourist areas of Paris, what about the art area of things, or maybe out of the way to look at the city. We decided to start looking in an area that was used mostly for a travel stop and around where the locals lived.

This hotel was very close to a few of the metro stations that we used. Mostly Gare Montparnasse was the hub of all of our transport. It was about a 5 minute walk from the hotel. Another metro station that is close by is Gaite. Both of these stations are easy to get around and just depend on where you would like to end up in your travels. I would highly suggest that you download the app Paris Metro. It will save you time on finding out what line you will need.

The hotel also provides a shuttle to and from the airport. We took this on the way back to the airport when we were leaving. The shuttle picks you up across the street from the hotel and it cost 32 Euros for two people. This is a lot cheaper than trying to take a taxi since it is a little over an hour to get there. Remember all of the stairs I was talking about, you won't have to worry about that with the shuttle either! However, if you want the experience then take the metro. If you do decide to get the shuttle pass, you can have them charged to your room or you can buy them from the driver for and extra 2 Euros for each person.

What I found with Pullman Paris Montparnasse was all of those things listed above. This hotel, well let me just say this before I get to the details...WOW! The price of the hotel was not the cheapest, but not the priciest either. I will be honest, I booked with a third party travel website since it was easier that way. The cost for our whole trip was well under $3000 including our air, hotel, and a few extras. So when I found this place for that price, I jumped as soon as I could!

After a long eight hour flight, standing in line to get our passports stamped, an hour train ride, and almost a thirty minute walk later we found the hotel and we welcomed it like a long lost family member.

As we walked into the lobby we could tell that they were slammed with people checking in. The lady at the desk didn't even flinch and took her time with the group, explaining all of the ins and outs about what they will expect from their stay. I waited in line before walking over to the other desk and asking if they would be able to help us out. With no hesitation at all they said Yes!

Now, when you normally travel there is always a check-in time and a check-out time. I knew that we were around two hours early for check-in and the thought of us being able to get our room this early was very slim in my mind. When they checked out the reservation and made a phone call, I knew that we would have to come back at a later time, which didn't bother us since we needed to eat lunch anyway. The lady at the desk told us by no means would she move us since the view was too good. We did not know what she meant, but glad we listened to her! We simply asked if her if we could check our luggage and go get some lunch. The gentleman took our luggage and off we went after using the bathrooms in the lobby, which were very fancy!

There was so much room that you felt that you were in a house and not just a cramped bathroom.

After a few hours we returned and checked in with a young girl, whose name I would butcher if I had to say it. She was very nice, helpful, and smiled more than anyone that I have ever met. She was very sincere with her attitude, which was very nice. She gave us our keys and asked how our lunch was and if we were ready for the room and at that point we couldn't take the wait anymore! Another lady came up to us by the name of Melanie greeted us with a warm handshake and told us if there was anything that we needed at all to let her know. I like when this happens with a hotel, it makes you feel good!

Once we got up to the room we were greeted again by a gentleman that was putting our luggage in our room and being the people that we are tried to help, but he insisted that he get it. He explained how the key cards worked. The setup is very nice that they have. You insert your key card to keep the lights on and if you want the lights off, take out the key card. The only time I did not like this was when I wanted to write about the day and the husband wanted to sleep. Other than that it was a nice feature of the room and kept the card in a "safe" place. He also explained all about the mini bar, coffee maker, and what was included and what was not. At this time we hadn't really looked around the room, until he left. When he did the first place that I went was the big window in the room. When I opened it I could see why they did not want to move rooms for us. The view was too good to be true. You could literally see everything! Even at night it was beautiful!

This view was amazing. Look at it...just look at it!!!!

Look at all of the lights!

The room itself was very large compared to the normal Parisian room. The bed was a King size, which gave us both enough room to lay down and not wake the other person. The T.V. was also large, but was used only once since we were both too tired by the time we got back each night. The bathroom was a nice size and was surprised by the size of the tub and shower. The toilet is in another side part of the bathroom behind a wall, so it was nice to be able to go to the bathroom away from the shower. There are a few things about the shower that you need to know. It is only a half glass shower that means that the back half is open, make sure that the shower head in pointed in a different direction than that opening and you will get less water in the bathroom. No matter what the water will spill out, but just put a towel toward that corner and it will be just fine. Our room had a big bathtub and at the end of the day from walking over 15 miles a day, it was a happy relief to soak in.

Overall the bathroom was very clean! The towels were soft, the shower was hot, and the soaps smelled amazing!!! The outlet in the bathroom didn't have a place for anything other than a shaver, but that was fine. I just used my mirror that I had and sat on the bed and curled my hair, but the hair dryer that was in the room worked better than mine at home!

Bathroom!

There is no better way to start or end your day with a hot shower and great smelling shampoos and soaps!

Soaps of all kind

The rest of the hotel people seem to overlook sometimes. Most of them either want to eat out on the town or have other plans. We didn't get in most nights until the restaurant was closed, but the night we did we ate there. Being in Paris we wanted to try things that you can't normally get in our small town. There was no wait and we were seated next to the wall where we could still see out the window. The staff again were polite, answered questions, and went above and beyond what I expected. Jean Christopher was the waiter for the night and couldn't have been more helpful!

We asked a lot of questions when it came to the wine that we were going to have with our dinner and he offered us a sample before a full commitment of a glass. The wine list varied and I am glad that he pointed us in the right direction. My husband ordered the Beef Tartar and I ordered the grilled veal with vegetables. Everything came out very quick and mine was cooked to perfection, while the beef tartar was well....raw as it should be. FYI for those of you that don't know what Beef Tartar is; it is raw beef with different types of seasoning and a raw egg mixed in and served cold.

The Beef Tartar came with a salad and with chips.

The veal was served with eggplant, tomatoes, and zucchini.

We also got a few deserts after the meal too. The chocolate and caramel cake will be on my last meal list and the lemon bar was perfectly cooked. For someone that does not like lemon, it was really good and I would have it again. The fruit consisted of kiwi, mango, raspberries, oranges, and figs. All of the deserts were served in a desert trolley and you were able to pick a few that you wanted to try, which all of them looked too good to pick just three of them.

We had our choice of three different places to eat in the hotel: Cafe Atlantic, Platinum, and Just' In. We chose Cafe Atlantic and would suggest going!

Each location is within the hotel and has different hours for each place.

Cafe Atlantic

The other restaurants were hard to get pictures of so I do apologize for not having pictures of those.

The Cafe Atlantic was downstairs behind where the bar was. The bar itself is a nice size and a few nights while we were there we enjoyed getting a drink and talking to those that were staying at the hotel. Adrian was a great bartender! He was fun to be around, had a lot of energy, did tricks with the bottles, and made some of the best drinks. There were also Francois that bar-tended, but we only talked to him a few times. Both of these gentleman always had a smile on their face and interacted with the customers that were around. They were honest about the drinks that were there and suggested others if you couldn't make up your mind. The best part about some of the drinks is the garnish on the top.

Look how good those drinks look!

I couldn't have asked for a better bartender or people to talk to around the bar than at this place!

There are so many things behind the bar that people don't notice. All of the glasses are different and there are all kinds of small nooks around!

And the people behind the bar that are normally forgotten with all of the work they do!

The bar can be seen as soon as you walk into the lobby to the left with all kinds of different seating. It was well lit and plenty of places to sit. The business center had many computers and were easy to work on.

The lobby had different flowers everyday along with information on what attractions and tours were close by.

There were a few different sets of elevators that could be used depending on what floor you were staying on. All you had to do is look for what floor you were on and then pick the elevator accordingly. Once you were in the elevator you need to scan your card and then pick what floor you wanted.

The hotel also offered a gym which had lots of different equipment, a personal bathroom for after your workout, a water cooler, and lots of towels. On a side note make sure that when you work out that you wipe your machines off, you may be on vacation, but still not an animal. The room was large and had lots of mirrors and a T.V. in the room also.

I would try to use this place as much as possible since you won't get a lot of this equipment anywhere else while you are in Paris. The space alone is something that blew me away!

When I was in there taking pictures there were people using the equipment and it was all very user friendly.

Overall this hotel was one of the nicest that I have ever been too. The staff were friendly from the moment we walked in the door to the day that we checked out. When we left Tim helped us and made sure that everything about our stay was wonderful. The manager at that day also made sure that we had a great time and that everything was up to standard. I love when a hotel makes sure that the stay was perfect. Often many people will just say yes to get out of the hotel quickly, but I love talking to the staff and letting them know if there were any issues or not. On the last day that we were there, there was a large group using the conference center and it looked like they were having a blast! The only thing about that was they crowded the front of the hotel, but that is not a hotel problem at all. Just know that if you do stay here that there may be a cloud of smoke to walk through on occasion, but it will only last a few seconds.

I know that before I left I wrote a note to Melanie to let her know that our stay had been way beyond our expectations and that if we were to come back to Paris that we would be staying at this hotel. Those in customer service are always the first thing that people see and the last and more often than not people will tell you about the bad before the good. What I saw during my stay, the long line at the desk that was handled in under 10 minutes, the bar staff keeping up with a large party, and customers yelling at the staff upon check-in being handled politely and with a smile. These are the things that will make me want to come back to this hotel. The views and food are a bonus for us. The staff making sure that everything was great and always saying hello, you don't get that everywhere. At Pullman Paris Montparnasse you will!

No matter the time of day this place is beautiful! Make sure that you join the Le Club Accor before you leave or online! If you booked online you can also check-in at a little desk when you walk in. I would make sure that you smile, say hello, and you will not regret staying at this hotel!