Hotel Leveque in Paris

You can read 700+ reviews here:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187147-d220006-Reviews-Grand_Hotel_Leveque-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

We were staying in the Rue Cler area and I decided to take a look inside Leveque. It was dreary and unappealing. Don't know if it has been updated. We like Relais Bosquet located a block away. Clean and comfortable with a very nice staff and includes a buffet breakfast.

Hi Lori,
Rick Steves' France 2019 guidebook describes Hotel Leveque as, "overpriced and undermaintained but has a terrific location on Rue Cler." HTH
Sherry

Personally I think it’s a victim of its own success and a little overpriced for what it is. It used to be a good deal but now when I look it’s as highly priced as some options that are better

We stayed here decades ago and presumably it has been renovated since -- It was the worst hotel we have ever stayed in in Europe -- ugly, horrifyingly bad service (like telling our babysitter when she called that we were not at the hotel although we were staying there for several days and were registered at the time), noisy, surly staff, for breakfast the server literally dumped a few hunks of baguette onto the bare table -- awful. I assumed it was better in the interim but apparently not so much. I don't like the location either, but if you do there are several hotels in the area that are better reviewed.

Lori,

I've stayed at Grand Hotel Leveque several times over the years, the last time being a few years ago. Based on my experiences, I would definitely consider staying there again. The hotel is certainly not luxurious but I found it clean and comfortable, and as noted in an earlier reply it's in a great location. The breakfast was a bit pricey but the food was fresh and it was quite adequate. I've always found the staff there to be quite helpful. On my last visit, the "Beam Me Up Scotty" elevator broke down, which was a darn nuisance, but that's always a possibility with anything mechanical.

I would add to Finn's accurate quote that it is a noisy location with a certain number of noisy visitors. I'll certainly never stay there a second time. I do not despise the touristy atmosphere of Rue Cler as much as some posters do, but I agree that it is not typical of Paris life today, and is not an essential visit for first-timers to Paris.

Rick certainly made this hotel rich ! I would never consider staying there myself. I don't love the area, it's not bad, but it's not my favorite. And I don't want to share my breakfast with people going through their teal books.

With all due respect to @Ken, I will second @janettravels44 comments. Admittedly, this was a long time ago (1993), but Hotel Leveque was the WORST hotel that my wife and I have ever stayed in - in Europe, Asia, or the US. And that "honor" still holds today, when we think back on that experience and shake our heads. At that time, the hotel was a Rick Steves favorite, featured in his original "Travels in Europe" series on public t.v. and in his guide book. Location was good, on a pedestrian street (except in the early a.m., see below), the hotel looked good on t.v., and the price was decent (we were a young couple with an infant and a limited budget at the time). So we gave it a try. Unfortunately, the room was disgusting (stains on the carpet, bed spread, and on the walls), noisy, and it had a tiny - and I mean tiny - bathroom. Also, being novice travelers at that time, we never thought to ask for a room that was NOT facing the street (our bad), and we paid for that oversight the next morning, when delivery vehicles that service the businesses, garbage trucks, etc. started rolling at 4 or 5 a.m. We can only hope that the hotel is better today. Caveat emptor! On the flip side, if you want a recommendation of a fantastic hotel in Paris - among the BEST that we have ever stayed at, check out Hotel Relais des Halles. It is a boutique hotel with an amazing staff. Great location and offered an excellent breakfast. We stayed there 5 years ago and I believe that it was among the highest rated hotels on both booking.com and TripAdvisor.

On our trip to Paris years ago we were traveling on the cheap. We booked a room at Comfort Inn on Moufftard for 40 euros a night. It was not fancy but clean with a decent staff. I think the mattress (a king thankfully) sat on the floor without a frame to support it. And the bathroom was a bit odd. This hotel was nicer looking than Leveque.

I am not a fan of rue Cler or Hotel Leveque. I didn’t even think it looked good on Rick’s tv show featuring it 30 yrs ago. That said, i think many american tourists like rue Cler and that area (which is not central) because there are so many other american tourists there... it’s comforting to them to be surrounded by other americans.

The St Dominique/Rue Cler area has long been an international neighborhood. The American Church, the American University in Paris, Anne Willan’s La Varenne Cooking School, the American Library...all these predated Rick by a decade or more.

Back in the late 80s, I stayed a few times at the Leveque. It was a one star then, basic but safe, and you could usually get a room there when everywhere else was full. (!) The only fond memory I have was the breakfast. I loved their basic baguette breakfast: each guest got a sharp knife and half a regular size baguette on their plate, big chunk of butter, jam, and a bottomless bowl of cafe au lait.

The Leveque seemed to improve since then, more stars at least, but I’d check out the Relais Bosquet which is Cler-adjacent.

Thank you all. It answered my question quite well. I think that we will avoid it and choose another nearby hotel.

I think you should read all the reviews on Trip Advisor, Booking.com and hotels.com. It looks as if many of these comments are from years ago. If you look at these sites you can be sure to have up to date reviews, not decades old reviews.

Reading the reviews is a great idea to get a picture of the overall experience of a large number of travellers. I just checked Trip Advisor for Hotel Leveque, and the majority of reviews fall in the "Excellent / Good / Average" categories.

Lori,

If you haven't yet decided on a hotel, I can definitely recommend THIS HOTEL which is in the same general area (but you may have to increase your hotel budget slightly).

My husband and I just returned from our first trip to Paris. I heard about Hotel Diana a few months ago on this forum, so I did some deeper research on it. It’s in the center of Paris not too far from Notre Dame. We stayed there for 4 nights and were quite pleased. It is a small hotel with small, clean and quiet rooms. We paid 135 euros a night for a twin room. We had our European friend join us in the hotel, and she loved this “cute” hotel and plans to go back. It offers a small, buffet breakfast for 10 euros. We found that to be an excellent value in Paris. They also arranged for a shuttle van to take us to CDG Airport for 36 euros for the 2 of us. It was a dark and rainy morning, as we headed back to the USA, so that was also a good and convenient value. We were gently “mothered” by the daytime receptionist, when we arrived with some mild health issues. She was very helpful. So if you don’t have to stay on Rue Cler, then check out Hotel Diana on Rue Saint-Jacques.

I second Hotel Diana. A very good hotel in a very central, prime location.