Grand Hôtel Saint Michel, Paris — rue Cujas

A hotel named after a boulevard, on rue Cujas

The Grand Hôtel Saint Michel is at 19 rue Cujas, in the 5th arrondissement. The name sends people to boulevard Saint-Michel, which is only a few dozen metres off, but the house belongs to the Sorbonne and Panthéon sector, at the end of a street running down to the Luxembourg garden. Atout France, the state body that issues French hotel stars, classified it four stars on 1 March 2024, for 47 rooms.

The hotel is independent. Its site recalls a literary past: the poets and writers Nicolás Guillén and Jorge Amado are said to have lived here between 1947 and 1950, and the Chilean novelist Francisco Coloane and the Portuguese journalist Maria Lamas to have been regulars. Wikipedia confirms Amado’s exile in Paris until 1950 but does not name the hotel, so the account remains the hotel’s.

Wellness, rooms and meals

The wellness area is for guests only and can be privatised free of charge. It has a hammam with essential oils, a hydrojet bed, a massage chair and an exercise bike, and a room for massages and treatments, charged extra. The home page talks of a fitness room; we count only the bike. All rooms are air-conditioned.

For groups, the Adjacent Family Room is two rooms with two double beds and two bathrooms, and the Relax Triple takes three. The Deluxe Panoramic room on the fifth floor has a balcony and a balneotherapy shower facing the Sorbonne; it appears to be a single room, so do not count on that view for every booking. Two Superior rooms are listed as accessible to reduced mobility, to be confirmed with reception.

There is neither bar nor restaurant. Breakfast is a buffet, room service runs from noon to 11 p.m., and tea time is served in the lounge from 3 to 6 p.m. A meeting room is available.

On foot

Luxembourg (RER B) is five minutes away, Cluny-La Sorbonne (line 10) six and Odéon (lines 4 and 10) eight; the RER B is the only rail line within five minutes. For the neighbourhood, see our Panthéon guide and the page on hotels near the Panthéon.

Across the street

The Hôtel Grand Cœur Latin, at no. 20, has 75 rooms, a 15 m pool and a bar; the Saint Michel has fewer rooms and no pool, but it puts a hammam, a tea time and a Relax Triple at the disposal of guests. The two share a street, a category and a sector, and differ chiefly in scale.