When you make your hotel booking, don’t forget to ask if they are prepared to accept your pet, and if so, subject to which conditions. The charge can vary from hotel to hotel, but usually ranges from €5 to €15 per animal.
Be as precise as possible, because a hotel may refuse dogs over a certain size for example. As far as guide-dogs are concerned, they are accepted, by law, in all hotels and may also give rise to a supplementary charge.
An advanced search on our web site will narrow your choice down to those hotels who welcome pets.
Not counting luxury establishments where the welcome and information are offered in several languages, it is compulsory for hotels with 2** and above to be competent in at least one foreign language, most commonly English. In most types of accommodation, English is used as a matter of course and you should have no difficulty in making yourself understood!
In France the norm is 220 volts, 50 cycles, while in the United States or Canada, for example, it is 110 volts, 60 cycles. Voltage and sockets vary from country to country and so an adapter and also a transformer will be indispensable in order to keep your favourite electric razor or hairdryer in working order – not to mention to avoid blowing the electricity in the whole hotel!
If you’ve forgotten to bring these important accessories, you’ll be able to find them in electrical goods and DIY stores or hypermarkets. Most major hotels can also provide them. For information, French plugs are equipped with two round pins.
Hotels and aparthotels may place safe deposit boxes at your disposal either in your room or at reception: very useful for keeping your jewellery and other valuables safe! You could also keep a copy of your identity documents here, helpful in case you should lose the originals. The hotel is responsible for valuables entrusted to them by their guests. In the event of theft or damage, the hotel’s liability is automatically incurred – although the level of compensation will vary.
It is interesting to note that if the theft or damage occurs in the hotel safe or at reception, when the client’s property has been personally entrusted to the hotel staff, the hotel takes full liability and any stolen objects will be entirely reimbursed. For individual safes in the rooms, in the case of theft, the cover is limited to one hundred times the nightly room rate.
Finally, if the loss or damage are the result of external causes (lightning for example) or negligence on the part of the client (door left unlocked), the hotel has the right to refuse liability.
Take care when making telephone calls from your hotel room as the cost of your calls will inevitably be higher. Each hotel has its own price policy for the telephone, but it is worth knowing that calls could be as much as 50% more expensive then the standard France Télécom rate.
In general, low season is considered to run from 1 November to 31 March and high season from 1 April to 31 October.
Many major events and celebrations take place in Paris throughout the year and the increase in the number of visitors has a knock-on effect on availability: Easter, Bastille Day (14 July), Christmas and New Year, and also international fairs and trade shows (Motor Show, Foire de Paris, Agricultural Show, etc.) and “haute couture” fashion collections… So don’t forget to reserve well in advance if you wish to visit Paris at these times.
At certain times of the year, it is worth knowing that hotels’ terms and conditions of booking and cancellation may also be modified accordingly.
The continental breakfast most commonly offered in hotels consists of a choice of hot beverage, bread and/or pastries, butter and jams. A supplement may be requested for more extensive buffet-type arrangements. Breakfast is not necessarily provided in 1* and ungraded hotels (HT) and it can only be requested as room service in 3*** hotels and above.
The price of breakfast should be shown separately from that of the room. It may only be invoiced if it has actually been taken (except in the case of group bookings).
The majority of non-smoking rooms are available in hotel chains. As yet few hotels in Paris provide non-smoking rooms for their guests, so clients can smoke in their rooms at their discretion, except if there is a sign specifically prohibiting it. Hotels must ensure ventilation standards are complied with. As for the communal areas, breakfast room, reception and corridors: these are usually non-smoking. As a rule, youth hostels are entirely non-smoking.