We'll be taking our first trip to France in May and I'm just starting to do some serious planning. I hope to spend the first week in Paris and then the following two weeks in Provence or elsewhere -- I haven't gotten that far yet. Right now I'm just trying to pick a Paris hotel.

We're generally 3-star folks and here's what's important to us: good, interesting location nice for walking; safe; central; clean, of course; pleasant service or at least not unpleasant; lift and air-conditioning; fairly quiet for sleeping; and of course, some charm and decor. We've never been to Paris so I don't know the 'personalities' of the various neighbourhoods except for what I've read here.

After reading a million threads on this forum and checking Trip Advisor, here's my short list with the pros and cons I've read. Can you give me your insights?

Hotel du Quai Voltaire (7th, every review says the rooms are small and the hotel is shabby but they all love it, especially the view since it's right on the Seine. Poor breakfast, which is not that important, and no AC)

Hotel Millesime (St. Germaine, 6th, AC, quiet, good location, good reviews, larger than average rooms)

Hotel Saint Jacques (Latin Quarter, good reviews but no AC)

Hotel Varenne (7th, mostly good reviews, 1 bad one; AC; hotel and area very quiet -- does this mean boring?)

Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais (Marais, exposed beams/country fabric decor; courtyard rooms dark but front rooms OK and not noisy; includes breakfast; don't know about AC)

I'd love to hear your personal experiences with any of these hotels or any other suggestions. This is just my first go-round, so I may be back with more.

Thanks in advance for your help.

We will be staying at Hotel Millesime in about a week and I'll post my impressions when we return.

We prefer the 6th. Last time we were in Paris we stayed at the Saint Beuve. It was very nice, but fairly far south, so while it was perhaps quieter it was a bit far from the action for us. And when we were there, early in May, they hadn't yet activated the AC for the season (lots of places only have it operational for June/July/Aug or even only July/Aug. So we had to sleep with windows wide open (it was a bit warmer than expected some days) and got lots of street noise.

Generally, the 7th is more residential, so it will be quieter but perhaps a bit too staid. Another option is Ile St-Louis.

At the Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais the rooms are air conditioned. It actually says so on that rather "fun" website but you have to look a bit to find the wording in the rooms description section.

Some might suggest you won't need A/C at that time but depending on the humidity, not the heat, I would definitely hold OUT for A/C as there are plenty of hotels that offer it.

Sorry I haven't stayed in any of these hotels so cannot comment on quality but I'd probably opt for the Caron myself.

Oh, if you are looking for "fairly quiet", do not stay at the Quai Voltaire (do not stay in any hotel in a Seine-facing room on the Quais). I stayed at the Hotel du Quai Voltaire several years ago. Yes, it was quaint and the view seemed charming in daylight. Then I climed into my narrow, lumpy uncomfortable bed, and turned out the lights. Lo and behold, about 5 minutes later, the room lit up with an unearthly, rippling glow and a foghorn-type voice started mumbling (like the way adults talk in Peanuts cartoons). It was a bateau mouche (the tourist boats that go up and down the Seine). It was soon followed by another. Not very peaceful at all. Until I realised what was going on, it reminded me of a scene from the X Files - as if my bed was going to levitate out the window and join the alien mother ship ...

Surprisingly, you might find a decent hotel as part of the Best Western Chain in France. Many of the hotels have a lot of charm, but you do need to check reviews carefully.

I've also been pleased so far hotels I've stayed at that belong to the Logis de France group. Go to www.logis-de-france.fr. It's a good choice for 2-3* hotels (either Paris or elsewhere in France) and it has a good search function that enables you to search for hotels with a certain ambience (logis de caractere, logis nature silence, logis de bacchus for wine lovers etc), proximity to certain activities (logis randonnee pedestre for walkers, logis velo for cyclists). The Logis hotels I've stayed had hospitable staff and charm, although they were not high-end.

May is not that hot in Paris. In June, I'd recommend AC but I think you can get away without it in May.

By the way, if you have bought plane tickets yet, you should take into account the fact that there are 4 holidays in May 2007 (some of which are also statutory holidays in Europe), which means that there are a lot of French people (and some other Europeans) taking long weekends in France (or elsewhere). This means that flights and trains get booked up faster (and prices go up), airports, train stations and roads are busy and hotels also book up and get more expensive. The Europeans who are planning long weekends probably won't start making bookings until the New Year (probably not until February), but you'll want to firm up your plans a little earlier than you might expect. In particular, I can imagine that a lot of people might head for Provence (because the weather is nicer and it's the shoulder season).

The holiday dates are: MTuesday May 1 (Labour Day in France and in many other countries; some French get this day as a holiday although not everything closes); Tuesday May 8 (Liberation Day - a holiday in France and everything closes); Thursday May 17 (Ascension - everything closes) and Monday May 28 (Pentecost - everything closes, plus closures the day before). As May 1, May 8 and May 17 fall on Tuesdays or Thursdays, we can expect to see people taking super-long weekends (e.g. Friday night-Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, Wed night - Sunday night or Monday morning).

Kate W -- you have your holiday information backwards. May 1st is the most important holiday and EVERYTHING closes. It is the only day of the year with no garbage collection in Paris.
On all of the other holidays, all of the stores and museums are open as normal and only administrative offices and banks are closed. As for Pentecost Monday, it is no longer a holiday for most people. The holiday was cancelled 3 years ago.

kerouac:

Thanks for the correction. I was using a combination of our office website's data for last year (we got May 1, May 8, Ascension and Pentecost as holidays last year) because next May's holidays aren't posted yet and a France tourism website (which gave me the "not closed on May 1" but "closed on Pentecost" information). I didn't actually get to observe how much was open and how much was shut in Paris on most of these dates last year because I was at home in Canada for a family emergency and then my mother's funeral. (But earlier in the spring, I had been planning trips in France and nearby countries for May and had noticed the limited availability and price increases for hotels, flights and trains around some of those dates.)

Taking into account your advice, I still think the bottom line is that visitors should be aware that these dates are holidays for some people in France (and for European countries whose residents might want to visit France), that some of these dates are big holidays and others less so, that the dates might come as a bit of a surprise to North Americans, and that they should consider the potential impact on May holiday plans around the relevant dates.

Absolutely true that often May has 4 holidays in France and it can disrupt quite a few things like hotel availability and train schedules.

Thanks for your comments so far. I'd be happy to hear other suggestions. It hadn't occurred to me that there'd be traffic noise from the Seine, so that's good to know.

Even though it's only May, I don't trust the weather these days so I'm opting for AC just in case.

Taggie, I'd love to hear about your stay at the Millesime, especially (if you can manage it) specific room numbers for double rooms that might be nicer than others. The Millesime is still near the top of my list but a personal reference would be great!

And thanks for the information about holidays in May. It would have never occurred to me to ask. We'll probably be in Paris for the second week in May, then travelling in the countryside for the next two weeks, so I'll pay a bit closer attention to the dates.

Would love to hear more and thanks again!

The traffic noise is from the multi-lane boulevards that run alongside it. Think "freeway".

To clarify, the boat cruises finish around 11PM, so if you are early to bed it could be a possibility. I stayed at Quai St Michel, room overlooking Seine, and had no issues with boats and/or traffic noise. Some hotels have windows that are designed to minimize noise issues.

I haven't stayed at any of your hotels, though we're booked at the Hotel Millesime (in May!), as our "usual" Paris hotel was already booked for the room we wanted (Hotel Le Regent, just down the street from the Millesime). Hotel Millesime also looks delightful.

I would base your decision on location, as you're picked 4 hotels in different areas. From what I know, the 7th is quieter, and that's why many folks like it. I'm not sure about Metro stops in the 7th; if you're likely to use the Metro much, that may be a factor. From the 7th, I think (check mappy.com's pedestrian option to see), it might be more difficult to walk to some of the sights/sites, though of course the Eiffel Tower would be close!

The Marais can be fun and lively, though I'm not familiar enough with the area to be able to advise you specific on that. And I'm not sure about walking distance from there to various sites/sights.

The Latin Quarter can be noisy, probably depending on where in the Quarter you are. The parts I'm familiar with are full of ethnic restaurants (Greek, middle eastern, etc.) with touts that try to cajol you into their restaurant. In the morning, it's quite quiet, but in the evening, VERY lively. Great location in terms of sights/sites, if you're near the Blvd. St. Michel side of the Quarter.

We prefer the 6th because, for us, it's the right combination of great location, lots of restaurants and patisseries, lively atmosphere. Some people feel it's too touristy. There are certainly lots of people in the 6th, and quite a few of them are tourists, but on the other hand, it seems like when we stop for a drink at a cafe, we're the only ones speaking English. (So either the English-speaking tourists don't cafe-sit, or they all also speak French!) Not great shopping in this area, if you care about that. Hotel Millesime is right down the street from our new find (long known to many others, of course), Laduree, a patisserie that has fabulous macarons (search Fodor's for more on that scrumptious treat). We walk a lot, probably more than most people, and from the 6th, we walk to Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame (almost every night), Saint Chappelle, Ile-St.-Louis, the Louvre, even the Pompidou. And of course, the Seine is just a couple of blocks away, for lovely walks along it. In terms of quiet, the Hotel Millesime is a little out of the main action in the 6th, and the street it's on SEEMED quiet when we walked down it two years ago, but I don't know for sure. It's primarily a pedestrian area, though, so any noise you'd get would be from people, not vehicles.

We've been in Paris in May several times, and have never needed AC. Of course, this year could be different.

In the year 2006, July and September were the hot months. In 2007, it could be May and August... You never know. August 2006 was one of the coldest Augusts in 50 years, but everybody still remembers the August that killed 15,000 people.

Hotel Millesime is in a nice location on the rue Jacob. I would choose this hotel over the others just because I like this district (St. Germain). Street is busy but nice.

Varenne seems very nice just that the area around it is very quiet at night which is either good or bad depending on personal choice.

Passed by the Caron de Beaumarchais last month and didn't care for it personally. Just judged it by its lobby which looks odd as it could be a museum display such as what they have in the nearby Carnavalet museum. Heard the rooms are quite small-typical but very expensive to me. Location is very good for the Marais though.

The St. Jacques is a 2* that's on a very busy street in the Latin Qtr. Location is good but it depends on if you prefer don't mind a being located on a busy street.

I have stayed at the Millesime 3 times and have always been pleased with its great location and friendly staff. I would opt for a superior room and go for their package. You can e-mail them for details. It includes a very nice breakfast and a bunch of other useful throw ins making it well worth the extra 10 euros a night.

We were there in early May last year (I believe the 5th-12th) and encountered 1 holiday while we were in Provence. It was not a big deal and plenty of things were open if you visit the more touristy places.

I have a great recommendation for a hotel in St. Remy and that is Chateau Alpilles. Gorgeous rooms, excellent dining and friendly, helpful staff. It was a little pricey but well worth the extra money. Great central location to take day trips from.

We just got back yesterday from our tip to London/Paris/Vienna. I will post a quasi trip report eventually but I know I promised to let hdm know about the Millesime as soon as we got back.

We really like this hotel. The desk staff were very nice and it was very quiet inside the building. We never heard any door slamming, talking int he halls, etc. and were suprised to see so many people in the breakfast room in the mornings - it was so quiet we wondered if the hotel was quite empty.

Our room (Number 20) was a superior. It faced the street, which was quite noisy, but the windows are excellent at blocking out the sound. With the windows shut you could hear almost no street noise.

The only problem (and it's one we've run into before) is that the AC is only operational in the high summer months, and we need our rooms chilly to sleep. It was too noisy to leave the bedroom window open. The bonus with this room was that the bathroom faced the courtyard and also had a window, although we didn't like to leave it open too wide lest a pigeon fly in! This also allowed us to get a cross-draft going to cool the room down before we went to sleep.

Some of the rooms face the courtyard, which would be very quiet if you needed to have the window open, but you wouldn't be able to get a cross-draft.

Also the people living across the street don't have curtains on their windows so you can entertain yourself watching what they get up to in the evenings! (nothing too thrilling)

We had booked the superior room on a special price that included breakfast (which was fine although their coffee wasn't that great). We were glad to have the extra space and the extra window. I would stay here again. The street is lovely (just down from Laduree) and the area is great. But you might want to verify that they will have the hotel's AC running in May.

Thank you all. We've booked at the Henri IV at quite a bit above our preferred rate but since we've been offered a friend's apartment in Nice, we've rationalized the extra expense in Paris. The Millesime would have been my first choice but it was quite a bit out of our price range and the Henri IV gets excellent reviews.

We'll be walking in all the neighbourhoods so we'll definitely be spending time in the Marias, St. Germaine, Latin Quarter, etc.

I guess I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed about the AC.