LInda

Hello. I am planning my first ever trip to Europe, first London and then Paris. In reading messages here I haven't seen anyone talking about "chain" hotels like Best Western. Their site lists many hotels in Paris. If I stayed at one of their hotels am I missing something in my experience? They are a little more than I would like to spend per night but I'm assuming their quality would be more assured than others. Yes? No? Second question, we are traveling in early May. How important is it to have air conditioning?

Brian in Atlanta

I can't vouch for Paris BWs, but I just got back from a very nice one in Menton, France. <BR> <BR>As for the A/C thing, I would very seriously doubt you'd need it in early May. We went in late May last year and it was light jackets weather.

Lori

We've stayed at BW's in Paris and in the UK countryside - all were fine. They are all individual hotels, not really a "chain" per se, they are affiliated with BW for marketing purposes and have to meet BW criteria in order to keep the affiliation. We're normally in Paris in April (mid to late) and never felt a need for a/c - (heat sometimes!!) so I am not sure about May. Unless it got real hot real soon I rather doubt if you would need it. (Been there in early Sept. as well and there was no need for it then). Weather is unpredictable tho, but still I don't think it's necessary in May. More likely you will need a sweater or light jacket in the evening. <BR>Any particular hotel you are thinking about? Most hotels (BW affiliated or otherwise) tend to have very small rooms, generally speaking they are a lot smaller than what we are used to in most US hotels and motels. Since this is your first trip to Paris don't assume because it is a BW that it will be more American. Bathrooms can range from large to microscopic depending upon the place - most hotels are converted from older bldgs. and bathrooms are "fit in" wherever they can get them. Closet space is scarce in most as well.

Karen

We stayed in a BW in Paris, the De Weha. It was just purchased by BW in 2000. It was privately owned before 2000. It was lovely hotel and reminded us of other we had stayed at in Europe. We went in November so has no a/c concerns.

Christina

Lots of people talk about BW on here in posts that I've seen. They are not really a chain if you mean they own, run and build their own hotels. They are a marketing membership consortium, at least in Europe. I don't think BW purchases or owns hotels in Europe as someone else said, but perhaps there are some they do. Very few hotel groups are really chains in Europe, it seems to me, they are usually franchises or consortiums. Golden Tulip is another good one in Europe, but I think BW is very good in Britain, France and Netherlands. You won't be missing anything per se, dependings on how you select one, their hotels are no different than tons of other hotels in Paris. I think BW is convenient for someone who doesn't want to spend a lot of time researching, likes an 800 reservation number where one person can answer about all vacancies, and they do have fairly good quality control, so you are fairly safe that you will get something acceptable to nice.

Christina

oh, re the AC, it is not important at all to have it in early May in northern Europe. I live in Washington DC, where it is extremely hot and humid and I hardly ever use AC here in May, never in early May.

Jayelle

When I went to Europe back in 1995, before I was able to use the Web to do my hotel research, I got a Best Western catalog from my travel agent and used it to select hotels. I stayed in a Best Western in Paris, in Montparnasse, that I found very pleasant. I also stayed in Best Western hotels in Milan and two in Florence, both of which were charming. If I recall correctly, they did have some type of rating system, so you could tell which hotels were more upscale than others. All in all, I would say that Best Western seems to do a pretty good job of seeing that their affiliated hotels maintain their standards.