filmlover

Thanks in advance to any advice I get here! I've been reading through a lot of the messages but had a few questions about some hotels I haven't seen discussed...I'm going to be in paris 4-5 nights in the beginning of june and was hoping to spend 50e or less and spend my money on food!...i'm staying by myself and would like a single, preferrably with bath, at least shower...here's what I've seen so far:

GRAND HOTEL DES ARTS ET METIERS
4 Rue Borda
75003 - Paris, (3e)
singles 25e - 50e

Hotel SAINTE MARIE *
6 Rue de la Ville Neuve
(75002) (2e) PARIS
single 48e with shower

Hotel Montebello
18 Rue Pierre Leroux (7e)
single - 42e with shower/bath

Hotel Picard
26 rue de Picardie (3e)
single - 51e with full bath

Hotel Stella
41 rue Monsieur le Prince (6e)
single 45e with bath

In addition, I've seen some of the regulars: Bellevue et du Chariot D'Or (3e), Hotel de Nesle (6e), Hotel Jeanne D'Arc (4e), Hotel Vivienne (2e) and Tiquetonne(2e)

I have seen a couple of the 5 above mentioned, but has anyone stayed in them? recently? Especially Montebello...I've seen it mentioned, but not by anyone who's stayed there.

My main concern is a clean, safe place to sleep, not so much the neighborhood...but i would prefer a quiet room. I know it's a lot to ask, any help would be appreciated and I will make sure to report when I get back.

Thanks!

wliwl

topping

111op

I stayed at Tiquetonne for the fourth time a few weeks ago. I've always recommended it here (I don't get compensated by them). Doubles are 50 euros a night, and you get a private bathroom.

I believe someone here has posted about Hotel Sainte Marie. See if you can search for it.

Same for Picard, I think. You should be able to find comments from within the past year.

Bellevue is, I think, the sister hotel of Tiquetonne. They asked me to try it once when they were booked -- but I think this will cost over 50 euros a night. In the end, I didn't try it.

filmlover

thanks for the quick response 111! I keep reading about Tiquetonne and they always seem to mention the sex shops nearby...is it a pretty noisy area? i'm sometimes a bit of a light sleeper so i'd rather right not be in the middle of things, but if it sounds like a great place if you keep going back there! i didn't see anything recent on picard...but i will keep searching...i guess i need to decide for sure which bank is best for me. thanks again!

111op

The sex shops are really south on r. St-Denis. There could be one or two north of Tiquetonne, but the hotel is actually on r. Tiquetonne, and the street is pretty quiet at night.

I routinely go out late and I've never had a problem. The front desk is not 24 hours (shuts down around midnight, I think), but apart from that, I can't think of too many minuses. I stayed at a single once, and I prefer a double (just 10 euros more).

On my most recent trip, I discovered that Passage du Grand Cerf is very close to the hotel. You can Google the passage and read about it. I wonder how many people know this tidbit (I certainly didn't).

By the way, it'd help if you speak a little French for this hotel. The night person is usually this guy who doesn't seem to speak English, and he seems to take over sometimes on weekends and during the day. Otherwise there's a middle-aged woman (Marie?) who speaks English.

That said, it's important to use your judgment and take precautions when you're out late, as in any big city. I don't want to lull you into a false sense of security either, but personally I think that the concerns about the neighborhood are exaggerated.

cbleigh

If you don't mind going down the hall to the bathroom, Hotel du Loiret has single rooms for 45 euros. The toilet and shower are shared for the floor, but I never had a problem using them. Each room has it's own walled off sink area. I was on the sixth floor and had an awesome view of Notre Dame from my tiny balcony.

It's on a quiet side street just off Rue du Rivoli. I'd definitely stay there again. The Marais neighborhood was amazing.

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filmlover

thanks again for the info, 111...and thanks cbleigh...it actually looked like the hotel du loiret was booked.

i've been trying to call tiquetonne and keep getting an 'all circuits are busy' message...has this ever happened with you?

i've called europe before and think i'm dialing correctly:

011 33 01 42 36 94 58

is that the correct number for tiquetonne?

thanks again!

Travelnut

Do not dial the "0" after 33.

111op

Right. Ditto what Travelnut said. Most of the time you don't dial the leading area for the city code in Europe -- unless you're calling a number in Italy (and I'm sure there're probably some other exceptions).

I'd call Tiquetonne during the week unless you're comfortable with French. Usually I call them early morning New York time on a weekday and the same woman (who speaks English) has taken my reservations.

111op

Sorry -- most of the time you don't dial the leading *zero*....

Christina

It depends where you are calling from. I think you always must use the leading zero if you are calling within France, you just don't use it when you are dialing France from abroad.

filmlover

thanks! without the 0 worked just fine and i was able to speak a little french...i think i was told it was too early to make a reservation for may 31...she said something about calling in april...but i will try during the week as recommended. thanks again!

111op

Yes, Christina is right that you would dial the 0 in France.

By the way Tiquetonne is the sort of hotel that closes for summer vacations -- and I think that it also closes around Christmas. Reservations are still kept with pencil, pen and a notebook. So I'm not surprised that they can't do a booking too far in advance. They do accept credit cards.

If you want to be on the safe side, you can always do a backup booking or consider a different hotel.

I'll be calling them soon as I'm staying in Paris the night before Easter.