suze

I enjoyed Dacia Luxembourg. I don't know how it rates on the chic or stylish scale, but it is a lovely little 3-star on St Mich near The Sorbonne.

www.dacialuxembourg.com

elaine

for Oscar Wilde, l'Hotel, and wallpaper fans

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/STYLE/d.../france.wilde/

Ramblero

Guys!!! I'm over-whelmed!! Vous etes trés magnifique!! OK, ok..."cool" in this instance ="small/quaint/quiet/atmospheric. Not avant-guard modern/edgy. While I really like post-modern minimalism, I'm thinking more Louis XV French antique-y. (Deb is finishing an Italianesque villa kind of thing on the water and has both French and Italian antiques.)

yeah...pre-nup. She went (literally...really!!!) through The Divorce from Hell (which continues on to this day after 8 years)...and wants to protect/gird her remaining assets. I don't blame her a bit. So I support her in this...it's by mutual agreement.

Any hotel-specific web sites are really a boon (thanks Beatchick & Surlock); you'd be amazed at what you get when you ask Google for, say, Hotel de St. Germain des Pres.

Current thinking is 5 days in the Left Bank and 4 days out in the 8th..at the Hotel Baltimore...or similar. I'm taking some of mom's ashes to drop at #46 Ave. de la Grande Armee...where she lived before WWII while studing art; I'm sure she'd have been pleased. She loved Paris...and France.

You guys are wonderful...thanks for all the help.

(Of course, now I'm panicking...Saints Peres is all booked...)

mclaurie

Actually, the Baltimore is in the 16th. I can highly recommend the Raphael on the other end of the same street at #17 Ave. Kleber near the Arc de Triomphe(the Baltimore is #88 bis). Based on the photos I saw of the Baltimore rooms, if your intended is into antiques, I think she'd flip over the Raphael. Have a look here

http://195.154.238.164/viewer/ng/cla...?Ref=api638141

It's pricey, but the Baltimore seemed to be too.

I have yet to find my perfect place on the left bank. I read the 2 reviews on tripadvisor for Louis II and it sounds good.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...de_France.html

Friends have stayed at the Melia Colbert and liked it very much. I have intention of trying Hotel de Notre Dame on Rue Maitre Albert in the 5th. You might also consider staying at one of the hotels on Ile St Louis. The Hotel des Deux Iles sounds like it might be the best of the lot.

Lots of good luck on your upcoming nuptials.

francophile03

Sorry, but chances are the Deux Iles and Hotel de Lutece are all booked up. Even 6 months' advance booking is not unusual for these two places.
Melia Colbert may have availability. Best you fax them as they sometimes don't reply to emails.

janetele

We also stayed at Hotel St Germain. We loved it. It was in a good location, near Notre Dame and all the good restaurants. Rooms were small, but beautiful. Good breakfast included in a charming lower level dining room. Staff was very courteous and helpful. I would stay there again.

cigalechanta

In the past I have stayed several times at the l'Abbaye. I love small, romantic hotels but the rates have upped since my last visit so no longer in my budget.

Surlok

Sorry, Gamblero. Something went wrong with my copy&paste, and I wrote twice the web address for Lux. Parc, instead of the Hotel Saint-Germain, a quaint 3 stars at Rue de Bac (beware, there are 2 Saint-Germain hotels at Rue du Bac, at n. 66 and at n. 88!). One is quaint, the other, isn't!

So, doing it again:

Hotel Saint-Germain, 88 Rue du Bac

http://www.hotel-saint-germain.fr/

hopingtotravel

Have been following these Paris hotel threads since January. One of my main criteria is to find a location for walking both to the Luxembourg Gardens and to scenic areas of the Seine. Fleury has been mentioned in the past but not on this thread. Any current news on it? Also, does the location of the Madison or Millesime (sp) fit those criteria? The Madison looked like it might be further toward the 7th.

Surlok

Another suggestion is Hotel Verneuil. It really fits your definition of "cool", meaning small/quaint/quiet/atmospheric, although the rooms are maybe too small.

Have a look at:

http://www.hotelverneuil.com/

It's very close to Hotel Saint Péres.

However, although I haven't yet stayed there, I somehow endorse your interest in the Louis II. The location couldn't be better, and it looks indeed quaint, charming, atmospheric, and trés Parisien... plus the rates are quite reasonable.

francophile03

Madison and Millesime are good choices if you want to be close to the Luxembourg Gardens. These are not in the 7th but in the 6th. It should take around 15 minutes more or less to the Luxembourg Gardens depending on how fast/slow you walk.

If you really want to stay nearby the gardens then look into Hotel Luxembourg Parc which gets excellent reviews and also Hotel de Ste. Beuve.

I stayed at the Verneuil. The only nice-sized rooms are the deluxe doubles. Standard doubles are tiny so I can't imagine what a single would be like.

Underhill

hopingtotravel,

The Madison is about two blocks up from the Seine and across from the church of St-Germain-des-Prés, smack in the middle of the 6th. It's within walking distance of Notre-Dame cathedral, the Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, and the Ile St-Louis. For location it couldn't be better.

Also, from the nearby métro (half a block tops) it's a stright run to the new shopping center in Montparnasse that has a Galerie Lafayette branch.

MWM1

Oh you MUST MUST stay here---- Please consider the Hotel Le Regent... it was SO quaint and in a perfect location with a wonderful cafe across the street and a fabulous italian restaurant up the block also just a few steps away: a boulangerie & patissierie. Rooms were on the small side but very clean and comfortble. Bathrooms good, hallways narrow. Perfect Left bank hotel! www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75006regent.htm

francophile03

Just a small warning: there's no elevator service on the ground floor at the Verneuil and Le Regent. The elevator service begins on the 1st floor-a small flight of stairs up from the ground floor.

kmowatt

Just returned from Paris and stayed at Hotel de L'Abbaye, 10 rue Cassette. This is a small, charming hotel with very nice, comfortable public areas. Morning breakfast room is bright with wicker chairs and small round tables covered in linens. Our room was a double for 195 euros per night (breakfast and tax included). The room was small, but not as small as I was expecting - it was country french in decor and the bathroom was marble and tile, spacious and most importantly, spotlessly clean. Interesting touch in the room was a modern flat screen TV!! The staff were both professional and friendly. When you return at night, the hotel is quite charming as you enter into a courtyard with lights illuminating the topiary and hotel entrance which contains the most beautiful floral arrangement - reception is tucked off to the left so you don't see that as you come home at night. I would highly recommend this property. It is less than 5 minutes to the St. Sulpice metro stop and a quick walk to blvd. St. Germain.

Beatchick

LOL ~ Elaine, I love that story. The Hôtel d'Alsace has come a LOOOONG way since when Wilde stayed there.

My other favorite story of his comes from when he was staying at the Hôtel de Quai Voltaire, where he quipped that he was dying beyond his means. Which prompted the move to the Alsace.

francophile03

And after he moved to the Alsace (now L'Hotel) then he died! He should not have made that comment...

francophile03

On the other hand, he's a good example of the oher post 'What if I die on my trip?'. At least he died in Paris!

Beatchick

AND was buried in Père Lachaise!!

I guess he lost that duel with the wallpaper. But at least he'll be long-remembered whereas the wallpaper...

francophile03

What did that wallpaper look like anyway? Was it that awful?