This hotel in Paris is a good budget option for photographers
There’s no getting away from it: Paris is an expensive to stay. As the the world’s third most popular city destination for tourists in 2017, according to Condé Nast Traveler, this comes as little surprise. But of course there are a wide range of options at all price points. And if your focus is on photographing the city rather than savouring the character of your accommodation, the Adagio access Paris Quai d’Ivry is worth considering. My wife and I have just returned home after a five-night stay there.
The good points
From my point of view as a photographer. its best feature was its excellent transport links to the heart of Paris. If you time it right, you can get from your hotel room to the banks of the Seine outside Notre Dame in just 25 minutes via double-decker RER commuter trains. This was just what I needed, particularly when going out shooting before breakfast. I left my room at 6.30 in the morning, walked to the station in about five minutes to catch the 6.42 service and was in the city centre before 7am, not long after the sun had risen at this time of year. When we visited, Ivry-sur-Seine was served by two trains an hour in each direction, although this was during a rail strike. Services might be more frequent at other times.
The hotel is also relatively cheap. We paid £54 a night for a basic double room. This came, however, with a clean and perfectly adequate shower room and a small kitchenette comprising sink, two-ring ceramic hob, microwave and kettle. Although we always ate out, you could easily cook pasta and sauce there if you wished. There’s a bakery and corner shop near the station, and a small Franprix supermarket about 200 metres from the hotel in the opposite direction. Having booked the hotel, I was worried about the neighbourhood – it’s in one of the more working-class areas of Paris – but it felt safe when we got there. Breakfast is available at the hotel, but I can’t comment on it as we we ate ours in our rrom.
And the downsides?
The room isn’t serviced during your stay, unless you’re staying for a week or more. In this case, I understsnd, it’s cleaned once a week. If you return from the city centre late in the evening and find the RER isn’t running due to engineering work, as we did on our last two nights, you face a long journey by Metro to Mairie d’Ivry, followed by either a 20-minute walk back to the hotel or a wait for the no. 323 bus.
To repeat, this hotel suited our particular needs on this trip, but it’s not the place for you if you’re planning a romantic break away. A hotel or AirBnB rental nearer the city centre might suit you better.
Over to you
Do you have a favourite hotel in Paris – or somewhere you’d avoid in future like the plague? Share your experiences in the comments below.