Help me choose Paris hotel...
 

Going to Paris next June for 7 days. This will be my first extended stay (I am a flight attendant and have had layovers there) and it will be my husbands first time in Paris.

I have read the threads pertaining to Paris hotels back a year or so. I have visited the websites of the hotels that are mentioned frequently and have used a map to help with location.

We are looking for a hotel that is on the small side, has Parisian charm(not modern),adequate sized rooms with updated bathrooms-- a shower head that can be fixed to the wall and has a curtain, is within walking distance of a lot of sights, restaurants, and the Seine. We would appreciate a quiet location and a hotel that isn't overrun with small children. Don't need a restaurant except for breakfast.

I have narrowed my focus to the St. Germain area but am wondering if it is terribly crowded with tourists. We could spend up to 450 euros/night.

The hotels I have looked at:

Hotel Bonaparte-rooms look a little plain IMO... location just okay.

Hotel de Fleurie-rooms look nice, great location and nice price.

Hotel Millesime-rooms look okay, shower head looks iffy, price is good.

Hotel duc de St. Simon-rooms look nice, maybe a bit flowery, shower looks good, good location

Hotel Madison-rooms look very plain

Relais St Germain-rooms look nice, maybe a little dark, great location

Hotel de l'Abbaye-charming rooms look a bit flowery

D'Aubusson-rooms look nice, unsure about shower, great location

Esprit St Germain-good location, rooms a bit modern for me

Relais Christine-rooms look nice, though many mention the vast differences between rooms, great location

I have also considered the Pavillon de la Reine which looks and sounds fantastic but I am not sure the location is what we want for this visit.

I would certainly appreciate any comments or suggestions regarding these or any other hotels and knowing whether or not I am on the right track with location.

Thanks

The Madison's rooms are anything but plain! They were all redecorated just 2 years ago and are quite elegant--and if you get one facing the Blvd St-Germain they are large, with excellent bathrooms. The bathtub has a shower curtain, and the hand-held shower can be put in a high wall holder. There's also a handy line for drying wash.

You can read my detailed review of our September 2004 stay on tripadvisor.com if you want more information. I strongly recommend the hotel, given the standard of accommodation and the excellent location.

You might want to consider the Hotel du Danube on the Rue Jacob in the 6th. I stayed there in February and found the hotel charming, the staff helpful and the location good. As I recall, it meets all your criteria.

We are returning in Oct. to the Hotel Pont Royal. (Spent a week there last Oct.) It is within your price range (actually a little cheaper) and answers all your other requirements. In the 7th on the edge of the 6th; you can walk to the Orsay, Louvre, etc. Next door is Joel Robuchon's restaurant.
Hotel has a helpful concierge. Now.... we are, ahem!, "mature" so what appeals to us might seem too sedate for a younger person... But, if you want to investigate do so directly with the hotel via their e-mail address (much better rates). Also, make sure breakfast is included in the rate.

Hotel de Buci is one of the nicer boutique hotels in St. Germain des Pres. With your budget you could even get a double superior room or a suite.

SIMPLE STANDARD
1 queen-size bed 170 to 240 €
DOUBLE STANDARD
1 queen-size bed 195 to 250 €
DOUBLE SUPERIEURE
1 queen-size bed or
2 single beds 215 to 320 €
DOUBLE DELUXE
2 single beds 320 to 400 €
SUITE
2 adults
+ 1 child 399 to 650 €

http://www.hotelbuci.fr/_en/home.html

If you budget is 450 euro a night, no wonder you think some of the budget bargains look "a bit plain"! No kidding.

Sorry that sounded rude. What I meant to say is that if you are looking for a hotel in the 450 euro range, why include places like Bonaparte, which goes for just over 100 euro?

Keep in mind that the Danube does not have a/c.

Two other suggestions for you to check out: Le Ste-Beuve and the Luxembourg Parc, the latter a 4*.

we've stayed in and recommended the Relais St. Sulpice. It's definitely less expensive than your top end, but it's in a great location and very nice.

also well within your price range is the Hotel d'Aubusson, an absolutely lovely hotel with many touches of luxury.

Your hotels are all over the place! No way you could compare the Relais Christine or d'Aubusson with the Bonaparte.

And not only that , these hotels do not have cookie cutter rooms, some will have showers with curtains, or doors or no shower at all, it all depends on what room you get.

We've stayed at several of your choices..d'Aubusson, Millesime, and Madison. I would recommend any of them. We've also stayed at others mentioned on this thread..Danube..we are booked there for our 10th or 11th visit in November for 2 weeks, in our favorite room. I would go back to any of them .

You might also look at the De Angleterre on rue Jacob or the Verneuil , they too would meet your requirements, depending on the room you were assigned,

Please do not bother with Hotel D'Angleterre on Rue Jacob. There are 26 rooms in the hotel and only four (4) are pretty and updated. The two (2) of the four (4) are on their website; hence, the reason for my reservation and willingness to pay Euro 235/night. So, the four (4) out of 26 odds were not good and we fell victim to the bait and switch. This June we were assigned an absolutely ugly room with a broom closet bathroom, questionable housekeeping practices, and no option of switching to anything better. It literally colored our visit to Paris! Pick another hotel!
Anna Roz

That's rather strange, Anna. We've stayed at the d'Angleterre several times over the years, before the renovations and had large rooms with big bathrooms. I did find the public areas and breakfast room lacking but have checked them out in the last few months and found them much improved.

I just recommended it to a friend who will be back next week and will wait for her opinion...and she is VERY fussy!

Jody, the public areas, including the reception and the breakfast room, were not bad. Not memorable in any way, but not bad. Room 19, where we stayed, was unacceptable. Another American couple was also very unhappy about their room and they were staying at the hotel for 13 nights. One would think that the management would have made an effort to please those people, never mind us who stayed only for five (5) nights. Now for a punchline: Euro .30 was added to our final bill for confirming our dinner reservations. We asked the front desk to call and they charged us for it! Certainly not the money, but how small is that? We are not too fussy, but this sort of stuff takes the cake, so to speak.
Anna Roz

This probably won't be much help but I like the Hotel Castex in the Marais. Nice ac rooms, big elevator, great quiet location. Beds were very good. It has modern showers. For a better taste of a real Paris neighboorhood the Hotel de L'Esperance but has old fasioned tub with just eruo shower. Both are below your price range. The l'esperance as i recall had a very nice breakfast. I don't think it is ac.

Thanks to all...the reason for including so many different hotels is that I have read good things about all of them and you just never know...and it would be fantastic to find a hotel that fit the bill for less...

The hotel is an important part of the trip for us and I just want it to be right as I don't know if we will be back...as we want to see the world!!

Hi AnnaRoz, sorry about the horrid room you got at d'Angleterre. My family and I stayed there in Oct. 2002 staying in a deluxe room #44 or #46. It's the room overlooking their patio. We paid in that year 245 euro! The room was a good size and the bathroom had a wooden countertop and porcelain sink. Very pretty but the bathtub faucet was loose and the caulking around was awful. There was some mold still visible. The pillows were flat and smelled nasty as though they were not changed in years.

It's funny that you mention the charge of .30 euro. We asked the clerk to make a restaurant reservation and we were surprised to see them charge us for the phone call! It never happened at any other hotel anywhere.

Also they still implement that old-fashioned procedure of requiring guests to send a personal check (although you can pay by credit card) for one night's deposit and have a very steep cancellation policy.

I see they are now advertising on www.france-hotel-guide.com so I don't know if they are doing as well as before.

Hi PV,

>Hotel Bonaparte-rooms look a little plain IMO... location just okay.<

Location just OK?

Around the corner from St. Sulpice, a few blocks from the Luxembourg gardens, 15 min walk to the D'Orsay, 20 min from Notre Dame, a few blocks from three (3) metro stations,...... :)

I don't think that they have shower curtains in all of the rooms, though.

((I))