AshCap

Hello my husband and I are visiting Europe from the U.S. in September this year. we'll be in London first then Sept 5 we take the Eurostar to Paris and stay 4 nights our flight leaves Sept 9. This is our first trip to Europe!!

I can't seem to decide on a hotel...the hubs is taking care of the London portion and me the Paris....I was set on the Pullman Paris Eiffel Tower...They have a big bigger bed not a huge deal (the hubs was restricting me to queen only but has now lifted that restriction to a double) but they have rooms with a balcony which sounds delightful. They like most hotels have good reviews and bad reviews...so when I brought this to the table my husband felt uncomfortable about the bad reviews. If any of you could comment on that place please do...that;s a sidebar question.

What I'm looking for is someplace centrally located not in a seedy area we don't mind paying a bit more but we can't pay upwards of $350 a night and we'd really rather not pay that much....just saying. Also in a pretty area where there are cafe's shopping etc close by and by close by I mean a 5 minute walk; where I live we take a car everywhere; So in Paris if I just want to run down the street to grab a bite or a coffee etc I don't want to hoof it like I will the other days when we will be sight seeing. Also I would like to have a fantastic view. Wifi, a good staff (if a hotel), a bidet, etc etc.

If you know of any hotels or short-term apartments please do tell.

Thanks for your input

Ash

AshCap

I also forgot to add that I think possibly in the 6th or 7th arrondissement; from what I understand those are more centrally located and good for first time visitors IDK? Unless of course you feel a different area may be better.

Thanks again

Kwoo

I have never been to Paris but I am in the process of planning our first trip there for this summer. After a lot of research & reading Trip Advisor, I have chosen the Hotel Bonaparte in the 6th. A lot of people on this forum have stayed there; & it has gotten good reviews from TA. Your budget is higher than ours, though, so you may have more choices. But I am happy with our choice, or at least I think I will be. The hotel has an elevator, private bathrooms, & A/C, & seems to be in an excellent location. You should have more choices than us with your budget, but you should check out Hotel Bonaparte. Our rooms are $174 per night for the nights we are there in July; then they give a 10% discount for the month of August. Hotel rooms in Paris are very small.

nytraveler

A couple of notes - Arrondisements 1 through 8 are all central - but with some parts closer to the center (the river) and some farther away. IMHO you want to be fairly close to the river. Any hotel will have some bad reviews - since their re some people who specialize in being displeased (or have exaggerated ideas of what their budget should get them in Paris).

Be aware that in many Paris hotels the "balconies" are a small cement area that you can step out onto and look at the outdoors - no places for chair or table. Not sure of this hotel - look at pix to find out.

In Sept just be sure you have good AC and that the room is large enough to be comfortable

Apres_Londee

Just to be clear, is $350/night your budget? Or are you looking for something less than that? And is a bidet essential?

I think for your general budget you'll find something quite nice in the 6th or 7th, and in a more proper neighborhood than the Pullman (I'm not familiar with the Pullman but I just took a quick look on Trip Advisor).

The Hotel Bonaparte is popular- if you do a search here for it, not only will you get more info about it, but there will be discussion of similar type places in the same threads.

Christina

You are never going to be happy in the Hotel Bonaparte given what you want. It is a budget hotel and I don't think you should even consider it given your tastes.

I don't know about the Pullman but if it has bad reviews, there are plenty of other hotels in that budget, although it is true few have balconies. But a few do, and a few may have sort of a balcony (not a real one you can stand on, however). But I think you'd prefer a different location.

I don't know what you mean about wanting a big bed but your husband lifted the restriction of a queen and says you can get a double?? A double bed is smaller than a queen, you will be very sorry. It sounds like you are looking for a "king" or 180 cm bed in Paris. Hotels will often call it that. But you are not going to like what a Parisian hotel refers to as a double which is 140 cm, fairly close to that size in the US, you know what it is.

Sept is high season, of course, so room rates will be at their peak but $350 should be around 225 euro (if things stay like now). That isn't deluxe by any means, but you can get a nice hotel, although I think it unlikely you'll get a nice hotel with a special view room for that rate. I wouldn't count on a king bed.

you can look at the 3* Hotel Pantheon, it's a good location and has view/balcony rooms http://www.hoteldupantheon.com/ I don't think you'll get their best rooms for 225 euro, however.

zeppole

Bad reviews are always deal breakers for me, in particular if people have complained about things I care about.

For your budget, even if you spend less, you should be able to find a hotel with unproblematic reviews.

Get a place with a comfortable bed. French beds can be uncomfortably narrow -- double beds are just about impossible.

If a hotel balcony is not facing a pedestrianized or extremely quiet street in Paris, you can usually only stand about 3 minutes of having the French doors open before you want to shut them because of noise and pollution. I'd rather have double glazing and a big bed.

People argue endlessly on Fodor's about which arrondissement is best for a "first-time" visitor -- as if all first time visitors want the same things. My tip for selecting a location for a hotel in Paris is:

Buy a good map of Paris. circle all the places you know you want to see as a tourist in red ink. With blue ink, circle all the restaurants where you'd like to have dinner. Then decide if you would have a hotel that is most "central" to all your intended tourists sights, or if you'd rather be central to your target restaurants.

AshCap

Thanks for the replies! $350 is the most I will probably pay unless something is crazy nice and then maybe $50 more a night so of course I would pay less and be happy about it so long as I find what it is I'm looking for. Is a bidet essential? No, but it is my first time in Paris and I will be in Paris so I that's why I added that but it's not a must have; it's a would like to have.

The thing that is stumping me is that within the reviews regardless of the hotel unless I'm missing the right ones is that even if I book a room with the view that I want it may be given to someone else before I get there. I'm just not sure what do do. I would love a view a nice view of the city of something beautiful even if it's not the Eiffel Tower but I'm not familiar enough with Paris to know which hotels offer the best views.

Sarastro

I am familiar with the Pullman Eiffel Tower. It was very popularly known as the Hilton Eiffel Tower until the name changed several years ago. This is one of the few hotels in Paris where all of the rooms have balconies, the rooms on the west side all have magnificent views of the Eiffel Tower, and if you want a bed larger than a double, you will be better off staying with a large, corporate style hotel which this Pullman is (it's part of the Accor Group, one of the largest hotel groups in the world).

I would not hesitate staying here, in spite of the reviews you mention though I have not personally read any negative reviews. The only possible downside is that it is obviously near the Eiffel Tower which is not as centrally located as are hotels in the 1st-6th arrondissements. However, there are nearby stations to both the RER C (Champs de Mars), the Metro line 6 (Bir-Hakeim), and numerous nearby bus lines so reaching other parts of the city is not difficult.

Alternativley, here are a couple of suggestions nearer to the city's center:

http://www.hotel-de-saint-germain.com/
http://www.hotelducdesaintsimon.com
http://www.hotelparismuguet.com/
http://www.prince-de-conde.com/

njohn12

You can easily get a royal apartment or hotel within this budget. However I would definitely suggest for a apartment as they offer better deal of privacy. I rented there an apartment around 8 months later with Lodjee apartments and it was quite near to Eiffel tower but as per your requirements are considered, this apartment won't suit you. However I have searched through their apartments and get a really sweet and royal one with a great night view : http://www.lodjee.com/dreamboat-3-be...aris-apartment. The apartment is close to shops, bus, metro, bars and restaurant, in one of the most “Chic” Paris area. Also Eiffel tower is at very less walking distance.

RobertaL

I always stay at the Duquesne Eiffel Hotel in the 7th. If you request a room on the 5th floor, double superior, you will have a balcony and view of the Eiffel (less than your budget of $350)

http://hotel-duquesne-eiffel-paris.com/

Look at tripadvisor traveler photos to see if the room suits you.

Enjoy Paris!

ParisAmsterdam

No matter what the hotel you will always see both good and bad reviews. I have seen desk staff slammed as rude and incompetent when in my experience they were helpful and professional at the same hotel within a few weeks. One reviewer claimed another hotel was far from anywhere to eat when there were literally a hundred places to eat within a 10 minute walk... the closest being right across the street. Hard to believe we were both at the same hotel.

So don't let negatives sway you... look at the positives too. I find it important to look at the ratio between the two. If good far outweighs the bad then you're likely to be fine.

As far as the Pullman Eiffel Tower goes, we stayed there in 2008 when it was still a Hilton and liked it just fine. If you are looking for a romantic boutique place this is not it... it is a big corporate hotel that is showing it's age and needs a refurb but if you pay for one of the view/balcony rooms at the front you are unlikely to be disappointed.

We have stayed in the area before... right next door in fact at the Mercure in years past. While not my favourite location in Paris it is just fine with the RER C almost in front and a metro station at Bir Hakeim right around the corner. The hotel likes to call itself in the 7th but the front is actually in the 15th. There are many places to eat in the 15th and several restaurants and cafes right around the corner on Ave Suffren.
A short stroll to the other side of the Champ de Mars opens up a whole new choice of restos, many of which are well reviewed such as the Constant chain.

Breakfast is best avoided in the hotel as spending the equivalent of 40 bucks a person is no deal in my book. A short walk down Ave Suffren will find you at a little boulangerie where prices for coffee and croissants are much better.

The hotel does need some work but as I said, the front rooms are unlikely to cause complaint. I believe the AC is non functional but this may not be a problem in September... we were
there in August and the large opening windows were fine.

Rob

Gretchen

People who LOVE apartments LOVE them. BUT for a first trip to Europe and the comparatively few days you have, go with a hotel where you will have a full service desk to help you with reservations, and anything that is needed so you aren't wasting time figuring things out.
I have heard about this hotel for years, and people love it for the views, etc. Lift one thing off your plate and have at it. and have fun.

lantana

After much research, I am staying at the Henri IV Rive Gauche in July.

It is in the Latin Quarter (the 5th arrondissement).

My rate is $305/night but that is for a triple. A double In July would be about $275. Not sure about September.

The hotel gets very, very nice reviews on TA. Rated 4.5 out of 5. Staff, cleanliness and location are much-praised.

They say they offer free wi-fi.

Henri IV Rive Gauche is a 3-star hotel and is across the street from Church of Saint-Séverin (I've requested the one triple that has a view of it). I recall reviews also mentioning views of the Eiffel Tower (but it's a couple of miles away )

They have A/C.

Walking time to Notre Dame and the Seine is <5 minutes

http://www.henri-paris-hotel.com/

djkbooks

We've stayed at the Pullman and love it for the spacious rooms, comfortable king bed, marble bathrooms, and very large balconies. One stay, we moved to the garden side because of the noisy groups of soccer fans on Champs de Mars - but that is not usual.

basingstoke2

I think you would love the Hotel du Danube Saint Germain - we did. It is a charming, romantic, boutique 3* right in the heart of things. The superior class room is the one to go for unless you prefer contemporary - they have some of those too. The price of a superior in September should be around 210euros/night through a site like TA. The standard rooms are smaller and lack the charm of the superior. The hotel has a lovely courtyard too. www.hoteldanube.fr

Weadles

Try the Hotel Millesime in the 6th. Very centrally located, lovely staff and rooms. Sometimes they offer excellent package rates online.

Leely2

I also enjoyed the Danube a few years ago. We stayed in a superior twin and found it roomy, especially for Paris. Great location for what you want. I'm a Right Bank person generally speaking, but this was very pleasant.

I have also rented from Guest Apartment Services in the past. I'm sure you could find a very nice apartment from them. My mom has booked one for this May, and I'll be stopping in for a few days.
http://www.guestapartment.com/