rmh

My sister &amp; I are planning our first trip to Paris at the end of March and are trying to decide between these two hotels. We are looking for something in the moderate price range but nice and both of these hotels seem nice in looking at the websites and previous comments. I would appreciate your recommendations in trying to decide between the two. Thanks in advance for your assistance.<BR><BR>RMH

oldorch

we stayed at grande ecoles earlier in the year. for the price i thought it was worth it. very small rooms and small breakfast area. location was great and i would go back.(other than sleeping, we spent about 15 mins a day in the room) i don't think you can go wrong for the price and location.

Rosa

Rmh, you are lucky. We stayed in both places so I can help you. Lets' put this way. We are returning to Hotel des Grandes Ecoles

rmh

thanks for your help. this is the first step in planning this trip -- so I do appreciate your input. RMH

Diane Mac

The Hotel des Grandes Ecoles is very popular and books up way in advance so you need to see if they have space right away. You can reserve through their website.

gen

We have stayed at both of these places, also. You can't go wrong with either. If I had to pick, I would say I liked the Grandes Ecoles a bit better. BUT the Muguet is near the Eiffel Tower and every evening during our stay we strolled home past it and watched it twinkle and were entranced. I liked the location of the Grandes Ecole, also. Close to the Seine and the islands. You would be happy with either choice.

Paula

rmh, I highly recommend L'Hotel des Grandes Ecoles. My husband and I have stayed there twice, most recently in Sept/Oct02 for 2 weeks. HDGE is a lovely hotel that offers excellent value. While &quot;some&quot; rooms are very small, others are large by Paris standards. The rooms in the &quot;Garden Building&quot; are generally larger than those in the &quot;Reception Building&quot;. The HDGE website indicates the dates on which they will accept reservations for the coming months. If you are interested in staying there, I highly recommend reserving the moment that they allow as they do book up very quickly.<BR><BR>Have a great trip!

Howard

Another solid endorsement for the Grandes Ecoles. We stayed there for 2 weeks in May and loved it. There are 3 buildings. Request a room in either of the ones that are NOT where the reception area is. Those rooms are smaller.

b

I haven't stayed at Grandes Ecoles, but have seen many favorable appends for it. I have stayed at Muguet so I'll give you a little input on it.<BR><BR>I found it very tastefully done. The rooms are small, a little larger than a cruise ship room, but we didn't feel that we needed more space. The quality I would equate to that of Marriott. Very clean, and the furnishings look nearly new. The bathroom, at least in my room, did not have a tub, just a shower stall with excellent water pressure. The bathroom was surgically clean. One of the cleanest bathrooms I've ever seen. Really amazing. From the 4th floor up, in rooms numbers ending in 1, 2 or 3, you have a nice view of the Eiffel tower. You're so close that the view is really pretty good. <BR><BR>The neighborhood is very quiet which makes for great sleeping. I never had my sleep disturbed by street noises. The staff I found to be very friendly, but then I didn't interact much with them other than leaving in the morning and returning at night (by the way, they lock the front door at 1am or so, so alert them if you are coming back in later than that). There are two metros very close by, with the Tourburg (sp) being a little closer. <BR><BR>There aren't many cafes close by. Only Eiffel, Rodin, and Invalides are close by, but then the metro is so close and efficient if you don't feel like a 15 to 30 minute walk in the morning to get to other sites.<BR><BR>The only negative I would have is that in the evening it is VERY quiet. If you're looking for a lively cafe or bar scene right outside of your room, this isn't the place. I picked Muguet specifically for this, because I am a light sleeper.<BR><BR>One thing I really enjoyed about Muguet though is that every night we strolled by Eiffel and many nights Arc de Triumphe since they were pretty close. <BR><BR>I doubt you'll go wrong with either hotel, just book early (months in advance).<BR>