Already Fully Booked!!
 

I am going to Paris in March but Grand Jeanne D'Arc told me they are already FULLY BOOKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am soooooooooooo disappointed!

But they offer the following hotels which I have no clue which one is comparable to Jeanne D'Arc.

Would someone be able to help me out?

Thanks!


* Hôtel des Chevaliers
* Hôtel Lyon-Mulhouse
* Hôtel Sévigné
* Hôtel Malher
* Hôtel Seventh Art
* Hôtel Castex
* Hôtel du Vieux Marais

You may want to change the title of this message as no one will know what the subject is without reading the message.

Wilmar, it is not unusual for the more popular hotels to be booked several months in advance. You may want to try a search on Fodor's on the names of the listed hotels. I'm sure I have seen more than one of them discussed here in the past.

You will most likely receive replies from many people telling you about their favorite hotels, however, so we can offer the most helpful answers, can you tell us what you are looking for? What in your opinion would make a hotel "comparable to Jeanne D'Arc"? Price? location? Features? Etc.? Otherwise, the replies will be all over the map.

And, while RobynFrance is correct that the title is somewhat vague as opposed to a better one such as "Grand Jeanne D'Arc already fully booked for March", I don't know of a way to change your title once you post the message. If you find one, let me know. Otherwise, you'll still get replies since vague titles won't get you banned from the forum (or we wouldn't have many posters here at all). :)

You'll have a good trip no matter where you stay.

Message: Thanks for all the replies.

Sigh*

I really have no clue where to stay. I guess if the hotel is like Grand Jeanne D'Arc like the location (close to Metro), price and cleaniness would be marvellous! Actually I dont HAVE to stay in the same Marais area but just seems like that area is very interesting in itself so I want to stay around!

I stayed in Hotel Castex for two days this summer and then Hotel Lyon-Mulhouse for two days. Castex was airconditioned and Lyon-Mulhouse was not. I realize this won't make a difference to you in March but I was there in the heat wave and it made a huge difference to me. But, I digress.

Hotel Castex was recently rennovated and was a nice hotel. It is very close to the Bastille metro and a good location. I stayed in Room 304 which was narrow but had two beds. They had a nice breakfast as well.

Hotel Lyon-Mulhouse seems to have an "older decor" and my room was right on a busy street. Because my windows were open, it was pretty noisy at night. The nice thing was that I had a great view of the Eiffel Tower and got to see it glistening with lights at night. The manager was VERY friendly and liked to practice his english and help me with my french. I dunno if it was just because I was a single female but he was nice. I stayed in Room #44 which was a single room. This hotel was also close to the metro.

Good luck!

Hi Wilmar. You may already be planning on doing this, but... the same thing happened to me when planning my trip to Italy last year. My Venice choice of hotels was booked up, so I made second choice reservations, and kept calling/faxing my first choice for a cancellation/opening. Sure enough, it came through with plenty of time to cancel my second choice without penalty. Good luck.

The area around the Grand Jeanne D'Arc is wonderful, if you can find a hotel in that general vicinity you will not be disappointed. Place St. Catherine has several reasonably priced restaurants and there are nice cafes for breakfast all within walking distance. Keep looking, you are on the right track!

I, too, have stayed at the Lyon-Mulhouse and liked it. In fact, I have stayed there twice and even sent my boss and she liked it, too.

I had a double room once and a triple once, both had small balconies, hairdryers, tv, etc. I loved the area and our room (both times) had a great view of the Bastille monument.

Hope this helps,
Sandy (in Denton)

If you're open to staying in other districts, the 5th and 6th districts are very close to the Marais. The Marais is just over the river from the 5th & 6th-really very very close to walk it. I think there are more hotel choices in these areas too. March is still possible to book a room. I think Jeanne d'Arc is just an extremely popular hotel that's why it's full already.

I haven't stayed in any, but I know I've read positive comments and reviews on the Grand Hotel Malher and the Seventh Art (which isn't like Jeanne d'Arc much to my taste, but same area). Castex is a Rick Steves pick, but has changed a lot since that time due to a renovation.

I think Timeout Paris has comments on a couple of these and you can check those online.

Thanks everyone for the reply and comments. This website and all readers are really friendly!!!!!!!!!!

*kiss kiss*

I checked Castex but maybe owing to the renovation, the rooms are more expensive now. Although it is fun planning for a trip, sometimes is really tiring as well :)

I am plannimg to take the EuroStar from London and then take the Metro to my hotel. Seems like it is more convenient if I am going straight to Bastille without the need to change Metro. If I am travelling with a big suitcase, it should be ok if I drag all the way from Bastille Metro to the hotel Lyon Mulhouse right?

Thanks everyone again!

Hotel Sevigne is recommended on eurocheapo.com and also has its own Website, http://www.le-sevigne.com/.
I've also read a good review about it in an Israeli 2003 tourist guide, so this would seem like a good option to me. And by the way, before going to Paris last September I had tried to book the Jeanne D'Arc in July 2003 and it was already fully booked. Seems like it's very popular.

Thanks Keren and everyone else! I will check out Hotel Sevigne.

I have just got a reply from Hotel LM and they quoted me 65 Euro for a twin room. I think is pretty good deal. It is clean right? My biggest concern......

If the current weakness in the U.S. dollar continues into spring and summer a lot of Americans will be cancelling trips to Europe or changing their choice of hotels to budget class. I would recommend booking now at a hotel that offers a clear option for cancelling if you find your first choice becomes available. I often do this.

Good luck.

Larry J

I stayed in Hotel Malher in 1999 for two nights. I picked it because I wanted to be in the Marais. I don't really remember details. My room (single) was truly tiny, but had everything I really needed. The place was clean, and it felt very safe. Location was great. Except for screwing up my reservation and telling me I had none (because someone had handwritten my reservation, and someone else had misread it and transcribed it differently, so when the real me showed up, I had no reservation, because the misspelled me had the room reserved), I don't remember any problem with the staff. I don't remember the price, but I don't remember thinking that it was either a bargain or terribly expensive. I can't really compare it with any other hotels in Paris, because the last time I'd been to Paris had been 16 years earlier, and I haven't been there again since 1999. (I'm obviously not one of the Paris experts around here.) When I go to Paris again, I want to try staying in a different neighborhood, just for the sake of variety, but if I change my mind and stay in the Marais again, I'd consider staying in Malher again, because it's a "safe" and perfectly adequate choice.

P.S. I think I made the reservation about three weeks before my early October trip (typical for me) and then actually changed it, moving it up by one day, just the day before leaving for my trip.

We stayed at Sévigné for four nights a couple of years ago and were happy enough to book it again for a week next April. It had its quirks (plumbing related) then but has been renovated since then so we will see. It is right by the St. Paul Metro station and a taxi stand. We liked the area very much. One thing to be aware of is that to confirm the booking they asked for the first night to be prepaid.

Hi guys

I just want to let you guys know that I finally got a room at Greand Jeanne D'Arc!!!!!!!! Someone cancelled their reservations!

Wilmar23 EXCELLENT news! I hope you love the area as much as I do. If you are looking for a reasonably priced restaurant for dinner, try 'Sopranos' in Place St. Catherine (right around the corner from your hotel) the risotto w/truffle oil is fabulous. Nice small place, good background music, and friendly owners who will help you with both your Italian and your French! My husband and I ate there twice on our last trip - dinner for 2 with wine & coffee was easily under 35 Euros, and the food was very good. I know I'll probably get slammed here for not recommend a French restaurant, but too bad. Also try LeMarche at 2 Place du Ste. Catherine. For Breakfast try Miss Manions (#87 Rue St. Antoine at the corner of Rue St. Paul, stand at counter to eat/drink)) or Arsenal (opposite side of the street from MM on Rue St. Antoine right down the street from the Hotel du Sully you can sit here in the window and watch people go to work and children go to school, the nice woman whom I assume is the owner is a delight). Ok, I'm rambling here but just incase you are planning on taking the RER from CDG to your hotel, it can be done, you?ll want the St. Paul Metro stop and from there you can easily roll your suitcase etc. to the Hotel GJA.

I'm so happy that you got your hotel of choice. Please post a report when you get back!

Thanks Margie!!!!!!!!!
I will surely check those restaurants out!!!!!!!!!

Btw, I dont understand the abbreviations of RER and CDG. Actually I will be taking Eurostar from London! Any advice on that? If the hotel easy to locate from St Pauls Metro?

Hello, I didn't realize you were coming in on the Eurostar so you don't need to worry about the RER (RER (Réseau Express Régional train that is part of the Paris metro system) or CDG (Charles de Gaulle International Airport). Do you have a street map? If you haven't bought one yet, check out the "Streetwise" maps (in bookstores or online at barnesandnobel.com, etc) they are very detailed yet easy to carry with you. They show streets, museums, metro stops, train stations etc. See what train station you are arriving at and then you can determine which metro train you'll need to get to the St. Paul stop. The Metro maps are color coded, and it really is very easy to use. You can also check out: http://www.sncf.com/indexe.htm to help you out with the metro. From the map you'll also see how close your hotel is to the St. Paul stop - you can easily walk.

they recently opened a new Paris Tourist Office branch in the Gare du Nord, so you might want to stop in there when you've arrived. They should be able to give you a map if you don't have one.

It is easy to find if you have a map, it's in-between St Paul metro stop and the Place des Vosges.

If you want, you can use www.ismap.fr to give you a map of the surrounding area. Just type in the hotel's address and it marks it and the close area. If you click on the icons at the left, it will mark restaurants for you, etc. (and also list their names and addresses below). It's a very convenient tool.

Wilmar, I'm sure you've done a lot more research since mid-January, but I thought I'd give you some tips just in case.

I took the Eurostar from London's Waterloo in March of 2002. It's a cakewalk. You'll be on the train for about 3 hours and you'll arrive at Gare du Nord in Paris. I know you'll be in a hurry, but be sure to take a few minutes to look at the station. It's incredible.

Getting to a hotel in the Marais is quite easy from there. A tip I got from a guy in the metro helped me a lot. You'll see signs in the metro (I think they're blue with white lettering) with destination names on them. Those places are where the line terminates. You can get to the St. Paul station with just one transfer from Gare du Nord. Get on line 5, the blue sign should say "Place d'Italie" because that's where the line terminates in the direction you want to go. Stay on Line 5 until you get to Bastille. You will then transfer to Line 1 in the direction of Grande Arche de la Defense. Your next stop will be St. Paul. Cake.

I'm sure you've found a hotel by now, but others might want to know that I stayed at the Hotel des Chevaliers when I was there. There have been some negative posts recently on TripAdvisor, but I enjoyed my stay there. It was a clean place and I remember being surprised at how big the bathroom was in my room. I'm currently planning another trip and I've found that you can find places I believe to be of comparable comfort and cleanliness for a much cheaper rate.

The staff at Chevaliers is incredibly nice. I remember we came back one night from a restaurant in the neighborhood called La Perla (if you're looking for a Mexican food/tequila fix this is your place) and there was a drunk guy from Michigan (I talked to him the next morning a little bit, he was still in the lobby!) causing a lot of trouble, drinking everything in the bar, playing the piano, etc. The third shift concierge did everything to keep him quiet and satisfied, when he simply could have called the police.

So the final say on Chevaliers: Nice place but overpriced.

Don't worry too much. You're going to have a great time and the Marais will blow you away. Stop by Jo Goldenberg's while you're there on the Rue des Rosiers for a real treat. Try the strudel with sour cream!!!