Best way to book a hotel in France?
Feb 23rd, 2003, 04:10 PM
#2
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I don't think there is any one answer to this. There may even be multiple answers for these "steps" in CHOOSing and booking a hotel: browsing and window shopping, making an inquiry, and booking a confirmed reservation.<BR><BR>Some good resources are: www.webscapades.com (maybe particularly for Paris) and www.logis-de-france.fr (for other parts of France) - - but I would not want to imply that these have bargains unique to the internet.<BR><BR>And there are advantages to simply faxing (more expensive) or e-mailing ("free"
the hotel directly. But of course, you have to choose a hotel "find" that info to be able to do that.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>
the hotel directly. But of course, you have to choose a hotel "find" that info to be able to do that.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>
Feb 23rd, 2003, 04:16 PM
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Rex makes some good points, but your question seems to simply be "what is the best way to book a hotel" not to find one. I believe that the best way is to contact the hotel directly, either by email or fax or even phone. I don't know of any real advantage in using a booking website -- which often means you must pay in advance and may mean that your reservation will be messed up. If you have a written confirmation (or printed out email) directly from a hotel, it would be hard for them to refuse you -- which apparently happens a lot to people who have used other booking services.
Feb 23rd, 2003, 04:24 PM
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Patrick beat me to it. Having had enough of incompetent travel agents who either get the dates wrong, fail to request the right room, or worse, fail to confirm the reservation, I find it easiest to call the hotel, make the reservation then follow-up with a fax confirmation.
Feb 23rd, 2003, 04:27 PM
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I never use websites to book hotels in France. My admittedly limited experience in doing so has not netted good results, and in one case ended up with my family of four looking for lodging in Bayeux in July being booked as a family of five being booked in Albertville in December. <BR>I phone the hotel, inquire about availability and prices, then fax a request and ask for a confirming fax back. I take that confirmation with me in case there is any problem upon arrival. Works like a charm.<BR>I have looked at websites that quote prices for hotels in France where I stay with some frequency, and I have never seen a price on those websites that was as low as the prices that I pay using my old-fashioned method of contacting the hotel. <BR>I've also found that contacting hotels in France that are outside the major cities by e-mail simply doesn't work. Just as the French resisted using their fax machines for years, they seem to be resisting using their e-mail in rural areas. <BR>Even if you do want websites, I don't think anyone can point you to the least expensive and best site. There are zillions of such websites.
Feb 23rd, 2003, 06:06 PM
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I use web sites to view hotels, see photos, get the stats, etc, but I have almost always contacted hotels directly in France to make a reservation, by either FAX or email. I did use one site to inquire on a hotel I was interested in that was not responding to my inquiries, and they responded very efficiently, but I ended up not using them, although that service seemd okay as far as my contact was with the.<BR><BR>A few sites I think have good information and I have never known anyone to have problems with are:<BR>www.parishotels.com<BR>digital.france.com/hotels<BR>www.france-hotel-guide.com<BR><BR>They all have good selections, if you really want to go that route, I would feel comfortable using them. digital.france was the one I had some contact with. www.123france.com has some good info and rates, also, but I don't think I've heard of anyone who used them, actually.<BR><BR>I don't believe any of the above charge a fee and I would never, ever pay a fee for making a reservation or pay in advance. I think there may be some sites for France that charge a fee or make you prepay, but I don't know them. <BR><BR>I have had some success with email in more rural areas of France, however, although I don't have tons of examples there. I do have one comment that I think some people who are used to hotels in the US transfer that experience to hotels in France and always assume there are a bunch of different rates and the official posted or rack rate is artificial and they should never pay it. That's isn't true in my experience, the rates are pretty standard. The only exception is some very large chain hotels that may work with agents, tour packages or be on Expedia, etc, may sometimes have some slightly different rates (although mostly I think the rates are not discounts), but that isn't true for the vast majority of smaller, independent hotels.
Feb 23rd, 2003, 07:17 PM
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One reason that I expanded on the original question is that I contrast the usefulness of www.venere.com for Italy - - with the absence of one "gold standard" in France - - for browsing, making inquiries and booking reservations. I think that it might be a more daunting task (or simply more worth your time to try multiple sources) to find the "right hotel" in France. Not that Venere is the answer to every hotel question for Italy (and they are listing some properties for France and other countries now, by the way). Just that it is closer to an answer for every city in Italy - - than any web site I know for France.<BR>
Mar 8th, 2003, 03:41 PM
#9
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<BR>Thank you for all of the great advice. The problem I usually have is finding a hotels direct website. Whenever I do a search, I end up getting all of the expedia, hotel.com, etc. that have them posted within their sites. Christina, thanks for the websites--I will definitely check them out.
Mar 8th, 2003, 07:25 PM
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The trip I took to France was my first to Europe, and it was the last time I winged it and didn't make reservations before leaving the U.S. (except for Paris and Honfleur). Before we left a town, we visited the TI and booked a room for the next town. The accommodations were always adequate and reasonably priced.
Mar 8th, 2003, 07:32 PM
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Mary Fran's advice may be good for those who are only concerned with "adequate" rooms. Many of us are very particular as one can tell by this site where people labor for weeks over which hotel will be the absolute "best". If you are traveling in a busy season (almost any time in France these days) then you will be left with the "leftovers" unless you prebook. Many of the "best" or "most charming" hotels are fully booked up to 10 months ahead.
Mar 9th, 2003, 03:45 PM
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I know rex already mentioned this one, but I used it in Italy with great results. I have now booked 2 places through it for France and am hoping for the same results. The website is venere.com. They usually have good photos of the hotel and rooms as well, which I did not find on expedia and other sites.
