hotel review: hotel du cadran paris

hotel du cadran is one of the hotels located at champ de mars. location-wise, nice sya talaga. near the eiffel tower and there are lots of restaurants around. medyo pricey but i guess, hotel rates within paris, medyo mahal talaga. to think na hindi naman sya 5-star hotel, boutique hotel type lang.

side view of the hotel

sophie with what she calls her yo-yo signature pose haha

the reviews online are good plus medyo partial ako with nice hotels lalo na kasama namin si sophie. as much as possible, kahit pa sabihin that we would sleep lang naman there since we'd be out  most of the time, ayoko pa din mag settle with so-so hotel. ohmen. kaartehan plus kapraningan. you name it!

the hotel is nice naman. staff are friendly and accommodating. not so strict with check-in time lalo na if available na yung room, they would let you check in naman kahit 3pm pa talaga yung allowed time. you will not be asked to pay right away or  give them a deposit.

the reception

the lobby

they also have a coffeeshop where you could find some yummmy-looking macarons and chocolates. may free taste eh, not big on macarons, really, pero they tasted good naman, in fairness.

the chocolate bar 

at the cafe area

yummy macarons

the only thing that i didn't like, and talagang nakakainis was the elevator. suppeeeer slow. i kid you not! one time, when i had to go down, we were at the 5th floor kasi and i wanted to have sophie's feeding bottles washed, eh i didnt bring the dish washing paste with me, i waited super for the elevator pero ang tagal talaga so i took the stairs! grabe pagbaba ko, approaching 5th floor pa lang si elevator. hello?

also, i think common na sa mga hotels in paris yung small space talaga ng mga rooms even the restroom, isahan lang unless the other one would stay in the tub, haha. pero okay naman kasi super clean, modern and it didnt have the old kulob smell which is one of my pet peeves. tehee.

comfffy bed, tiny room hehe

the hallway

oh i love the breakfast area! with the food naman, well,  the usual. bread, butter, jam, hard boiled egg, corn flakes, cheese, ham, nuttela and some various spreads. drinks naman, they have coffee, different juices, milk, water, chocolate drink. no fruits, though. aliw kasi they were not strict naman on takeouts. i made some sandwiches for baon in case magutom kami during the tour haha. yuhmeh! they didn't mind naman.

what to eaaaat? no rice? longganisa? tocino? lol.

the breakfast area

all in all, it was a good stay. the location did it for us so okay na sya talaga. price naman, well we had to pay 280eur per night for a superior room, good for 2 pax with breakfast. sabi nga ni sophie, ouchieee! ohwell. haha.

verdict:  4 stars out of 5

laters!xx

paris: bright lights, big city

hey,hey! oh can i just say how happy i am to be given a chance to experience this whole europe adventure with my family? i am just super duper grateful. hay, before i get emotional pa, here goes my kwento.

our first stop was paris. we spent a good 4 days there. it was reaaaaly fun! of course given na yung medyo magastos talaga. as in pricey lahat. from coke to hotel rates. naman! my sis said, hello you are in europe, what do you expect? oo nga naman. lalo na we stayed at champ de mars area, super near the eiffel tower. as in dalawang tumbling lang, nandun ka na. hehe. i will make a separate post about the hotel where we stayed ha? para di lang magulo. nakakahiya naman, baka ma lost kayo dahil napaka unorganized na ng kwento ko.

with sophie in front of hotel de cadran

anyways, paris really is a beautiful place. yung feeling, iba eh. may certain high sya. imagine, from the plane pa lang, the moment we landed, everybody was cheering, some even clapped their hands with joy. nakakahawa. i swear naki-clap din kami, haha. and lahat yun ha, feeling ko, tourists just like us. good vibes agad.

the eiffel tower

giant wind mill

view from the seine river

paris side walk

sacré-cœur basilica in montmartre

gare saint lazare

at champs elysees

the eiffel tower at night

we availed of the full day tour because ayoko ma-hassle walking around with a toddler in tow. mahirap. so i wanted everything pre-arranged na. it was quite expensive but syempre for you to enjoy, you need to be comfy and you know, not to be stressed out thinking about logistics like, where to go and how to get there. and i think i made the best decision kasi if i didn't do that, i don't think we would be able to see and do as much as we did.

seeing paris the first time, enjoying the sights with family, learning its history is truly a blessing. i wouldn't have it any other way.  the trip really made me appreciate what i have now and how blessed i am considering what i have been through.

all smiles at the eiffel tower

daddy with soph

my greatest joy

mother's love

the linos at  paris, france, october  2012

i always thought of paris as a city filled with history and rich in culture. the very reason why it is considered as one of the most visited cities in the world. so the expectation talaga, sobra. of course, you are spending - okay, "investing" a lot of money on the trip so whatever expectations you have, parang in a way you try to make the most out of everything. it's not as if we could just go there any time we want. so the experience itself, i guess, enough na to say that it was worth every cent we spent. and the fact that i have my family with me, nothing can beat that.

laters! xx