5th Arr: <BR>Saint Severin, Argonautes, Vendome, Royal Cardinal hotel, Senlis, Andre Latin. <BR> <BR>6th arr: <BR>Clement, Saint Pierre, Welcome, du Lys, du Dragon. <BR> <BR>Since I’m traveling stand-by in October (16th?) and can’t make any hotel reservations in advance, I have been making a list of possible hotels to stay in. I have several already from the recommendations of fellow fodorites and the one I stayed in last year, but am interested in knowing more about the hotels I’ve listed here. What’s important to me in a hotel is location, a clean room, firm, comfortable beds, and a private bathroom. I like to stick to budge hotels under $100 per night. Your comments are greatly appreciated! Monica <BR>

Sorry, this won't answer your question, but is there a reason you feel that you can't make a reservation? Maybe during that time in October you don't hve to. <BR> <BR>Our last 5 or 6 trips to Europe have been by standy-by, usually in early June or late May. I have always made hotel reservations, sometimes 3 months in advance, even when we fly standby. I check the cancelation & change policies first though. Most hotels we have stayed at have a same day 4pm(hotel time) cancelation policy.(Although with careful planning I have never had to cancel a reservation.) But I have had to make some minor changes to those reservations, but that was no problem. <BR>I have purchased train tickets, transportation passes, & museum passes all in advance when flying standby & so far, have been lucky with all of that. <BR>Good Luck, & try not to get stressed out by standby. (easier said then done. Until you actually get on the plane & take-off, you are never quite sure. I know.)

Monica, I have been staying at the Welcome three or four times a year since 1992, I think. It's main attraction for me is the location at the corner of the rue de Seine and the Boulevard Saint-Germain. In the same block are a Champion grocery store, a tabac, a pharmacie, and several specialty food shops. My favorite patisserie, Gérard Mulot, is two blocks south at 76, rue de Seine. There is action here most of the night, and the rue de Buci has become a hot spot during night hours. I like being able to be out alone at any time of the night, and I feel very safe here. Jazz clubs, movie houses, good restaurants are nearby. The Seine is a four (?) block walk. I think you are going with a friend. The twin-bedded rooms are 615 FF per night, breakfast extra if you choose to take it which I don't. The lobby is the size of a postage stamp, but there is a small lounge on the first (our second) floor. Rooms are small, clean, with bath television, telephone. They are also fairly noisy because of the Boulevard. No air conditioning, so you will probably need an open window. Definitely not a classy place, but it is safe and it suits my purse. I will be leaving the hotel the morning of 14 October. Sorry to miss you again. Bon Voyage. If you stay there, tell Noëlle I sent you. Boots

I have not stayed at these hotels, though the Du Lys and the du Dragon are also on my list of possibilities for next time. I don't care for the location of the Argonautes on the rue de la Huchette. (Noisy and touristy in the extreme, this is one of the streets with the guys standing outside hawking for their Greek restaurants.)

Must mention the Hotel Muget in Paris in the 7th - lovely charming hotel near Eifell Tower. Stayed there for a week two summers ago and felt like a Parisian resident - wonderful neighborhood and close to a Metro stop.

Just returned last night from a six-night stay at the Muget. We loved room 53, a twin bedded room on the 5th floor (there's a lift) from which you have a partial view of the Eiffel Tower. There's a little light show at 10 and 11 pm for about 15 minutes, possibly a Y2K event. The rooms are tiny, as expected for Paris, but very clean. Our room had an en suite bathroom with shower. The hotel is air conditioned. 600FF/night per rooom and breakfast is 40 FF additional, but optional. It's in a residential neighborhood with a market street, rue Cler, close by. Be sure to stop by for a crepe at the little stand there. We'd definitely return to this hotel. <BR> <BR>www.hotelmuguet.com <BR> <BR>Bon voyage!

Hi everyone, sorry it’s taken me until this a.m. to respond. I think my hard drive at home is dying. I had to turn the computer off because of this terrible humming sound. Waiting for a friend to check it out. <BR> <BR>Bill, yes, we will be flying stand-by and from what I have been told October is a very busy month in Paris for hotels. I know the auto show ends around the 15th and there are a couple of other events, but not sure when they end. I have written and emailed a few hotels that have cancellation policies of 4 days, 8 days, and one has “by 15 September.” But I received an email this weekend from one hotel with a cancellation policy of noon of day of arrival, the same hotel we stayed in last year! So, I can at least cancel from the airport if need be. Yes, flying stand-by is stressful, but if we know that the flight has plenty of seats, we should be fine. I agree with you that I don’t calm down until I’m in that seat and the plane is ready to go. It’s just difficult when one has a limited time to travel. <BR> <BR>Hi Boots, thanks for the information on Welcome hotel. I too never take breakfast with my hotel. They’re not worth it (with the exception of the great German breakfasts we recently enjoyed. As for A/C, we’ll be there in October, so won’t need it. I read in one book to get a room facing rue Seine rather than St. Germaine. Too bad that we’ll miss each other! Take care and have fun in Paris. <BR> <BR>Lesli, I know the rue de la Huchette is a touristy, crowded place, but what if the hotels have double glazed windows? Think that will be enough? <BR> <BR>And last, thanks Julie and traveler, but I’m not interested in the 7th Arr. I enjoyed it last year at Hotel Leveque (know about Muget), but the area is too quiet for me. I prefer the 5th/6th Arrs. <BR> <BR>Thanks everyone! Monica

To the top for Marcello.

Hey Boots -- do you have a website and e-mail or other contact info for Hotel Welcome?

Lisa: That is what I found out about the Welcome Hotel: Fax: +1 40 46 81 59. <BR>welcomehotel-paris.com. But the way it looks, their website does not seem to be completetly finished yet. They have just reserved it somehow to be designed later. Sorry. <BR>

I have not stayed at any of the hotels you mention, but I do think you should make reservations when you have selected one, even if you're flying standby. Make sure you know the hotel's cancellation policy, of course, but consider that a hotel is probably more likely to find a room for a person who has already booked and had a change in travel plans than for someone who just shows up at the door.

Hi, Monica. We stayed at Le Clement last summer and found it to be clean, comfortable, and nicely-decorated but not plush. It has 31 rooms, a small elevator, hairdryers, satellite TV, and air-conditioning, which can help with noise control if you're on the street side of the hotel. Rooms vary in size; one of our rooms was much smaller than the other. The owners were friendly and helpful. There are at least two metro stops nearby. On occasion we encountered small groups of people, possibly homeless, across the street in front of a sort of an indoor shopping center or on the hotel side of the street; but we never experienced any problems. We would definitely stay there again.

Ann: Very close to the Clément is a little place where homeless can get meals for free. Maybe you were talking about that. Acutally, if you should have FF left, you can trop them there. Not everybody in this world is lucky as we might be (with our computer talking about nice places to go)

Lisa, to my knowledge the Welcome does not have a website. You can check out comments at www.paris.org. I wrote the first comment (embarrassed to have left out a word). Their phone number is 011-33-1-46-34-24-80 and their FAX is 011-33-1-40-46-81-59. Unfortunately, all the personnel I have mentioned are no longer there. A young man, Dany, now seems to be the "head" person, and I think you will find him helpful and friendly. Monica mentioned that she heard one should get a room on the rue de Seine side. I rather like the excitement of Paris night life and don't mind noise, so I opt for room 12 or 23 which are corner rooms on both Seine and Saint-Germain. When I am alone, I ask for #53, a single on the Saint-Germain side with a great night view of the Tour Eiffel. Rooms are small and not elegant, but the location could not be better, in my opinion. You might do a search for Welcome Hôtel on this forum. Others have written about it. If you have any specific questions, ask. Boots