Hôtel du Nord et de l’Est in Paris

In Paris, FRANCE, we have stayed three times at Hôtel du Nord et de l’Est (49 rue Malte [11e] — Métro Oberkampf; phone 01 47 00 71 70 or e-mail info@hotel-nord-est.com), most recently in February ’07. Located on a quiet street near the Place de la République, it’s just about halfway between the gares Nord and Lyon and also not far from the Right Bank tourist attractions.

The couple who runs the place caters to business travelers and tourists from elsewhere in Europe. The desk staff speaks English.

The rooms were impeccably clean and, at least in the low season, made up quite early in the morning. The bathrooms gleamed, and all the plumbing worked. The hair dryers were strong enough to blow you into the next arrondissement.

Even in winter there was ample heat; in fact, at one point I had to turn off the radiator. The TV worked, which I viewed as a plus though I do not go to Europe to watch TV.

The bookkeeping of a Paris hotel is a delicate task. One morning I noticed we were low on toilet paper, so I went down the hall to ask the head housekeeper for a roll, which she readily supplied. Then she asked me for my room number so as to account for the inventory. Some would find this level of attention onerous; I find it admirable.

We paid €88.56 ($118) per night for the double-bed room with bath plus an additional €7.50 ($10) for a simple but adequate breakfast.

The concept of a “nonsmoking” room is still quite new to France, but although there was an ashtray in our room the room had no smell of stale cigarette smoke.

MICHAEL MAHONEY

San Francisco, CA