Hôtel Minerve, Paris — rue des Écoles

A Haussmann house on rue des Écoles

The Hôtel Minerve is at 13 rue des Écoles, in the 5th arrondissement, in the sector around Cardinal Lemoine and Jussieu. Cardinal Lemoine on line 10 is two minutes’ walk, Jussieu on lines 7 and 10 five, and Maubert-Mutualité on line 10 six. The Arènes de Lutèce are about 300 metres off and Place Maubert about 350; our page on the Arènes de Lutèce describes the amphitheatre. Atout France, the state body that issues French hotel stars, classified the hotel three stars on 26 October 2022, for 54 rooms.

The hotel says the building is a Haussmann block of 1864 with flowered balconies. The Minerve carries no brand name; its site calls the Villa Romantic & Spa, in the 13th arrondissement, “our second hotel”.

Decor, rooms and services

The hotel puts its decor first: exposed stone, wood panelling and beams, and wall frescoes painted by a Beaux-Arts artist. Some rooms on the courtyard overlook a giant fresco of a landscaped park. Air conditioning is individual, in the rooms and across the hotel.

Capacity is the limit. Every category is for one or two people, with no triple or family room, and the baby cot is paid. One room is equipped for reduced mobility. A private car park, paying, is offered on request at booking, and an airport shuttle runs on reservation. The hotel has a drinks machine, no bar and no restaurant, and says nothing of pets.

Among its neighbours

On the same street the Paris Art Hôtel, at number 1, is also three stars with 35 rooms, and the Hôtel Familia, at number 11, is a two-star of 30. The Hôtel Vendôme Saint-Germain, on nearby rue d’Arras, has 31 rooms and an accessible ground-floor double. The Minerve is the largest of the four, and the only one whose car park is said to be requested at booking. Our guide to the hotels near rue Mouffetard sets them side by side.