JaneWhite

My husband and I are planning a trip to Paris in May 2016, for our 20th wedding anniversary, and would love your suggestions as far as where to stay. We'll be there 2 weeks, and want to be centrally located, but also close to the rail for day trips. We are Hilton Honors members, so if we could use our points that would be great. If not, we are considering a 1 bedrooms apartment or condo. I'm not an out-of-the-box thinker (unfortunately) so all thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thank you!!!

Kathie

There are complications with renting an apartment in Paris. If you have lots of time to waste, read the hundreds of pages of info on apartment rentals on this forum!

I recommend you stay in a hotel - check and see what your Hilton points will get you.

What is most important location-wise is to be close to a metro station.

Christina

The easiest question is where to stay -- just stay in a central area, say arrondisements 1-8 to be on the safe side. And be sure to have a map so you can see how far the place is from a metro stop. Paris has a very extensive metro system with lots of stops, so you usually aren't too far from one in those areas--but it can happen.

As far as Hilton goes, there aren't hardly any Hiltons in Paris proper. They used to have one near the Eiffel Tower but sold it or something. The one in La Defense is a business suburb. So that leaves one Hilton called Opera location, although it isn't really, it's near ST Lazare train station, in fact, I think it is right next to it. That's not a terrible location, I've stayed not far from it several times and like it, but I stay a bit more off the main street than that is. It would certainly be a convenient location. I don't know anything about that hotel, but it says it is luxury and it looks nice enough. You could do a lot worse, it would be better than the Defense location which is really the only other choice other than the airports.

If you can use your points somewhere else, you'd have to name the hotel as I'm not familiar with how they work.

Otherwise, it really depends on your budget. Two weeks is an awfully long time to stay in a hotel, so I'd look for a suite or even apt in a hotel, there are some. The Hotel Danube in St Germain used to have one but not sure they do any more. The Hotel Relais Bosquet in the 7th does still have one or more and that would be a better bet than trying to get a legal one yourself and dealing with all those unknowns. That would be a good location for you, I think. this is their apt website, notice they reference their Hotel website http://www.apartmentparishotel.com/appart42.html

Otherwise, if you want to splurge, I know Paris Perfect apts are expensive but nice and are in that same general area. I have no idea about their legality, but they seem to claim they are and are still advertising openly. I'm agnostic on that issue.
http://www.parisperfect.com/

nytraveler

Just o you're aware, Paris has several train stations - not Metro but intercity train - and which ones you will need to use depends on exactly where you are going. There is no way I would look for a place to stay near a train station just for one day trip. What matters is being in decent walking distance to a lot of sights and very close for a Metro to get to the others father away.

fuzzbucket

Maybe you'd be interested in splitting your time between a hotel which accepted your points and a legal apart'hotel, which would give you a chance to discover two different neighborhoods.

You didn't mention if this is your first trip to Paris, but if it is, you would benefit from having a front desk staff to provide whatever you might need - apartments don't usually provide a lot in the way of support. It would also be helpful if you mentioned your budget per night, and if you need any particular amenities.

You might have a look at this place - nice rooms with kitchenettes, centrally-located, charming neighborhood, everything you need and want within a few blocks:
http://www.residencehenri4.com/en/

Whathello

Globally speaking areas around train stations are not necessarily the quaintest.

Gretchen

With 2 weeks, even as you are planning to take trips out of Paris, I would split your trip between 2 places==maybe Provence or Normandy and Paris.
When we do this we like to go to the "other" part of France from CDG and return to Paris for the end of the trip.

flpab

We like Vacationinparis, they are out of New Jersey, you pay them before you go. Our apartment was very legal.

Sarastro

<i>Our apartment was very legal.</i>

I assume you checked with Marie of the arrondissement in which this apartment was located. Unless this was obviously someone primary residence, the only way to know that any rental is legal or not is to ask the city.

fuzzbucket

Indeed - "very legal" means that the agency is legal.
Agencies have the right to list properties for rent, which is not against the law.

Accepting payment in another country for a property listed in France is not legal unless taxes are declared and paid in France. Accepting cash for a portion or all of the rental amount is not legal under any circumstances.

It is the property owner who must conform to the legalities of vacation rentals, and there are very few who can afford the headaches and cost of complying with the city's regulations, so the vast majority of vacation rentals are, in fact, illegal.