Serotel Lutèce

Rue Berthollet, below the Val-de-Grâce

The Serotel Lutèce stands at no. 2 rue Berthollet, in the southern part of the 5th arrondissement, one of the twenty administrative districts of Paris and the core of the Latin Quarter. Our guide files it under Mouffetard: the church of Saint-Médard, at the foot of rue Mouffetard, is about six minutes away on foot, and the Val-de-Grâce about four.

Atout France, the national tourism agency that runs the official star ratings, classified the hotel four stars on 11 July 2022, for 41 rooms. The hotel’s own website never gives a room count, so the official register is the figure we use. The house trades under the Serotel name.

For transport, the hotel depends on line 7: its two nearest stations, Censier-Daubenton at seven minutes and Place Monge at nine, are both on that line.

Rooms planned around families

Beyond singles and doubles, the hotel lists triples, a quadruple laid out as a two-room apartment, two communicating rooms and a family room for six on the ground floor, with direct access to the garden. The hotel presents that last room as suited to guests with reduced mobility, and states more generally that adapted rooms are available.

Each room comes with air conditioning or individual heating, according to the list of included services, which also mentions room service and confirms that pets are welcome. The same list names a “bar-salon” without describing the service, so we do not count it as a bar. There is no restaurant: the day starts with a buffet in the vaulted cellar.

The garden is reserved for guests and, on occasion, for private events: the hotel rents it out together with the two lounges beside it.

The neighbourhood and its four-star neighbours

The Mouffetard area is the one of rue Mouffetard and its food shops, of the place de la Contrescarpe — about nine minutes from the hotel — and of the Arènes de Lutèce, a Roman amphitheatre.

Three other four-stars sit within about 350 metres, and each answers a different need. At no. 20 on the same street, the Seven Hotel Paris has 35 rooms, themed suites and a room for massages, and mentions no family rooms. On rue Pascal, the Hôtel Monte Cristo adds an indoor pool, a sauna, a restaurant and a rum bar, but caps every room at two guests. Its neighbour at no. 15, the Hôtel de l’Espérance, has a patio with a veranda and a family triple room. Among the four, only the Serotel Lutèce lists a room for six.