Background The Ascott Limited, which manages the Citadines brand, has around 30,000 apartment units (with 8,000 under development) in over 70 cities across more than 20 countries. By 2015, Ascott is aiming to achieve a global portfolio of 40,000 apartment units.
There are 16 Citadines in Paris (15 across the rest of France) and this is one of the six Prestige branded properties Citadines offers in Europe. There are three Citadines Prestige properties in London, which were all refurbished in 2010/2011, and three in Paris. The Citadines Les Halles property, underwent a €5 million refurbishment in 2011 and launched as a Presitge property in November.
Citadines Presitge properties offer a central location and upgraded rooms (Club as well as the standard Premier apartments) and service offerings such as breakfast and daily housekeeping.
Where is it? This property is located next to Forum des Halles (an enormous shopping centre and transport hub, with three RER lines and five Metro lines), in a lively area of the capital, six stops from Gare du Nord on the Metro.
What’s it like? A large building with studios and apartments spread over seven floors - some inward-facing onto a courtyard garden. Public areas are open plan and modern in décor – a homely and unpretentious atmosphere. Citadines falls into the Aparthotel definition of serviced apartments so there is a lobby with three check-in desks and a separate dining room for breakfast as well as offering some hotel services.
British architectural firm Buckley Gray Yeoman was commissioned to redesign the property last year and changes include natural woods and clean open design in public areas, as well as bamboo flooring and modern décor and furnishings in the apartments. There’s a homely TV lounge and lobby lounge in the Atrium for meetings over morning coffee.
Room facilities All studios and apartments offer a kitchen with utensils and equipment such as dishwasher, microwave, grill and fridge. There are ironing boards, safe, free wifi, and flatscreen TVs. Apartments also have twice-weekly full house-keeping service (or daily if you are in a Club studio or apartment) and general lighter house-keeping during the week. All apartments are a good size (around 35-40 sqm and studios 25-28sqm) – an average hotel room in Paris is around 16sqm.
All the apartments have been upgraded. Studio beds were changed from sofa beds to doubles beds, and iPod docking stations and kitchen gadgets were also added. One bedroom apartments (both Premier and Club) are spacious with high end furnishings, offering a large kitchen with seating and a homely ambience with light decor. The Premier and Club studios were also impressive in both size and furnishings with Paris the focus of many of the images on the walls.
My one bedroom Premier (standard) apartment (number 503) opened straight into a hallway, which was also the kitchen and the wardrobe area. The bedroom, living room and bathroom and separate toilet branched off this central area. The living room was painted a deep purple and the bedroom was small and overlooked the busy street below.
There was plenty of room for work and cooking, but having seen a number of other apartments, there are better layouts. I slept well but the courtyard rooms may be more peaceful.
Citadines Prestige properties offer free wifi in all apartments (you get given a code when you check in) and public areas, and wifi is being set up in other Citadines properties (30 out of the 42 now have free wifi and the rest will have it by the end of the summer).
Restaurant and bars There is a bright and airy breakfast room where a continental buffet breakfast is served offering cheese, ham, salami, yoghurts and eggs, as well as pastries, toast and fresh tea and coffee.
Business and meetings There are three meeting rooms on the mezzanine level of the building – two for up to 22 people and one board room. There is also a business centre and a computer in the reception area as well as free printing.
Leisure and fitness This property offers a good sized gym with large windows, cardio and free weights and 24 hour access. Guests can also ask for a “gym in the bag” from reception. Available in France and UK properties, the “gym in the bag” will be available across all European Citadines this summer.
It contains a workout mat, two dumbbells (1kg each), an elastic resistance belt (up to 10kg), a DVD player with 7’’ screen and 3 DVDs - Basic Yoga workout for Dummies, Shaping up with Weights for Dummies and Pilates for Dummies.
Verdict A good central location, and right next to a major transport hub, this property offers a welcome respite from the busy Paris streets. The décor is bright and elegant, the apartments spacious, and the public spaces and free wifi are a bonus.
Fact file
- How many rooms? 189, of which 134 are studios (106 Premier studios, 28 Club studios) and 55 one-bedroom apartments (49 Premier and 6 Club).
- Room highlights free wifi, spacious, and a good sized kitchen
- Price Internet rates for a flexible one-night midweek stay at the beginning of August started from €335 for a Premier one-bedroom apartment, and from €302 per night for a one-week stay at the beginning of August
- Contact citadines.com
