LE GENERAL Hotel

Nice clean hotel with a boutique hotel feel. Very close to Republique for metro. Nice rooms, if a little small, but this seems to be the norm in Paris.

The staff were very friendly and helpful. The breakfast was very good for a French hotel, the first time ever that we have been offered vitamins with a meal!!
The bedroom was compact but OK for an overnight, it had a broken bedside light and a lot of scuff marks on the wall. The bed was comfortable and the room was not too noisy depending on the setting of the in-room a/c unit.
Biggest gripe, only thin plastic cups in the room, no china ones which, considering you get a kettle plus tea & coffee making kit is a bit daft.

Finding a reasonably priced hotel in a convenient location in Paris can be hard, especially in summer so I was encouraged by the charms of Le General as displayed on its website.
It's a good location close to Republique and has been refurbished and kitted out with funky modern decor and furnishings. Like most old Parisian hotels the rooms are on the small size - but that's fine when you are out most of the time. A flat screen TV and rainhead shower add modern touches to the rooms, which otherwise are a bit drab when compared to the shouty pinks which appear in the public areas.
The cool bar area on the ground floor make a great place to meet for a pre-dinner drink - but this is where things go wrong - it's hopeless and impractical for use as a breakfast room. There are simply not enough places for guests to sit - and even when tables are vacated the staff staff are slow to clear away and reset the places. In fact it seemed there was only enough crockery and glassware for a few guests at a time. When I asked for more plates, some were hastily washed up by hand. It would also have been easy to place a few more tables in the foyer area to provide more seating at breakfast. The fact that we stood around waiting for tables to be set seemed of little concern to the staff.
When we sat down, breakfast was OK although uninspiring.
No one seemed to be in charge of the place. A bit of sharper control at breakfast and guests would have a much more welcoming experience.
This lack of management control was also apparent in housekeeping. Clearly no one inspected the rooms, or they might have picked up the large amount of dust gathering behind the door. It seems no one had told the maid that she needed to close the door and vacuum behind it!! There was also thick dust on any surface that wasn't immediately apparent. Sloppy and not good if you are an asthmatic.
So with a better management it would have been a great stay. If you can tolerate the poor service - it's fine.

The hotel was very modern, clean and close to the metro but also within walking distance to the Gard du Nord. The staff spoke very good English, which helped out my bad French! They were helpful and the breakfast was very good.

Small room but very clean, quiet street. Breakfast lovely, staff friendly and gave good recommendations for local restaurants.