Suggestion for Paris hotel for first timers

Have a look at the Brighton, opposite the Tuileries gardens. Lots of restaurants in the area, and of course the park would be great for your child.

The Louvre is within walking distance, as is the Seine.

Hotel Brighton is a very nice hotel, well located near the Tuileries Gardens and Musee du Louvre.

However, rue de Rivoli is a very busy street, mobbed with tourists, and that hotel is right next to the Paris Vision depot. So, going and coming is through crowds of people and there's almost always a line of huge tour coaches with their motors running lined up.

We prefer the buses to the metro, and would even more so if we were traveling with a young child.

Appropriately enough, perhaps, the Hotel Familia in the Latin Quarter: www.hotel-paris-familia.com. If you search it in these posts, you will see generally quite positive reviews (and not just mine).

Hi J,

What's your budget?

My son is 12 so we would not face the challenges of travleing with a small child. Thnaks for both these suggestions. Any more?

Ira: We do not have a specific budget as I do not have an idea of hotel prices in Paris. But we would like something on the lower end. We would like a clean hotel with attached bathroom and a fairly decent location.

You might enjoy the Hotel Valadon. It's not too expensive, pretty centrally located, and the owners are very accommodating. I think they would be very helpful for first-time visitors. We stayed there one night in May, and were impressed with the cleanliness and friendliness. It was almost like staying at a B&B.

http://www.hotelvaladon.com/index.htm

Hotel Familia is 167 Euros and the Hotel Valadon is 155 Euros. Is this the going rate for Paris for a moderate hotel?

The Hotel du Lys fits all your criteria and has triple rooms. It's in the 6th, on the cusp of the 5th, two minute walk from Blvd. St Michel. I've stayed there a number of times and referred others.

NB: no elevator, but a winding, ancient staircase, which might be fun for your son

www.hoteldulys.com

We have sent a number of first timers to the ** Hotel Valadon; all enjoyed the experience. It meets all of your requirements.

Yes, I would say around 150 euros in the touristy areas like the 5th and 6th are typical for what you are looking for.

Because the Paris metro is so convenient, a cost-saving alternative would be to stay a little further out. A triple room in the Hotel des Arts at Place d'Italie (South of the Latin Quarter) can be had for 100 euros, for example, and is only steps to the nearest metro stop. There is no shortage of places to eat, either.

http://www.escapade-paris.com/en/hotel/detail.php?lang=en&rub=hotel&id=2

My wife and I have been to Paris a few times, the last time with our 13 year old granddaughter. We stayed at the Hotel Pas de Calais. It will meet your needs as you describe- near Metro, lot of restaruants (including two famous ones), just about 30 yards off blvd St. Germaine- also lots of stores to "window shop" in! The hotel has a web site (just google it). We have used it several times and find the staff very friendly and the rooms very nice.

We stayed at Duquesne Eiffel on the 5th floor top corner of the hotel and had the Eiffel Tower in our window every night. Magical! So worth it! We're going back in 2010 and hopefully getting that same room.

http://www.hotels-paris.fr/en/hotel/Hotel-Duquesne-Eiffel.htm#

Or try their own website...

http://www.duquesneeiffel.com/duquesne_eiffel_hotel_3_stars_paris_france.htm

Hi J,

>Ira: We do not have a specific budget as I do not have an idea of hotel prices in Paris.<

www.venere.com is a good site for getting ideas about hotel rates all over.

We always stay at the Hotel Bonaparte, 61 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th. From 131E dbl w/bkfst. It is just around the corner from Place St. Sulpice, near 3 metro stops and 4 bus routes. Has AC and an elevator.
Tel 33 1 43 26 97 37
FAX 33 1 46 33 57 67
reservation@hotelbonaparte.fr
www.hotelbonaparte.fr

For more info, enter "Hotel Bonaparte" in the "search this forum" box.

Photos are at
http://tinyurl.com/ludgd

Enjoy your visit.

I stayed here a few years ago. Good location & good value.
http://www.hoteldesuezparis.com/

i would recommend hotel st christophe - it ticks all the boxes except air conditioning. rooms have fans though.

My wife and I stayed at the Hotel Famalia about ten years ago. The rooms were "European Small" but comfy, clean and continental. There is a small elevator which was a boon, since we were on the 5th floor. (small balcony overlooking Paris' roof tops)

The owner/manager was very helpful in finding small local tours at very reasonable prices. (We spent a 12 hour day with guide and one other person visiting the castles and wineries of the Loire valley in a van for $75 each)

There was no need to buy hotel breakfast, since a bakery/pasteria (6 am - 3pm) was directly across the street. We got coffee & croisants for breakfast and took out Jamon bagettes to go with a bottle of wine, purchased during the morning touring, for lunch in a park or "on the Seine".

The left bank and Latin quarters are right there. We found many great and reasonably priced restaurants (frequented by students) and a working class wine bar where we were welcomed with open arms as the only tourists. They had free music (accordian & fiddle) for dancing and would not allow us to sit and forced us to join in, even though they spoke no English and we spoke rudimentary French. The owner grabbed my wife and his wife grabbed me up to the dance floor. Half way through the dance they pushed us together to finish the dance as two married couples. When singing the crowd substituted "La-La-La" for the chorus lyrics, so we could join in.

At the time the hotel was $100/nite, when 3 stars was about $150 - $200. I don't know how much of the increase is do to infaltion and how much the exchange rate between Euros and US dollars.

Ahhh! I am getting quite frustrated. Most of the desirable hotels are already booked for my dates in Oct! Some of them do not have triple rooms. I am trying to keep the rate around 125 Euros. I am waiting for response from a few hotels as they do not have online booking. Hopefully something will work out!

We recently stayed at Hotel De Grandes Ecoles for 128 euros per night. Room 134 was very nice and overlooked the beautiful garden--huge Beech tree right outside the window. Lots of restaurants nearby as well as Metro.

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

Triples for 144 euro....

Jandee,

October is a popular time to visit Paris--we love it that time of year. I can recommend the Hotel Muguet, Londres Eiffel and Relais Bosquet. All are in the 7th and have some view rooms if you are lucky. The Muguet is on a quiet residential street while the others have many shops and restaurants nearby. These are a bit more upscale than the Valadon but the family who own the Valadon are very nice (I met them at the hotel they owned some years ago). The staff at the Relais Bosquet were outstanding last fall and it's such a comfy place. Good luck in your search.

Hi jandee, I can't guarantee prices or quality because it has been a few years but

1. Hotel Ceramic on Wagram (very near Etoile)

2. Hotel Ferrandi on Rue du Cherche Midi (very near Montparnasse/St. Germain de Pres)

both worked for hub and me who only wanted a good shower and a comfortable bed for sleep.

My husband and I have stayed at hotel Leveque (www.hotel-leveque.com) many times (close to the Tower). The rooms are clean (and en suite) and it's located on Rue Cler which is a residental street with lots of markets, some restaurants and very close to the metro (like a block). Also, my sister, mom and I stayed at the hotel St. Jacques
(www.hotel-saintjacques.com) last summer and it was a nice area, not too far from the metro (3 blocks maybe) but had restaurants nearby and is close to Notre Dame, Sorbonne, etc.

Good luck.

Here are a few places I like: Hotel Familia, Hotel du Mont Blanc (great location), Trianon Rive Gauche. All very good locations. Here are a few web-sites: www.france-hotel-guide.com and www.trianon-rive-gauche.com

The hotel guide will give you some budget hotels (as budget as you can get in Paris) and you can get on the hotel's web-site and contact them directly, some hotels will tell you instantly if they're booked. Also, there's Le Meridien in Montparnesse, good value on a weekend with an American breakfast included. Good luck with finding a hotel and have a great trip!

Rosebud, Is the Meridien near a hospital? If so, it has an awesome upscale restaurant.

For first timers, I can't think of a better location than the Hotel Bonaparte. Close to 3 or 4 metro stops, reasonably priced, and in the center of tons of day life and nightlife (for all ages!)

Hi,
We stayed twice at the Hotel Buci Latin on Rue de Buci in the Left Bank. It's a small, lovely, service-oriented hotel with a wonderful location. Good luck!

jandee,

Did you try Ira's Hotel Bonaparte?

I agree the location can't be beat.

gruezi

We took Ira's suggestion and stayed at the Hotel Bonaparte. It was great. Reasonably priced and easy to Metro. The staff were very helpful.

Jandee,

Here's another group of listings where the locations and prices seem right for a first timer. the first time I went to Paris a couple of years ago I stayed 1/2 block from the Louvre on rue St Honore in the second arrondissment on the right bank. close to the hop on hop off tourist buses an in walking distance to a lot.

If you use the Hotel France Guide as a Fodorite suggested above, you can book directly with the hotels,know immediately if they are booked, and you might instad of asking for a triple, ask for a double and if they will supply a cot for a child.

Here's another group of hotels where the prices seem right. I think your best bets are probably the 2nd , 5th and 6 th arrondissments as a first timer.

http://www.parisnet.com/hotels/Paris/

A number of years ago we stayed at the Hotel Sully St. Germaine on the Left Bank. It was perfectly charming. Loved it.

My friend and I are going to Paris in October as well. We are staying at the Hotel Sevigne on Rue Mahler in the Marais. It's right across the street from the St. Paul Metro stop and for the two of us we are paying 86 euro a night. We did tons of research and this one came up a winner. They don't book online - by email only directly to the hotel. If anyone has stayed here - I'd love to hear your feedback.

Thanks everybody! I finally made the reservation at Hotel de l'Avre for 125 Euros. I am so relieved!

Now I can start researching all the other stuff.

jandee

I admit to quickly reading the recs here, but I missed the one you chose. Although I would not have picked that location for first timers, it does look pretty good, good access to the Metro, and very good reviews on TripAdvisor.com. May I ask how you found it?

I apologize if it was recommended here and I missed it.

I found it through Trip Advisor (recommended here). I just entered my price range and it gave a list of top ranked hotels and I just whittled down from there. I would have loved to stay at The Hotel Bonaparte which was recommended here but that was 177 Euros for triple. So I decided to sacrifice location for price. All the recommendations here helped me to get an idea of the price and locations.

Jandee, it is great that the process worked so well for you. Since it looks like the two metro stops are just a block in either direction from the hotel, I don't think location should be a problem at all.

I'm so glad you found what you needed at the right price. You will have a wonderful trip.

The hotel looks very nice. Please let us know how your stay is and tell us a little about the area when you return. At that price it might really be a find.

Bon voyage!

You'll enjoy the street market underneath the metro tracks along blvd Grenelle (a couple days a week), and there's a Monoprix at the corner of Grenelle/Commerce.

Hello!
A few recommendations for you:
Hotel Armstrong, in the 20th arr. cheapest hotel that I know of although modern, clean, friendly and excellent service; it is extremely popular (due to its rate) so book in advance: http://www.armstrong-paris-hotel.com/ It has some very good restaurants in Rue Saint Blaise, close to the hotel and the metro station is less 5 minutes walk.
Hotel L'Annexe, been there this summer; basic, simple, but renovated, new furniture, close to Le Marais and very well served by metro: http://www.annexe-paris-hotel.com/
The best cheap hotel I know and I like is Hotel Home Latin, right next to Sorbonne; I like the flavour of the area and variety of restaurants, cafes and pubs: http://www.hotelhomelatinparis.com/
Best is to check their website for its rate.