TDudette

DH and I enjoyed "living" in the Montparnasse/St Germain area of Paris and I'm reading about hotels in the general area. The one we liked on Rue du Cherche Midi has be updated to the point of being too expensive. SO, do you have a favorite 3-star hotel in the general area? Apartment would be considered also.

If my asthma kicks up, I require an elevator.

Thanks as always, TDude

TDudette

'has been updated'

Christina

St Germain is very different from Montparnasse in geography, so I don't think you will get the same responses. I consider St Germain basically the 6th arrondisement north of the Luxembourg gardens (or a line drawn west across the bottom of it, perhaps. I consider Montparnasse the 14th arrondisement but leaking a bit into the first couple of blocks north of bd Montparnasse and not extending much, if any, beyond the bottom of the cemetery (or a line draw between Pernety and Mouton Duverynet metro stops).

To be honest, my favorite 3* hotel in Montparnasse is now a 4* hotel, although I don't see any changes. But my 2 favorite hotels ion Montparnasse are the Hotel Aiglon and the Raspail Montparnasse. It think the latter is a 3* hotel.

One problem with this query is that 3* hotels in St Germain are much more expensive than even the 4* hotel I stay at in Montparnasse sometimes, so combining the two areas is problematic in terms of cost. Maybe you could just state with these price limits are that you found too expensive? It might save some time as I'm sure many people are going to name hotels in St Germain that are going to be more expensive than what you might want.

traveller1959

TDude:

There are more than 1,000 hotels in Paris and more than 100 in the area you requested.

I am in doubt if the "12 years ago I stayed in Hotel X and I liked it" post in this forum will be helpful for you.

Better use booking engines, especially if price matters. My personal favourite is Hotwire which often has excellent deals and gives you more control than priceline, especially when combined with betterbidding.com.

TDudette

Do you have a favorite?

gailscout

I sent my sister-in-law to the Hotel Duc de Saint Simon, after a lot of research, in 2014 and she enjoyed it very much.

Fodorite018

We had a very good stay at the Best Western Bretagne Montparnasse.

On our last stay, we had an apt through Paris Best Lodge, called La Coupole. This apt was owned by a friend of the man who runs PBL, so you might need to ask him about it. Loved the apt though and the owner was super nice!

Whathello

Hi

I've slept in 5 hotels in the 14th and found this one geat :

Max 34 rue Alesia 14e close to Alesia
i paid 150 € per night - with discount. Very nice, newly refurbished, with an italian shower (do you say that ? a 'douche à l'italienne' means for us tiles everywhere, floor and walls, open on one side and glasspanel where there are no walls).

I've found this one quite correct, for half the price
Myosotis rue Aube 14e Close to Denfer ?
(2 stars, small)

I've been in a 4* that I don't recommend.

St Germain for me is more like 5 and 6 and I find those the worst quality price ratio.

The ones I liked are
Le Clément close to Mabillon Métro - very touristic place, very nice hotel, full of anglophones...
Collège de France, close to Maubert Mutualité, less nice but quite ok.
My recommendation would be in the 7th - away of tourists, close to musée Robin, in a nice quiet area.
Those were between 100 and 130 e without breafast.

Ah. I've slept in those hotels in the last 12 months. not 12 years


Mvg.

TDudette

Thanks for the specific recommendations. A couple already came up in my search so it's nice to see a Fodorite's input.

TDudette

After seeing a TV ad for Trivago and googling accordingly, Hotel Waldorf Montparnasse popped up. TA reviews looked nice.

Anyone stayed there before?

spaarne

<i> Favorite Hotel in Montparnasse?
Posted by: TDudette on Jan 7, 16 at 1:10pm
Posted in: Europe
Tagged: France

If my asthma kicks up, I require an elevator. </i>

If your asthma doesn't kick up have a look at the Hôtel Stanislas. It is a throwback to Paris in the 70's. The notes on TA are pretty accurate. But I like it for the location and price, and I loved Paris in the 70's. No elevator but one of the young guys will help you get your bags up the stairs.

TDudette

Thanks, spaarne. I'll check it out.

DonTopaz

I actually like the Holiday Inn St Germain des Pres, which is just off the rue du Cherche-Midi (and not really in St Germain des Pres). One of my favorites used to be the Ferrandi on r du C-M, but alas that closed years ago. I stayed at the Aiglon (mentioned earlier), but I wasn't crazy about the location. The Alesia area also mentioned earlier is a great place to stay, especially for non-first-timers, because it's very much a residential area and is filled with the types of neighborhood shops and restaurants that are harder to find in more tourist-oriented neighborhoods. There's a Citadines there on rue Didot -- I haven't stayed in that property (though I have stayed many times on rue Didot), and that might be an excellent choice, esp if you're looking for an elevator and a modest price.

crefloors

http://www.hotelleroyal.com/#Welcome

I stayed at this hotel the last trip to Paris. I see from some pics that the lobby has been redone and also the breakfast room.

It's at 212 Blvd. Raspail and is so convenient to about five metro stops, is IS walkable to the river and the Louve IF you feel like walking. If not the metro is very handy.

Gare Montparnasse if very close and there are several grocery store, a Franprix and a Monoprix close by. Also a little Chinese restaurant...we got take away a couple of nights when we came back last and were totally exhausted. There are also a couple of street markets during the week.

We were on the fourth floor (European) I think, had a little Juliette balcony over looking Blvd. Raspail. There is an elevator. I would stay there again without any problem

It's just a nice neighborhood. I hotel is mid-priced, at least to me. The desk people were very nice.

We had breakfast included with our room so we ate there. It was OK. It saved us a lot of money, it was boring, but coffee, a croissant, maybe a yogurt or a slice of ham and cheese, it worked.

TDudette

Hi DonTopaz, Ferrandi was where DH and I stayed. We loved that street. Did you eat at Petit Verdot? Glad to hear that the hotel isn't the expensive one I thought. Thanks for the info.

That looks good also, crefloors. I just looked at all the photos.

Again, thanks to all! I've booked Le Clément for the first part of Paris and Hotel Waldorf Montparnasse after I return from Bordeaux. I will keep this info in case things fall through!

ducinaltum

TDude- I wish I checked the forums more frequently but we're in a crazy/good time with work, but I can throw my two cents even now after you've booked at the Hotel Waldorf Montparnasse. I stayed there less than 12 months ago for 5 nights and enjoyed my stay immensely. I was looking for inexpensive (February rates helped out with that) and very close to, what I considered, a convenient metro stop and Montparnasse for some rail connections to other cities for day trips.

The desk staff was superbly friendly and helpful in several ways. The rooms are not soundproof (but I wasn't surprised at that) and I could hear a man coughing and some tv noise, so bring earplugs if that may bother you. The bathroom was clean, modern and well laid out, and I found the bed really comfortable.

You probably saw this already, but there is an elevator if your asthma kicks up (larger than some I've been in in Europe! but still small by American standards).

The area has tons of restaurants that came recommended to me on this very forum so you can click on my profile to find that post - in general, walk a few blocks east and enjoy some crepes and cider!

Whathello

Very close to Clement I ate at a very nice restaurant called 'Pouic Pouic' - ahd a tartare of oyester and veal - exceptional.

I also ate at 'le petit vatel' that I didn't like at all.
Noisy, food bof, and staff not welcoming.

TDudette

Thanks, ducinaltum and Whathello.

I'll bring my earplugs!

My late DH and I had stayed in several different areas but enjoyed the Montparnasse area the most. We stayed in 3 different hotels there--2 of which are renamed and the third was DH's last Paris so I didn't want to go back.

ducinaltum, I just read your Jan. 2015 thread. I'm sorry I missed it. Did you go to Chartres? That station is also near the airport shuttle bus.

Thanks again to all!

ducinaltum

TDude, I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your DH - I can completely understand not wanting to revisit the last hotel where you stayed together.

And yes, I did go to Chartres and completely loved it! I would have enjoyed being able to walk around the town some more but we went on a Sunday so instead stuck around the Cathedral area to fit in Mass, lunch and the fact that exploring the Cathedral would more than fill our time remaining. I would gladly go back to dig in deeper.

We took the train from Montparnasse right into Chartres - a simple ride and inexpensive. Even on a Sunday there were plenty to choose from there and back, I'd recommend going as early as possible (depending on your need to/interest in sleeping in) and then stay as long as you are interested. I think we took one around 9am and got back around 8pm.

I particularly enjoyed seeing how the windows changed as the sun moved through the sky. If you want to check out Martin Miller's book before you go, here's a link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/187...dp_o_pC_nS_ttl

At the very least, I recommend getting the audio guide which will give a brief but informative highlight of various parts of the Cathedral and the stained glass.

And if you go on a non-Sunday, Malcom Miller's tours will be more available, if a guided tour is of interest (I would have liked to do one, but it just didn't work out because of time. That being said, we happened to chat with the man who worked at the audio guide stand who was very friendly/talkative.

After he shut down the stand at 5pm, he took us for a personal tour of the crypt, which was sadly closed to the public because of a big French high school student trip. He then opened up the little chapel with the reliquary of the veil so we could walk right up next to it rather than see it from afar behind the grate!). Incredible things can happen when you converse with people you meet on the road!

Whathello

Chartres is very nice.

We were there in december. The cathedral is superb. And being renovated so a part of the choir has been fully restored - it is breathtaking.

I think trainstation is close, anyway the city is relatively small can't be very far.