Paris Weekend Break
Hotel classification - France
Getting the right hotel for your budget and your expectations is one of the “make or break” factors in enjoying a vacation or weekend break.
In your own country this is a relatively simple challenge, however in a foreign country you may be unfamiliar with the hotel classification system and this can lead to disappointments and let downs.
Like most other countries, France has it own hotel classification system and again like most other nations it uses a star system. As a general guide the star system in France is pretty similar to the star system in most other countries, but it pays to know what different star ratings mean before you reserve your hotel room.
Star ratings
The French star rating system was put in place by the French Government Ministry of Tourism to indicate the quality of accommodation that can be expected. The system goes from a no star (or unclassified) rating to a full five star rating. Below is a general summary of each star rating. Star ratings have a very direct relationship with room rates.
- 1 star
This will be a plain hotel offering basic levels of comfort and accommodation. - 2 star
This will be a typical average hotel. This is the classification into which most of the smaller hotels will fall. It is an acceptable standard for most people. - 3 star
This should be a “very comfortable” hotel offering a higher standard of accommodation and services. - 4 star
This should be a high quality hotel with excellent standards and lots of facilities and services. - 5 star
This will represent the best hotel accommodation available. It is often referred to as a palace.
Star ratings are of course only one way of assessing the quality of a hotel. The other is to look at hotel reservation websites and see what the feedback from previous guests is like. Some of the big tourist websites also offer ratings and in depth reviews of hotels based on previous guest experiences. You should always read a few of these reviews as taking the odd one out of context may miss represent a particular venue.
Another thing that you can do to get an idea of what the location and surroundings of a hotel are like is to look on Google Earth. By doing this you can go down to street level and see what the hotel, adjacent buildings, road network and other features are like. This may enable you to spot something that confirms or deters you from staying at a specific hotel.
You can get some information concerning finding a hotel from this page.
Finally, remember that when you are in Paris you are in another country and that you may need to adjust your standards and expectation slightly. Some things will be better, but some others may be different to what you might have expected.