Paris hotel - girls weekend getaway (about 20 women)

No advice since May will also be my first trip. I just wanted to say, you are a brave, brave women for trying to put together a trip for 20 folks. May the force be with you.

You can't go wrong in Paris!!! My goal is to get them there, and then let them run wild! We are a bunch of mom's of toddlers, so having a weekend WITHOUT kids will be fun no matter what. I would just like to find a hotel where we can all stay together.

I think I need one more smiley face.....

Have fun on your first trip!

What a great trip! Surely something they will remember all their life.
To accomodate so many people in one room, you should have a look at hostel instead of hotels, especially if you want something not too expensive.
What's your budget and your dates?

We are looking at the weekend of May 22nd. I am trying to keep it as cheap as possible, since we have a range of budgets. We are military, so we have young airman right out of basic training all the way up. BUT, I don't want to stay in a dirty place in a bad area either. Right now, the train is 59 euro roundtrip, so I am shooting for 125 Euro per person for travel and lodging. If we can get quad rooms, it would be around 250 euro a room/65 per person. But quad rooms are hard to come by.

You could try hotel saint jacques in the 5th http://www.paris-hotel-stjacques.com/

So 20 persons, 1 night (May 22nd) in quad rooms preferably in a nice & safe area, 65€/person max.
Am I all right?

I'm not real clear on your budget, but it sounds like you want a hotel room that would be 65 euro per person per night. If I were you, I'd forget the whole quad thing, you won't find any hotel with more than one probably, and I don't even know hardly any hotels that have quads for four adults. Usually hotels that have them have them for adults plus children. Besides, I don't think there is any point to that, you can more easily find a 1-2* hotel with doubles for 130 euro per night than a quad at 250 euro. I don't know why you'd even want a quad frankly, as you would then have one bathroom.

Okay, the 1* Hotel Marignan in the Latin Qtr has an excellent location and lots of rooms with various accommodation levels. http://www.hotel-marignan.com/

It shouldn't be that hard to find a hotel with twin rooms for 130 euro, check out www.eurocheapo.com for some ideas. The Marignan would be a good idea as it is rather large. Some smaller hotels are probably not going to be willing to hold rooms for a group like that unless you prepay. You might better try to book the rooms separately under different people's names.

HEre is another idea, a 1* hotel in St Germain, very convenient, it has rooms in your price range
http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75006saintandredesarts.htm

This is a 3* hotel I stayed in once which was very nice, near the Sorbonne, in St Germain http://www.paris-hotel-trianon.com/ They do have doubles at 130 euro in May if you prepay, and I'm mentioning it because it is a rather large hotel so should have enough rooms and it is a nice, large lobby area where you could gather or meet. It would be very convenient for going to Notre Dame and the Latin Qtr and St Germain. Also, it is within a block of the RER stop that goes right to Gare du Nord, if that's where you are arriving and departing. Any hotel around bd St Michel would be good for you, if that is the case. Hotel St Andre des Arts is within walking distance of the RER also, assuming you won't have much for just an overnight. So would the Marignan, it's only about 3 blocks away.

Those are great choices! Thank you all. I just figured a double would be soooo expensive. My family always stays in apartments when we visit. These hotels look lovely, so it is reassuring to now we don't have to stay in a rat hole.

You can also have a look at this one http://www.hotelvaladon.com by the Eiffel Tower and just bought by Cadran hotel http://www.hotelducadran.com/ that is near it.
The Valadon has lots of triple bed rooms.
I would be you, I would call and tell them I'm looking for that amount of room, I'm sure you can find a decent deal.

Second solution, try Hotel Mayet http://mayet.com in the Invalides area. Not expensive, fun and nice.

Let us know what you found.

I'm not clear on your budget, either. Is that 125 euros for lodging and travel minus the 59 euros for the train? If so, I'd encourage you to look at hotels in Bercy. Someone on this board is always touting a good hotel there for 49 euros a night. You could search for it. It's a bit of a métro ride into Paris, but not bad.

125 Euro total per person for train/hotel. If I can find double rooms for 130, that would work.

You can get double rooms for less than that at the Hôtel de France on the Boul. de la Tour Maubourg in the 7ème. Nice 2* hotel that I've been staying at for many years. Don't know if they (or any hotel) can accommodate 20 people, though.

I can't say the hotel will be memorable, but Accor hotels can be good for a large group. Try www.accorhotels.com . I would go for rooms with two single beds only. Accor should be able to give you some deals cheaper than 130 Euros per night per room, particularly if you book in advance.

bbrown1226 - If you go online to the Ibis Hotel Esplanade La Defense you will see their "Happy 20" room deal. The 20 refers to the fact you must book and pay in full at least 20 days in advance - you have the time at the moment: http://www.ibishotel.com/gb/hotel-deals/early-booking.shtml#

The Price you'll pay is 44euros.
Don't be put off by the fact it is a 10min metro ride from the hotel to the Etoile at the top of the Champs Elysees.
The metro stop and hotel are a 3min walk and there is an esculator. The views over the River Seine and Paris are lovely.
We stay at this hotel every time we are in Paris because it's an amazing deal! With so many rooms you can easily ask to change your room if you're not satisfied with anything. No way would this happen in a smaller hotel.

Meant to give you the link to the hotel itself so you can see what it looks like: http://tinyurl.com/c7x8x2
Good luck!

One more thing........the 44euros is for TWO people! So at 22euros each theres change to have a slap-up meal somewhere!!
Also if you do this booking make sure you put TWIN BEDS as a pre-requisite.

Wow! What an awesome deal!!

bbrown1226, Yes it is and believe me there are dozens of folks taking up the offer. Tour buses come and go day and night so it's not as if you are in the 'desert' of hotels way waaaaay out of town!
That Paris metro system is so wonderful that by the time you hop on and get chatting with your mates you will have a wake-up call because you will already be right on the Champs Elysees with its wide beautiful sidewalks and cafes spilling out everywhere.
From the hotel you can stay on the metro all the way to Chateau de Vincennes if you liked! Check the Paris Metro and you will see the line takes you to the heart of Paris at Chatelet/Les Halles and beyond.

Above the Esplanade La Defense Metro station is a very young vineyard. Maybe about 3 years old now. We love standing next to it and looking at the view of the Arc de Triomphe slap bang ahead. To the right you can also make out the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Below your bedroom window the river Seine gently glides along. Behind you a large shallow pool filled with water allows young children to paddle while their parents keep watch - even as late as 11pm at night the kids are still romping in the shallows!
I ask you, what more could anyone ask for 22 euros?

ttt

Another place to check out is Hotel Marignan. www.hotel-marignan.com/html/p1_a.htm

It's location is in the 5th, about a block from the cluny so you can't get any better than that. They have several quads and even some rooms for five people each. Their price includes breakfast (which was quite decent). It's a basic one star but it's clean and they do have free wi-fi but no TV. No lift and there are six floors. But you run after toddlers all day so that shouldn't be a problem for you. Their prices start at 22€ per person depending on your dates and if you want a quad room or quint room and if you care if the bathroom is in the room or across the hall. Each floor only has about 4 rooms and some are ensuite so even if you get one that isn't it's not like you are sharing with very many other people.

If the Marignan doesn't work the Ibis in La Defense isn't bad, but you do have to take the metro every time you want to go anywhere where as with the marignan you can walk to Notre Dame in five minutes and pretty much everywhere else in central Paris. Might be more convenient for 20 women to all go in different directions but still be able to meet up back at the hotel.

isabel - that's a great location and the prices are very reasonable! One huge drawback for the 20 gals is you have to book for a minimum of 3 nights 0r have I misread that part?
They only have 1 night (song 'One night Only, One night Only , is running through my head right now....LOL!)

Thank you so much for suggesting Hotel Marignan - I'm sure lots of other folks will pick up on this bargain hotel conveniently situaued between 2 metro stops. I'm going to make a point of looking at the rooms when in Paris later in the year.

tod - the website says for stays of less than 3 nights add 10 percent. So I guess for them it would be a little more. I hadn't paid attention to that as I was there more than 3 nights.

It is a very basic hotel, kind of had a backpacker look to it but there were plenty of very non-backpacker like people staying there. Someone above suggested the St Jacques. I've stayed there and loved it, but the prices are much higher. If they were the same price of course I'd choose the St Jacques. But when money is an issue you can certainly get by at the Marignan. I'm glad I found it and will probably stay there again.

www.girlsguidetoparis.com This website might help. Happy Travels!