Karen

My husband and I are looking for a hotel in Paris that isn't too far from the train station. We are traveling with two teenage girls, so we need at least two double beds or a suite for $125- 200 per nite with private bath/shower. We'll be in Paris only one night (end of March)before our week trip to Provence and again for two nights on the return trip. Also, any suggestions for a fun teen experience?

Susan

I cannot imagine where you can get a room big enough for 4 in Paris and keep within that budget!<BR>You would be better off taking two doubles in an inexpensive hotel. <BR>The farther away from things, the better the price of the hotel, look in the Latin Quarter and the Marais.<BR>Good luck.

cris

The only ones that come to mind are the Holiday Inns.We stayed at the one near Montparnasse but noticed there were many near the other train stations.My daughter and I each enjoyed a double/queen bed! Call 800 number and ask them tocheck the ones w/2 doubles for you.I would imagine the Best Westerns have the same setups.

Liz

There are lots of hotels in Paris with doubles for $100 and under. Two doubles will give you 2 bathrooms- a big plus. <BR><BR>Also, there are many train stations in Paris.

elaine

Karen<BR>Look into some hotels in the 5th arrondissement (district) which is student country. You might be able to find some rooms for under $100 per night each, but not necessarily with two double beds. Most rooms will have one larger bed (an American double) or sometimes two twins.<BR><BR>I have not stayed at the following but have this information<BR>from this message board: Hotel Delhy's 22 rue de l'Hirondelle, <BR>Fax 33) 1 43 26 51 06<BR>http://www.franceway.com/hotels/delhys/ 21 rooms, all with T.V, telephone, safe.<BR>&quot;Inexpensive small hotel in the heart of the Latin Quarter, quiet street, but near the Seine in the 6th. Family-owned. D&eacute;cor is a hodge-podge, but rooms are clean, continental breakfast is served.<BR>Rooms without private bath/shower are the least expensive.&quot; From the reliable book Cheap Sleeps in Paris, edition is a few years old: &quot;The quintessential budget hotel…everything is ship-shape, from the hall toilets and showers to the rooms…larger rooms have carpeting; smaller ones have linoleum floors…elevator to fifth floor; tv.&quot; <BR>No a/c. Only a few rooms have private showers; none have private w.c.<BR>

Christina

For the best advice, you really should say what train station you want to be near, they are all over Paris and some of them are in better areas than others. If you have an early train and want to walk to the station, I don't see anything wrong with staying right near one at the beginning of your trip (and a bonus is that hotels often are cheaper near train stations). I don't see any reason to stay near one on the return nights. <BR><BR>With 2 teenage girls, I'd suggest you strongly consider getting two double rooms, also, which is perfectly possible at a modest hotel near a train station at the upper end of your budget. <BR><BR>Montparnasse might be the most &quot;fun&quot; area but you can't pick trains. Try the Lenox Montparnasse which is nearby and probably in your budget (I mean for 2 double rooms, I don't know about quads). There are several other good choices right around there, but I won't go into them as it may be irrelevant to your needs. <BR><BR>There is a decent hotel right across from Gare du Nord, I think the Terminus--I wouldn't want to stay too far from that station.

pamb

Hi, Karen: <BR>We were in Paris in early June (two adults and two teenagers) and stayed at the Hotel du Palais Bourbon. It is around the corner from the Rodin Museum, which was one of our favorite museums, and is close to Les Invalides. A quad room with unbelievably high ceilings was 140 Euros per night. It had one big bed, one twin bed and one foldaway bed. The bathroom was huge (compared to most of the others we had in Europe).<BR>Just down the street is a fabulous patisserie, where we enjoyed yummy baked goods (they don't speak English, though, but my rudimentary French was fine). <BR><BR>The hotel's breakfast (included) was great, with fresh-squeeze juice, hot chocolate -- which our kids loved -- and fresh breads -- probably from that same patisserie).<BR><BR>My daughter loved shopping in Paris more than anything else -- her favorite stores were Etam and H&amp;M. She also enjoyed going to the top of the Eiffel Tower and strolling along the Champs Elysee (we saw Tobey Mcguire and Kirsten Dunst at the Paris premiere of Spiderman, so that was probably her top memory!).<BR>Pam B.<BR>

Lisa

I have looked at all the postings on this subject, and a couple of hotels always pop up. Hotel Familia has quad rooms (I saw 138 euros quoted somewhere), Regent's Hotel on Rue Madame has quad rooms (very reasonable but I forget the price), and Hotel du Danube has 2 room apartments for approx 210 euros a night. Hope this helps.

xx

Hotel du Danube is 200 euro/night; I haven't seen it advertised at 210 euro/night.

ann

There are plenty of places you can stay for that price. Tons of them. For less than $100 you can easily get two double rooms in many locations. There are two and three star hotels all over the 5th and 6th for $75-95 that are lovely. If you want a quad it will be even cheaper (than two doubles). Someone mentioned the Familia. We stayed next door (same owner) at the Minerva last march for $83 for a double but there are quads. We also stayed in the 6th last July at the Hotel St Andre des Arts in a quad (two double beds, large room, nice bath - but a tad shabby and no lift to the 4th floor room) for $105 including breakfast. The Champs des Mars in the 7th is quite nice and doubles there are about $75. I don't think it's as fun a neighborhood but it is close to the Eiffel Tower and if this is your first time in Paris and you only have one night that might be something you want to see. Do a google search for any of the hotels already mentioned and it will bring you to web sites with lots more choices.<BR><BR>The fifth and sixth are not near the train station (if you're going to Provence I assume you'll be leaving from Gare de Lyon) but they are easy enough to get to it (metro or cab) and it's a much nicer area. Definitly more fun for teens. Do you have at least a few hours to spend sightseeing? If so I'd stay on the left bank (5th or 6th or 7th) and then get to the train the next morning.

StCirq

As others have noted, there are quite a few train stations in Paris. I would assume you're leaving from the Gare de Lyon, and I don't have any hotel recommendations in that area, but it really doesn't matter, as it will cost you maybe $20 to get to the Gare de Lyon from the places I will recommend, which are:<BR><BR>H&ocirc;tel Duquesne-Eiffel - has chambres communicantes (two double bedrooms with an common hallway and bathroom) - probably about $180 per night.<BR><BR>H&ocirc;tel de France - two double rooms at about $75 apiece or a quad at about $140. <BR><BR>First is a three-star, second is a two -star, both in the 7me arrondissement, nice neighborhood, close to restaurants and caf&eacute;s and shops and m&eacute;tro.

SA

You might look @ apartments as well. They would certainly give you more room &amp; you might be able to find a 1 bdrm w/a pullout couch...Look in Frnace there are many posts on this topic.

Lisa

I just booked directly with the Danube for an apartment on the second floor facing the courtyard and the rate was 210/night. Maybe they just raised their rates. Anyone else have recent experience? Thanks.

Lori

Maybe I'm crazy but I cannot imagine it would be much fun to cram 4 people into one room (even for one night) with only one bathroom, particularly teenagers. Get 2 rooms. Better you have 2 modest rooms and give everyone some space.<BR><BR>We never had kids so I'm just curious, but how do you handle the privacy issue (bathrooms) with that many people in a room? Or even dressing. I cannot imagine any of the teenagers I know (I work in education) wanting to share a room with their parents.<BR><BR>Check the Best Western website, they have hotels all over Paris in various price ranges and you can deal directly via 800 number or web. No advance deposits are required either. (they are not motels, they are individual hotels that belong to BW's marketing plan).

xx

Re: Danube, really? I'll check w/the hotel.

Tim C.

We are staying a hotel in the Nation area of Paris for four nights 3/22-3/26/02. There is a direct train from Charles DeGaulle airport that arrives about 2-3 blocks from the Hotel Lux Picpus(**).The hotel has good reviews on Fodor's and it is listed in the Michelin guide. A Single is $50 and a double is $65, inclusive of tax and breakfast. Two great sources for researching budget hotels are: http://www.tripadvisor.com and http://www.eurocheapo.com . The tripadvisor site list several sources for unbiased opinions.

carol

Having travelled as a teenager w/my parents and sister, I would suggest 2 rooms; traveling in a foreign country is more stressfull and it is nice to have some &quot;down time&quot; away from each other. We always had rooms next to each other, or occasionally w/adjoining door so safety was never an issue.