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HOTEL DU CADRAN
Meet the Boss Paris Eiffel Tower News interviewed Helene Chaine, the passionate owner of Hotel du Cadran. Her hotel rings its 10th birthday this month, and our editors thought it would be interesting to know more about the person who had the vision for this hotel. Helene also offers several useful restaurant and shop recommendations to our subscribers. All the addresses recommended by Helene are featured at the end of our interview. Paris Eiffel Tower News: Helene, you had the vision for Hotel du Cadran about 10 years ago. Tell us how it all started. Helene Chaine: You see, I mothered a rather large family. My children grew up, and they are now on their own, out there in the wild world. I missed the atmosphere of a lively home, and so I thought how could I create a second "home". You know, a place where I would be constantly in touch with real people, help them around, be a part of their lives for a while. That's when this whole idea of a guesthouse took roots. Paris Eiffel Tower News: Did you have a professional career, besides that of being a mother of many children? Helene Chaine: Yes absolutely. I headed an interior design business in Paris for 20 years. Paris Eiffel Tower News: Yikes! You must have lived a busy life! Helene Chaine: You tell me. I'm used to being busy, and that's why my staff and myself take very good care of our guests. Not in any intrusive way, mind you. But we're not sitting on our bottoms, so to speak. We are at their beck and call. Paris Eiffel Tower News: What do you offer your guests that is - say, kind of special? Helene Chaine: I would say two things. First and most importantly, a respectful friendliness. Second, the hotel atmosphere and its location. Paris Eiffel Tower News: Tell our readers about your first claim to fame, respectful friendliness. Helene Chaine: It's for real. That's what our guests tell us over and over: "we like to stay at your place, you are friendly". That's the spirit I instill into my staff: our guests are to be cared for, welcomed in their requests, helped with their needs. Paris is a big city, people are often unfamiliar with it, they need to be guided in their choices and activities. We do that very well. Paris Eiffel Tower News: Give us an example, a real story. Helene Chaine: Sure. One Saturday evening, a guest comes to us in a state of panic. She's been invited to an Embassy dinner the following day to celebrate Easter. She needs the full nine yards: hairdresser, make-up artist, and what-not. Picture it: we are on the eve of Easter, it's already 8 p.m. on a Saturday evening! And on Easter day all beauty salons are closed of course! Well, we moved Heaven and Earth, and at 11 a.m. on Easter Sunday, she'd gotten all that she needed to go to the garden party. Paris Eiffel Tower News: Wow, quite a performance! Ok, What's your second "Special"? Helene Chaine: That's the feeling of our hotel and our neighborhood, the whole atmosphere of the area. We are located in a part of Paris which is like a small village. There's the Rue Cler, right next to us. This is a fantastic place. The whole street is an open market where you can shop for fresh organic food, wines, delicacies, chocolate confectionary, olive oil, cheese. I mean, you name it. It's completely exotic. We are in the 7th district, and anybody who knows anything about Paris knows that the 7th is the district of the embassies and the ministries. Well, these people eat and buy quality stuff. So the shops and craftmen around offer high quality merchandise. Paris Eiffel Tower News: Tell us a bit more about your hotel, what you see in it. Helene Chaine: First of all, your readers may want to know that we bought the building 10 years ago. And this is a major point because this way we could carry out a major remodeling project. We gutted out the building entirely, only to keep its front wall. I wanted to re-build the house to offer my guests the comfort and amenities of modern interior design. As I mentioned earlier, I'm an interior designer by profession so you can guess that I delved into the project with great delight. Paris Eiffel Tower News: What challenged you most? Helene Chaine: Well, designing the rooms was a challenge. I wanted to create the feel of a guesthouse. Each of the room has received particular attention to detail. Each of them has a quiet and rather intimate feel. Paris Eiffel Tower News: Your fireplace here is most remarkable, isn't it? Helene Chaine: Absolutely! Our guests are of the same opinion. The fireplace dates back from the 13th century. We designed the entire room around it because it's a fantastic focal point. In wintertime when Paris is cold and rainy, we light up a fire, play the Pianola, and offer tea and muffins to our guests. They can rest in the leather armchairs, read a book or discuss with us about their day and the morrow. A home-like experience. That's what I wanted to create 10 years ago. Paris Eiffel Tower News: This year your hotel rings its 10 th birthday. Anything special to announce, rate-wise? Helene Chaine: Yes! From Dec 1st to Dec 31st, we offer special discounts on our single and double standard rooms at €90 a night, and on our Superior, King-size and Twin-size rooms at €110 a night. Paris Eiffel Tower News: Very nice discounts, indeed. There's a question we like to ask the hotel owners. You know Paris very well, and we would like you to recommend places to our readers. Any restaurants you like particularly? Helene Chaine: Yes. Close to here, there is " Leo le Lion ", for French traditional cuisine. Excellent value for money at about €40 a pop. Near the Eiffel Tower, " La Taverna " is an Italian restaurant. Their pasta is outstanding, truly Italian. Same price range. If you are into very refined French cuisine, I would recommend " Le Cottage Marcadet." It is located up in the 18th district, but it's worth taking a cab and driving there because it offers among the best delicate French recipes you'll find in Paris for about €50 per person. And for your readers who really want the all-out French gastronomic experience, " Le Grand Véfour " is one of my favorite bets, at about €100 per person. Paris Eiffel Tower News: How about places where you can be entertained? Helene Chaine: Off the top of my head, " Moulin Rouge ", the Garnier Opera House, and the Bastille Opera House. But I'm prejudiced! If you want something else than classical music and dance, there are many variety shows and jazz gigs in Paris every night. Our desk can help your readers in finding a show of their liking, no sweat. Paris Eiffel Tower News: Where would you direct those of our readers who like to shop? Give us three places you like. Helene Chaine: Every woman will enjoy " Scabass." It's a fashion boutique which is located in the St-Germain-des-Prés area. They offer unique ready-to-wear stuff, many designer items and accessories. Right across the street, there's an exceptional shop: it's a tea house, " Mariage Frères ". They have the most amazing selection of teas I know of. And if you feel like tea time, don't forget "Ladurée" for the chocolates and macaroons. They opened several shops in Paris, and they make the most delicious treats. Paris Eiffel Tower News: Let's come back to your area with a question which is of concern to our readers coming to Paris. Is it safe out there? Helene Chaine: The 7th district is one of the safest in Paris. There are so many embassies and ministries around here -and so much old money too- that the area is very secure. There are pickpockets in Paris though, and your readers should be aware of that. They should leave their valuables at the hotel, in their room safe box. Paris Eiffel Tower News: One last personal story for our subscribers? Helene Chaine: Sure, I love anecdotes. Once, a regular guest arrived at the hotel with his family, wife and kids. His kids are aged 6 and 10. They rushed through the entrance door, into the hotel. Then stopped, looked around, and shouted out: "Wow, Dad! We're in your Paris home!" I took that as a marvelous compliment. Paris Eiffel Tower News: Thank you for your time, Hélène.
Hélène Chaine's recommended addresses: Hotel du Cadran Restaurants:
Entertainment spots:
Shopping:
Rue Cler: Paris Eiffel Tower News published an Essay Contest a few months ago. Contestants were to describe something interesting they had seen in Paris, and which other visitors could observe too. Two of our contestants wrote an essay on Rue Cler and its lively open market. We take this opportunity to re-publish Diane Lawyer's exceptional entry (1st Prize winner), and to publish for the first time that of Clifford DuVernois, another well-written account of a stroll along Rue Cler. Read them, and share them with friends! Rue Cler, by Diane Lawyer
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