My Favorite Hotel in Paris: The Paris Hilton

Without a doubt the Hiltonin Paris is my favorite hotel of it's kind, by that I mean a larger hotel with a famous name, now even made more famous but "Paris Hilton" and her shenanigans ...many people will only stay in small charming hotels in Paris and I can agree with them on some counts, I even have one I adored my stay in, but there are times you do want a bit more room, a but more luxury and amenities, for those reasons. The Paris Hilton is my hotel of choice.

I've seen it undergo many changes since the first time we stayed there 12 years ago, each time they have updated or redone the hotel it's just made the place even better..

The first time we stayed there was during a long European vacation my family and I were on...our plane was 12 hours late, our luggage was lost and we arrived in the middle of the night...

The staff on duty that night was just the best. They kept our adjoining rooms and actually upgraded us to two of the most sought after rooms, rooms with balconies, on the side of the building that faced the Eiffel Tower. Oh, what a welcome sight that was..it spoiled me for every other trip to Paris, I just had to have that view! For me there is nothing like it in the world, that most incredible icon of Paris just in front of us and the cities beauty just below..anyway, we must have looked hungry and tired because soon after being shown to our room, a knock on our door and to our surprise we were brought a little snack to tide us over until the morning when the restaurants opened. Since we had no luggage, they brought us big soft robes and some extra toiletries ...luckily, that morning our bags were brought to us from the Airline and delivered to our room...Our vacation was starting now on the right foot.

At that time we thought our rooms were lovely, but on our next stay at the hotel a few years later, the rooms had been renovated and were even nicer...One of the special aspects of this hotel is the size of the room...Big rooms, just like here in the states, not those small, tiny rooms you find in even the best charming hotels in Europe. We have always requested rooms on the Eiffel Tower side and each time we stayed there, about 6 times, our request was honored. I also think that big balcony adds to the overall size of the room...but they also offer garden views which are quite lovely....I took a peek as I walked through the corridor

Side note: I have always booked our room over the phone through the Hilton Honors program...as much as the internet is a wonderful tool for travel, I always prefer to speak to a person..and yes, I definitely think being an honors member helps in getting your requests so I recommend to anyone who has ever stayed at a Hilton to join the program

One of the reasons we have stayed at the Hilton so many times is we usually take a road trip during our visits to France, so the Hilton is our first stop to unwind, get our bearings while we overcome our jetlag...usually after 3 days there we head off to whatever adventure awaits..then at the end of that journey we go back to the Hilton for the last days of our vacation...we have left some of our luggage and clothing there so we don't have to schlep it around on the trains or cars we use for getting around the country. We've never had a problem with doing that. And the hotel is happy to accommodate that request.

The rooms are so inviting to come back to...we always request a king bed and never have had any problems with that. The bedding has always been extremely comfortable and even more so since their latest renovation...the room is light and airy, modern looking, with wood and pale shades in the upholstery, carpeting, drapes and colors...and clean. I've never had an experience where I felt the housekeeping was lacking...and of course, the Eiffel Tower is just outside with its shining welcoming lights....The rooms on this side of the hotel are a bit more pricy though

There is a big desk on one side of the room, a satellite TV with in house movies, very welcome, especially when you come back after a road trip to small villages and hotels which don't have that feature....All the other amenities are present just like any Hilton, a well stocked mini bar, private safes, alarm clock, internet access via dial up, radio and good lighting near the bed...that's always a plus for me since I stay up late writing in my travel journal or reading and some hotels just provide the lowest wattage available...that drives me crazy, so much so that I always travel with a great reading book light just in case...I don't need it at this hotel!

The bathrooms are also large, marble everywhere, with a full sized tub, shower, bidet and a nice sized vanity to keep all your stuff....There is a hair dryer and wonderful toiletries provided along with plenty of soft fluffy towels...

The lobby of the hotel is extremely nice and the restaurants, beautifully designed, and very cheerful with fabulous views of La Tour Eiffel...the meals we've had in each one have been well prepared and delicious, we especially enjoy the outdoor café just to the side of the entrance... but the restaurants in the hotel are quite pricy, so for the most part we go out to one of the many the surrounding bistros and cafes for our meals...one of our favorite things to do is go to the Boulangerie just around the corner for a Croissant or something sinful to have with our morning café with steamed milk...

The hotel does have a very busy bar, some wonderful shops, also very expensive, and a gift shop with souvenirs to bring home, if you haven't bought enough on your shopping excursions outside of the hotel

The hotel is extremely well located, in the 7^th Arrondissment, and is my favorite neighborhood in all of Paris..It's a short walk to the River Seine and the Pont de Alma bridge which will take you to the right bank in just a few minutes...here you can also get on one of the boats for a most enjoyable ride on the river...if you are new to Paris, this boat ride will acquaint you with all the sights from the best vantage point.

The Eiffel Tower is just 2 blocks away and beyond that is the Champ de Mars, with many interesting tourist sites just beyond...Napoleons Tomb and the the Rodin Museum just to name a few..there is even the famous market street, Ave Rue Cler on the other side of the park, (Champ de Mars).

Other famous attractions might be a bit further away but there is a metro station just around the corner, Bir Hakin, which will wisk you away to the rest of Paris...and of course there are always cabs waiting just outside the door if you don't feel like walking.

All in all, I love this hotel even if some folks might call it a bit too modern or Americanized, and yes, that might be true...I've had the pleasure and one, not so pleasurable experience, at a few of the smaller hotels nearby and yes, they have their charm, one I would go back to in a heartbeat, but there are times when you just want a big room with a bit of luxury for one reason or another..for those times and for that absolutely spellbinding view of La Tour Eiffel, the Hilton can't be beat!

As for the prices, they change all the time and will change with the seasons especially if there is a big event taking place in town, like Fashion week or the Air Show, so we never have timed our visits during those events. Basically, the price of a room starts at about $300 a night and that's for the garden rooms...the Eiffel Tower rooms are more...when we first stayed there we paid just over $200 and each subsequent visit was a bit higher...But if you are a member of Hilton Honors you can get points for each stay and sometimes get a better deal on packages when you call them direct, at 1-800-Hhonors...if you are not a member calling the 800- Hilton number can also get a better price then on-line at times...I feel it always pays to call and it wouldn't hurt or cost anything to join besides those points to add up.

So there you have it, my favorite hotel in Paris, the Paris Hilton...It's funny with all the press lately about the celebrity Paris Hilton I think of this hotel when I hear her name..my memories come flooding back to me and I can see my favorite sight right before my eyes, La Tour Eiffel!

The address of the hotel is 18, av.de Suffren and you can get an idea of what the hotel looks like at their website, www.hilton.com