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Please see Paris for other available Paris hostels and accommodations.
The Hostelz.com Review
Bureau Voyage Jeunesse - BVJ Louvre is a comfortable establishment in a great location. While not the most social of hostels, it is a block away from the Louvre, only about three or four blocks away from the Seine and Notre Dame, and close to the Louvre subway stop, which will get you anywhere in the city in no time!
The Location
Aside from being only minutes from the subway and many attractions and right in the middle of the city, the hostel is also on a nice street, across from an arcade that has high-end stores like Christian Louboutin across the street, a nice bakery a few doors down, and a trendy café next door with free Wi-Fi and good music.
Rooms and Bathrooms
We stayed in both a private and dorm-style room during our stay. Rooms are clean, spacious, and simple. The beds are slightly squeaky, but comfortable. The private room has its own mirror and sink with bathrooms just across the hall. The dorm rooms seem to be on the smaller side (ours had only four people total) and is quiet at night.
Though there aren’t many bathrooms or showers, there also seem to be relatively few guests -- we never waited for either facility. Bathrooms and showers are clean with warm water. All units are co-ed with doors and locks.
Common Spaces
Though the hostel has spacious common areas there is not much of a community feel to the hostel and not many people hang out. In the lobby, there are several tables and chairs with a sunroof and tour books for rent. In another room there is a computer that you can pay to access the internet. The Wi-Fi -- which you have to pay for -- was down during our two-night stay. There is no kitchen/bar/laundry service. In the morning there is a nicely stocked breakfast (7 to 9 a.m.) with yogurt, toast, and cereal, as well as juice, coffee, and tea.
They have lockers, which are too small for even one backpacker’s backpack -- and you have to repay every time you open the locker. There is a luggage room where most people leave their luggage -- while it is not locked, the desk is occupied at all times and you have to pass the desk and show a badge in order to access the luggage room. Also the hostel in general feels safe, as you are required to show a guest card each time you enter the hostel and it is in a good neighborhood. Still, it is probably one of the most insecure luggage storage setups of all the dozen or so places we stayed across Europe.
Summary
Overall, if you’re more interested in seeing the city than hanging out, this is a great hostel in a great location. Check-out is early in the morning and there is a lockout staring at around 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m., so if you are not a morning person, you may want to take this into account. There is no curfew at night, however, and the reception is twenty-four hours. The early lockout helped get us up and seeing the city so we didn’t waste any of our short stay, but if you don’t like early mornings or plan on staying out late drinking heavily this might be a bit of an inconvenience. The hostel is cash only. No cards accepted, but there is an ATM around the corner.Overall, we give this hostel three-and-a-half stars out of five.
The Location
Aside from being only minutes from the subway and many attractions and right in the middle of the city, the hostel is also on a nice street, across from an arcade that has high-end stores like Christian Louboutin across the street, a nice bakery a few doors down, and a trendy café next door with free Wi-Fi and good music.
Rooms and Bathrooms
We stayed in both a private and dorm-style room during our stay. Rooms are clean, spacious, and simple. The beds are slightly squeaky, but comfortable. The private room has its own mirror and sink with bathrooms just across the hall. The dorm rooms seem to be on the smaller side (ours had only four people total) and is quiet at night.
Though there aren’t many bathrooms or showers, there also seem to be relatively few guests -- we never waited for either facility. Bathrooms and showers are clean with warm water. All units are co-ed with doors and locks.
Common Spaces
Though the hostel has spacious common areas there is not much of a community feel to the hostel and not many people hang out. In the lobby, there are several tables and chairs with a sunroof and tour books for rent. In another room there is a computer that you can pay to access the internet. The Wi-Fi -- which you have to pay for -- was down during our two-night stay. There is no kitchen/bar/laundry service. In the morning there is a nicely stocked breakfast (7 to 9 a.m.) with yogurt, toast, and cereal, as well as juice, coffee, and tea.
They have lockers, which are too small for even one backpacker’s backpack -- and you have to repay every time you open the locker. There is a luggage room where most people leave their luggage -- while it is not locked, the desk is occupied at all times and you have to pass the desk and show a badge in order to access the luggage room. Also the hostel in general feels safe, as you are required to show a guest card each time you enter the hostel and it is in a good neighborhood. Still, it is probably one of the most insecure luggage storage setups of all the dozen or so places we stayed across Europe.
Summary
Overall, if you’re more interested in seeing the city than hanging out, this is a great hostel in a great location. Check-out is early in the morning and there is a lockout staring at around 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m., so if you are not a morning person, you may want to take this into account. There is no curfew at night, however, and the reception is twenty-four hours. The early lockout helped get us up and seeing the city so we didn’t waste any of our short stay, but if you don’t like early mornings or plan on staying out late drinking heavily this might be a bit of an inconvenience. The hostel is cash only. No cards accepted, but there is an ATM around the corner.Overall, we give this hostel three-and-a-half stars out of five.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
July 2011
Their Description
Bureau Voyage Jeunesse - BVJ - Louvre Details
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Map
Location/Contact| Address | 20, Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau, Paris (1è - Louvre Area), Île-de-France, France |
| Location | |
| Directions | Take the metro to the Palais-Royal stop (on lines 1 and 7) and follow the exit signs for the Musee du Louvre. After exiting walk along the street (rue de Rivoli) with the Louvre (the biggest building) on your right side until you reach rue de Marengo (after about 60m) and go left for 50m to the intersection. There take rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau (diagonally in front of you to the right) and the hostel is 60m on the right. |
| Website | bvjhotel.com |
| Telephone | +33 (0)1 53 00 90 90 |
| Fax | +33 (0)1 53 00 90 91 |
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
SO WELL LOCATED So well located, just in front of Louboutin shoe shop, 2 blocks away from Louvre Museum and King Garden... you can't expect better. Night clubs are in the second part of the street. Rooms are clean, basic. Shower & toilets outside, and a no limit breakfast. Ask for Suite des Deux Empereurs on the first floor, (you won't have to climb the stares) and it was just renovated. — TOSCA , HUNGARIAN (2012-04-16) TERRIBLE! The BVJ hostel near the Louvre was really terrible! We made a reservation for 2 days, but that was not possible. We arrived at 01.00 am, but had to get up at 08.30 am for making sure we could keep the room. After a lot of discussion, nothing was possible, so we stood up at 08.30 AM. But we could not reserve another night. We had to move, and we were only a weekend in Paris! BVJ ruined it completely. At the desk, they even told me to start a new hostel, when I said it was not the normal way to book a hostel. Rude, not a good atmosphere, terrible! — Dutchman , Holland (2011-11-09) One star only for location I stayed this weekend at this hostel and it was terrible. We went there with our French class, so we were 6 girls and our teacher. For us we booked a room of 6 and a room of 2 for our teacher. When we arrived Friday morning at 10 a.m. we had to leave our luggage in a room where everybody could go to (even strangers because the staff doesn't mind who's going in and out their hostel) but we had no choice because the room was not available until 2:30 p.m. When we came back after a short trip across Paris we got told that our teacher got a room of 6 -- with other people. At a cost she they changed it in the room of 2 we had ordered. Our room was room 50 -- on the fifth floor, no lift and a spiral stair made the way up a long journey with our bags. The room itself was very puristic: no closet, no table / chairs, no bathroom. Only the 3 loft beds (without ladders or rails, only a stool to climb up) and a washbowl with a mirror. And snot everywhere on the walls and on the ceiling. A very charming atmosphere. When I laid in my bed on top, I sank down in the middle of the bed. The blanket was scratchy and i don't know if they wash it very often. We didn't use this woolen thing. Breakfast was as puristic as the bedrooms. We had one shower and one toilet for 2 rooms, you had to keep pushing the button to have water. We went to the 4th floor to avoid hours of waiting for a shower but there were two showers for the whole floor (more than 2 rooms!) and one of them had also the button problem. People dried their hair late after midnight. I could go on but I think I said enough. I'm glad it were "only" two nights there. — S , Germany (2011-09-05) 0 stars This is the worst hostel i have ever stayed at. straight up. i have had other hostels where i have had to check out and in again every morning and it was a really awesome hostel so i didnt mind even staying up all night to make sure i could sleep in, but this one ... no toilet paper ANYWHERE! Internet kiosks stole my money as did the 200 year old lockers. the top bunks have no ladders and no rails, but sink in the middle so u dont fall out. the showers dont stay on. had to shower with my boyfriend (not that im complaining) cause u had to keep holding the button, not the best thing after a crap night sleep and walking around all day. the breakfast ran out of muesli most mornings and the lady yell at you for not returning the tray, but then have to wipe the table cause the coffee/hot chocolate is served in bowels. the staff always have to consult the boss. i dont care. i just was my 2 euro back from your stupid locker. i booked for 4 nights and on the 3rd night my bed was cleaned and my stuff thrown out -- papers and socks. personal stuff that was obvious that i wasnt leaving that day. i moved to another bed in the room out of frustration. then the reception gave me a voucher for something in french when she knew i was leaving france?!?!? um?!?! and to top it off u cant go out/get some food and use their kitchen to cook anything so i just made a mess in the main area. u cant bring alcohol, so if ur like me and on a budget and want to drink a bottle of wine u have to do it on the street. the rooms are noisy and walls are thin. even for the 29 euro we paid EACH we could get a HOTEL that had buffet breakfast and a decent shower. i regret staying here and i will be telling everyone i know not to stay here. location -- sure its good, but metros are everywhere, and if u dont mind catching them, which u will do anyway. find somewhere a little out of town, away form the tourist areas and rude french beggars and save some money. even eating around this area is expensive, and not using their kitchen is just plain insulting. — Anonymous , nz (2011-06-06) VERY COOL AND WELL LOCATED VERY COOL AND WELL LOCATED, 2 blocs away from Louvre Museum,
ALL NIGHT OPEN, with a cool staff always at disposal, SIMPLE ROOM but VERY CORRECT -- all the necessary is at disposal, and the breakfast is very nice. — JUDITH BOU , HUNGARIAN (2010-08-25) Worst experience ever I would rate this place a zero but 1 is the lowest. I stayed here for six nights in July and it was the grossest and worst experience of my life. My first complaint would have to be the stairs. With suitcases, the stairs make it incredibly difficult to get to your room. Speaking of rooms, The rooms were gross. It felt like they had never been cleaned before. With it being about 90º at night in your room, you cannot get any sleep. On top of the temperature, there is so much noise in the place. Doors are slamming all night long and people from other rooms are disrespectful and loud all night. I can honestly say I got three hours of sleep the first five days I was there. The only good thing about this place was the location. But that's all. The only person I would recommend this place to would be a heath inspector to shut the place down. — Anonymous , United States (2010-07-19) Dirty I visited this hostel in July of 2006. Since then I have visited over 15 youth hostels and this is by far the dirtiest, most rundown hostel I have had the privilege to sleep in. Yes, the beds and bathroom are horrible. Two of the other girls in our room had horrible bedbug bites to the point where they couldn't sightsee. However, I found that the staff are courteous, breakfast is edible, and the best part of all is the location. The Louvre is a 5 minute walk, the Eiffel Tour and numerous museums are also within walking distance. For me, this outweighs all of the negatives. After leaving this place I swore I would never go back, but I currently find myself booking my year long Europe trip next year and this will definitely be included in my stay. In short, if location matters more than a comfy bed and nice bathrooms, stay here. If not, stay far far away. — Katie , USA (2010-06-25) Lack of booking system!!! I e-mailed this hostel 1 month before going to make a reservation, I received a reply asking me to confirm the booking 2 weeks prior to going which I did. I received no reply but assumed this was the booking confirmed -- I also stated our time of arrival. We arrived at 8pm to be told there was no space, they had received my 2nd e-mail but as they hadn't replied claimed our booking wasn't valid. Very disappointed! Also stressful and expensive trying to find accommodation last minute. — caroline , UK (2010-06-14) Ruined my holiday BVJ Hotel -- do not stay here unless you wish for your holiday to Paris to be ruined! I actually left Paris four days early because of it, totally uncomfortable. My bag was stolen off the bus from London, I gave the security guy the hotel's phone number should any developments happen. They called the hotel when my bag was returned, and the guy at the front desk seemed rather pissed off that I'd given the telephone number out -- a real inconvenience for them, not me! Showers are fun -- they last about three seconds before you have to push the button again for more water. Makes hair washing a fun time. Lukewarm as well, so the whole shower ritual is just miserable in winter. Especially after pounding the pavements of Paris! The worst, there is nothing on the website to say this, nor in corresponding emails, but you must check in and out every day. Chances of getting the same room are pretty low. Which means you have to pack up and get out every morning before heading out for the day, dragging everything down the stairs because the manager is so pissy about anyone using the lift on the ground floor! Then leave your stuff in the back office/ luggage room for the day, then drag it all upstairs again that night. Absolutely ridiculous. I want a holiday, where I can unpack and unwind without stressing about this. I was so disgusted by it all. The only good thing about this place is the free breakfast. The guy working the kitchen is charming and nice to have at least one person in the hotel smile at you! Big bowls of coffee or hot chocolate provided, amazingly soft bread rolls, cereals, eggs, juice. Stuff yourself before going out to save on food for the day! — Wontgivename! , Australian (2008-02-07) It's more than only facilities i know this hostel has no warm blanket, or really fresh shower (because it always stopped every five minutes). i know it's only a bowl of hot chocolate, fresh juice, lots of baguette, and not luxury breakfast. the stairs really made me tired because they have no porter to help. and the worst, not allowed to smoke inside the hostels. but, the experience inside, with the bugs in our blanket, the meeting with people around the world, and of course the really cheap money i have to pay, make my experience in paris had colours. this hostel is more than enough. — candle , indonesia (2007-09-15) Ok place, great location I read most of the reviews before I came, and I was ready to expect the worse. The downsides -- the front desk staff was rude and they took their sweet time to check us in (we waited about an hour). Also pay attention to the booking procedures, they can be a bit complicated. Once we got our room, we had to climb four flights of stairs, a spiral staircase, and a ladder to get to our beds. For any of you who are concerned with fire safety, I wouldn't advise this hostel. The showers were also pretty bad too, but they weren't unbearable. The plus sides -- we couldn't ask for a better location. It was close to two metro stops, but we mostly walked to all the major sites in Paris. I recommend it solely on the location. The breakfast was also phenomenal. There was plenty of food, and the staff in the kitchen was great. (just bring your tray back to the line when you bring your food to the table.) — 111 , USA (2007-07-18) Hopeless! Totally hopeless. Didn't have our booking -- after confirming it twice. Was rude and dismissive. Will never, ever, ever recommend anyone to stay here. — Well Travelled , Aust (2007-05-14) I love this place! The staff is really nice and kind, and the best of best is location! To Musee du Louvre, three minutes on foot! Breakfast is very good (I really like this, so every morning I ate fresh baguette, many kinds of jams, juice, cereal!) but the room is very small and simple (just Dual-Layer Iron Bed and sink in the room). If I will go to Paris again, I must stay here again! Recommend! — Kim (2007-02-09) This place would have been all right were it not for the totally dodgy records system they have and the nonexistent security. You can book via email but it's not reliable because they only keep their records on flimsy pieces of paper that even the reception staff can't read properly. We turned up for a three-night stay and they said they had no record of our booking and wouldn't be able to keep us for three nights. We managed to hassle them enough to ensure we could stay, but it was a pain in the ass. The security is frighteningly bad, with a group of yobbos storming our room at 4:30 a.m. and spraying people with mace and stuff. They were yelling loud enough for everyone in the building to hear, but the staff only turned up an hour later, after they had gotten bored and went to harass the girls' rooms. They were still hanging around at 9 a.m. before finally they got kicked out, which is ridiculous. Their facilities are poor, and they don't have bath towels or any other accessories you'd expect. Only go here if you're desperate and a park bench is the only other option. — kluelesskamel (2007-01-02) This hostel was absolutely awful. It was filled with twelve- to fourteen-year-olds running around at all hours of the night while screaming and yelling. The staff for the most part was friendly, however there was one very rude lady who would talk very rudely to you. We called from the airport to ask for directions and she would only speak in french (which we don't speak) and kept asking if we understood. when we said no, she would just say "ok?" and keep on repeating what she had just said. She told us to get on the train from the airport, and funny thing was..the airport that we flew into had no train station! She had no idea what she was talking about. Very annoying. The rooms were very dirty with dirt on the walls, and the beds were very uncomfortable. Very, very uncomfortable. You could feel yourself sinking to the springs on the bottom of the bed. Some of the beds were covered in a lining that sounded like you were sleeping in a diaper. The pillows looked like they were a bunch of cotton balls put into a pillowcase. Very horrible. All in all, this hostel was so gross, loud, and too expensive for what you sleep in. The push button shower was horrible as well. You have to push it every five seconds and the showers were very dirty every single day. I don't think they cleaned it by any means. The floor we stayed on only had one toilet and one shower for about sixteen people which was quite the wait when you wanted them. The only good thing was the location (about a ten-minute metro ride to the eiffel tower) and the louvre is two minutes' walking distance. Shopping mall is only a couple of minutes away as well. All in all, horrible hostel, wouldn't go back ever, and wouldn't reccommend to anyone. — Carley (2006-10-28)