We are going to Paris in August and are thinking of staying on the Ile St Louis at either the Lutece or the des Deux Iles. Any thoughts? We would consider the Saint-Louis but have heard that they do not always honour reservations. What is the walking distance to the metro on this island and how about the noise factor?

Otherwise we are looking at staying in Marais at the Hotel du Vieux Marais. Any one have any info about this hotel? Or any tried and true options?

Thanks so much. It is our first trip to Paris and want it to be truly special.

We stayed at the Lutece 2 years ago and loved both the hotel and the location. The Ile is very quiet at night. There is a metro stop about 2 blocks away on the right bank, and another just past Notre Dame, 5 minutes walk.

Do a search here for another current thread on the Ille St. Louis, and the two hotels there you mention. Lots of good advice.

We walked by the Lutece and Deux Iles last month and thought they looked very nice. I collected brochures from each of them, too. They are side-by-side, you know, and seem to be managed/owned by the same company. We liked the ambiance of the Ille St. Louis. It is a very short walk to the river, as it is a tiny island.

If you click on my name above, you can find my trip report on London-Paris-Amsterdam, with specific restaurants in Paris we liked, plus the hotel we liked in the 7th, the Hotel la Bourdonnais.

Have fun in Paris.

We've stayed at the Lutece. Good choice. Noise factor is same or less than average 3 stars on Left Bank or Marais. We've stayed in many 3 stars closer to Metro stations but half the time in those stays, we were taking Metros TO the Ile de St. Louis area.

Have no knowledge of Hotel du Vieux Marais. We did stay at Caron de Beaumarchais in the Marais and liked it.

I stayed at the Lutece last December. My room was on the 5th floor at the rear of the hotel and overlooked some (uninteresting) rooftops. The room, being a triple, was very comfortable although not huge. Everything was spotless and there was a nice desk and chair included-I think they are antiques. A nice touch is that there is an inner door that closes off a small space between it and the front door. I thought the housekeeping and breakfast room staff members to be very attentive and friendly. The only fault I could think of is that the shower should be replaced as it had a bit of mold and is outdated. By contrast there's a full bathroom (?) right next to the breakfast room. That shower is quite modern; too bad my room didn't have a shower like it.

I find the reception staff to be very friendly and helpful especially the woman on duty like a superior and the night clerk. There is a day clerk (man) who is not friendly. In fact, the emails sometimes if you ask them questions there is someone there who answers abruptly and is not forthcoming with much information.

All in all I loved staying there and I do recommend the Lutece. The street is quite busy during the day, but is pretty quiet at night.

I think room size and bathroom quality are luck of the draw at the Lutece. Our room was supposedly one of the larger doubles (still quite small, but manageable), but our bathroom was newly redone and lovely. (But tub only, no shower.)

We stayed at the Lutece and loved it, as did my daughter last year.
We had a room on the 5th floor overlooking the street.
Quiet at night, very good and helpful service. A charming and not too expensive hotel. It will just make you want to live on Ille St-Louis~

We stayed in the Vieux Marais about ten years ago. I have never been tempted to return but it may have changed. They were in an overflow situation so put us in a spacious apartment in the building next door. It was furnished in the early college style. It was about a five story climb and there were about half a dozen locks on the door. It made me nervous so after the first night we had them move us into the main hotel. The windows opened into a courtyard and there was no air moving unless you kept the door to the room open to the hall. I spent the night listening to a woman and child talking and watching tv until the wee hours of the morning.

I stayed at the Vieux Marais in 2003 and left as soon as I could. It was clean, it was decent, the bathroom was recently upgraded. But it was pokey, dark, depressing. There was a rubber sheet under the regular bedding (a friend jokes that the Vieux Marais must be on the Bedwetters International list) and loose wires hanging out of the ceiling in the hall. It just was't the stuff of good memories, so I went to the Relais Bosquet, got a fabulous last-minute price and a room that was much more appealing.