"We enjoyed our stay at the Helios Opera hotel.
Stayed mid-June. Our party was my wife, our two teens (18 and 16), and me.
Staff. All very friendly and worked to make our stay great. As Americans during this...political climate, we were a little uncertain how we might be received, in general in our travels and this was our first stop. The staff could not have been any be nicer and helpful when asked.
Location. This hotel is about two blocks from Galleries LaFayette. Americans: in Europe (at least, in Western Europe) Gallery means "mall." This is a mall with high-end stores with all of the designers and more, from Vuitton and Dior to JellyCat. It is near the Metro (about 5 minute walk; everywhere in Paris is 5 minutes from the Metro.) There are many restaurants and bars nearby. It is NOT near Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, nor Louvre. It is smack dab between the area with the Eiffel / Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Marais, and Montmarte. Again, all accessible by Metro. If you can walk 20-30 minutes, you can avoid the Metro for lots of attractions.
Rooms. We had our 2 teenagers of different genders and, in general, not comfortable sharing a bed. Therefore, we needed either suites (family suites are common throughout Europe) or 2 rooms. At Helios, they had their own room. Both rooms were terrific. Rooms have A/C which was needed due to the heat wave at that time. They provide a bottle of water per day. The beds are comfy. The bathroom was good size. The only bad thing, which again we noticed a couple of times, is that the bath had high side walls. That, combined with a glass water shield made it so that getting out of the shower could be a bit harrowing. Not really enough room to sit on the side and rotate over. No handle to brace one's self. Good quality soap and shampoo.
The only other thing that wasn't amazing were the stairs. Americans: many boutique hotel elevators are VERY small, like, 4 people max small. And 4 is quite cozy. We were on the 2nd floor (the ground floor in Europe is 0) so we just took the stairs most of the time. However, the stairs are narrow, a few of the steps were a bit unsteady, and a couple were of a different height than the others. There is a railing and we were fine.
Finally, they have fantastic croissants available in the lobby. We can't speak to the breakfast, but it looked good.
Overall, would not hesitate to stay here again."