suze

Hotel staff can call you taxi cabs, help you with directions, point you to the nearest Monoprix, make a telephone call or restaurant reservation in French, etc. etc.

In a trip less of only a week or two, I certainly don't need or plan to do a load of laundry (and I pack light).

I think renting a nice apartment in Paris is much more an art form than simply finding a decent hotel room. Not for beginners IMO.

gracejoan3

It is probably just a decision that you will have to make for yourself. There are definitely some advantages of having a concierge in a hotel for your first trip. I have done it both ways. I have had apartments where I have not used the kitchen or the washer/dryer...it probably sounds very unnecessary for me to have an apt...guess I just like the added space. I have been happy when I have stayed in hotels, also.
You will have a great time either way!

Forest168

Well thank you all for your excellent advice. It's funny how we become creatures of habit without even realizing it. The main reason for wanting the apartment was to be able to cook breakfast and my coffee in the morning. I don't like to go out to get my coffee and it doesn't sound like there are coffee makers in any hotel rooms. I agree that the apartment we are looking at is too small and I'm not thrilled with the futon sleeping arrangement. Would be nice to have a full one bedroom. There are apartments out there for the same price or cheapear than the Parisperfect one however...I have heard nothing but positive reviews about Parisperfect. I think I'm a little nervous about renting from some of the other agencies and individuals.
I guess we'll go with a hotel for our first visit.
Now where? Do ANY hotels have coffee makers and fridges...I mean, that would be within our budget?
Thanks for all your suggestions and ideas.
Kim

suze

Maybe you can buy a small coffee maker there? Many hotels (3-star I'm thinking) have tiny frigs (meant as mini honor bars but you can squeeze a few small items in alongside).

I would deal with the couple little things you are missing rather than risk having a not so nice place to stay in a sight-unseen apartment gamble.

ira

Hi F,

>I don't like to go out to get my coffee and it doesn't sound like there are coffee makers in any hotel rooms.<

The Bonaparte brings your coffee to your room (along with croissants, rolls, butter, jelly...).

Jocelyn_P

ira, Bingo!

Kim, just as another option, if you don't mind being a little out of the way, DH and I enjoyed a week at a lovely, comfortable 500 sq ft apartment in the upscale Passy neighborhood (16th) for 80E/night. http://www.vrbo.com/47620

If you prefer to be in the thick of things (understandable for a first visit) and decide you really do want an apartment, I'm sure others here could recommend specific places for you. Good luck.

suze

I was thinking that any hotel with a breakfast room (and maybe some without) would bring at least coffee and a roll to your room (but I wasn't sure so am happy to see Ira's post).

Scarlett

The Lutece on the Ille St-Louis brings breakfast to your room also.
How dirty can a person get in one week ? LOL I seriously doubt you will need to do laundry..if you do though, they have laundromats everywhere and excellent dry cleaners.
One of the nice things about going to another country or anywhere really, is that you do things that are NOT the ordinary things you do each day..like make your own breakfast
There is nothing like walking down freshly washed sidewalks in Paris early in the am , grabbing a freshly baked croissant and a steaming cup of cafe au lait..Try it, you will want to do it when you go home too

ira

>There is nothing like walking down freshly washed sidewalks in Paris early in the am , grabbing a freshly baked croissant and a steaming cup of cafe au lait.<

Amen, Sister

Patrick

All this talk of not needing to do laundry in a week. Are most of you saying you only go to Europe for a week? I was guessing that most people go for a couple of weeks. Even if in Paris for one week, it is usually part of a longer trip.

mamc

I agree with Scarlett and Ira. Paris in the early morning is Paris at its best. We've been to Paris over a dozen times and never have I wished I was staying in an apartment and cooking breakfast or doing my own laundry. Sounds a lot like home! Someday we'll try an apartment and then I can fairly compare a hotel and apartment. For a first trip, a hotel, with its helpful staff, makes more sense.

suze

No Patrick, I can go much longer than one week without doing laundry when I'm traveling -LOL ;-)

Forest168

Patrick,
Hubby and I are self-employed with two business'so we ALWAYS only get away for a week at a time. Short trips but we make the best of it. We'll see all of Europe...one week at a time. hahahaha Might take us until we're ready for the old age home. Nice thing is we have a ton of airmiles so our flights are always basically free.

Jocelyn,
That apartment looks great and much better price than the Parisperfect apt.
I discussed it further with my husband, and he really wants an apartment so that he can make me breakfast every morning...hmmmmmm. Is the 16th really far out? How long a trip is it into the center of Paris?
Can you tell me more about this apartment?
Thanks again all,
Kim

twk

Coffee and a croissant is not everyone's idea of a good breakfast, no matter what the scenery. Some people love sitting in sidewalk cafes, others don't. There's plenty to see and do in Paris even if the sidewalk cafe is not some kind of nirvana for you.

And, as to laundry, anyone who goes to Paris for two weeks (as opposed to say the beach where a swimsuit might be the only thing worn) and doesn't do laundry is either someone I don't want to sit next to on the plane, or isn't packing light by any reasonable definition. A weeks' worth of clothes is as much as I would want to haul around Europe, and I'll sacrifice a little laundry time to avoid throwing out my back. Of course, if the only time you handle luggage is when you pull it off the conveyor belt at the airport, carrying two weeks worth of clothes and the large bags required to accomodate same may not be a concern.

twk

Forest: The 16th is only as far away from sites as your nearest Metro stop. If you are close to a Metro station, all of Paris is at your disposal within a matter of minutes.

Patrick

Well, we travel for weeks or months at a time and mostly in the summer, but basically I don't pack more than about 7 to 10 days maximum of clothes. I wear one to two pairs of underwear a day (in hot weather, when I shower in the evening before dinner, do you think I'm putting those half wet ones back on?) and 20 pairs of socks (10 days' worth). Add in a dozen shirts and three pairs of pants and we're already talking about going over "packing light". I can't imagine packing two to three weeks worth of clothes to travel, unless I didn't mind wearing dirty and damp clothes, but I do. Being able to do a load of laundry once a week is wonderful. And it's so much nicer to be able to do that in your apartment, maybe overnight, for example, rather than schedule a couple hours for sitting in a laundromat.

And please don't give me that line about washing things out in the sink every night and hanging them up to dry. I've been that route too, and don't enjoy doing it, nor do I like the looks of a hotel room strung up with a couple dozen underwear and dozens of socks. No thank you.

Scarlett

Oh, OK, twk, then a chocolate croissant LOL

They do make eggs in Paris also

gracejoan3

twk,
I don't do laundry...I take a bag that zips into itself, about 4" sq. and when unzips becomes a great duffle bag, that is my laundry bag. So, upon my return trip, I have an additional bag to check..I also have added space for purchases that I might make in my original bag. I can assure you that I have no offensive odor problems of any kind, nor do I have excessive luggage...one checked bag over and two upon return!! Enjoy.......

Jocelyn_P

Hi again Kim,

Here's a link to my trip report which gives details about the apartment and neighborhood:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34642840

And here is a link to some pictures:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/s...;sm=1&sl=1

The apartment is about a 10 minute walk to the Trocadero (we walk fast, though), a people-watching mecca and the best place in the city to view the Eiffel Tower, which is just across the river from there. Most of the other famous attractions are east of the Eiffel Tower. There is fabulous shopping in Passy. The two closest metro stations are each about a 5 minute walk away. This is not a luxury apartment, but it's comfortable, practical, and we feel it's a great value.

I won't say that staying in the 16th is what everyone should do, especially if you like being in the middle of the action, but we really liked the opportunity to escape the crowds (we were there during the summer) and enjoy the more peaceful side of Paris.

This was my second trip to Paris. On my first trip I stayed at a hotel in the 5th, right on Blvd. St. Germain. It was a much different experience, although I enjoyed both.

clevelandbrown

We've tried both and much prefer an apartment.

My wife and I get up at different times, so we value having a separate bedroom. To get the same thing in a hotel, we would have to rent a suite, and I have never seen a suite that costs as little as a decent apartment.

I had the same feelings about people who go a week without doing laundry; either they are packing too much, or they are doing laundry by hand, or sending it out, or they smell. A washer/dryer is so convenient, and gives you much more space in your luggage.

You can sit in a cafe anytime; they don't close up after breakfast. In our case, we liked to eat in the apartment; since I get up earlier, I would buy the breakfast goodies, although as we prefer tea to coffee, we would brew that ourselves, and we could also enjoy orange juice. The only cooking we did was hardboil a batch of eggs every few days. We usually ate dinner in restaurants, but a few times we were tempted by the street markets near our apartment, and bought prepared food; a good way to become familiar with the metric system.

As others have said, a lot depends on your own preferences. Certainly if you cannot get by without the services (and costs) of a concierge, a hotel would suit you better. I usually am well prepared enough for our visits that I don't need those services.