I had a very bad experience booking a recommended London hotel. I booked over the Internet. The hotel provided a picture. Everything looked fine. It was a dump beyond belief. Unfortunately, I had booked for two other couples. They were very gracious; we had to spend the first night there, but we spent the whole first afternoon looking for another place. Again, it looked very good on the Internet, but two girls from Sweden were sitting in the "lobby" crying, because they had booked the same way, but through an agency and could not get their money back. Now I am looking at the Hotel Muguet in Paris for Thanksgiving. I did a search, and it was recommended by other Fodors users. Will someone please make me feel confident about this? Are there any other recommendations for under $100 that did not appear in my search?

Hotel Muguet is supposed to be a good hotel as it has been recommended many times at this forum. Other recommendations are Hotel Leveque (I stayed there in May) and Champs de Mars. You won't go wrong in any of those. There is a discussion on Champs de Mars and if you do a search, you'll find comments on the other hotels.

I stayed at the Muguet and liked it. I recommended the hotel to friends and they liked it. I have recommended it on this forum and got good feedback. I loved the neighborhood, the staff is courteous, the rooms are comfortable, the breakfast is good. You can walk to two metro stations, to the Eiffel Tower, the Musee Rodin is very close (behind street?), great restaurants, very convenient post office, parking garage, etc, etc...

Marty, we stayed at the Hotel Muguet in September (on Maira's recommendation, thanks Maira!). It was located very close to the metro (Latour Maubourg), we walked with our luggage from the metro. The room was nicely decorated and clean, had a hair dryer and air conditioning. It was a great relief as we also had a terrible hotel in London (the Stuart Hotel by the way, you might post the name of the hotel you were in as a caution to other travelers). The room we had was a very small double but the desk clerk indicated that they would move us to a larger room the next day, however, we didn't care to repack. If you email them for a reservation, request a larger room, it should be the same price. The neighborhood around the hotel was a residential neighborhood so it was very quiet at night. It was within walking distance of Musee Rodin and Invalides and we walked from the hotel to the Champs Elysses and to the Musee d'Orsay (15-20 minute walk). I think this was a good value for the price. If you're looking to stay in a bustling neighborhood, this isn't the hotel for you but it was so close to the metro that it didn't really matter to us.

We stayed at the Muguet in Paris and highly reccomend it. It is very clean and comfortable. As others have said, the neighborhood is quite residential but also in a great central location - blocks from Eifel Tower and Roudin. We walked nearly everywhere from the hotel and enjoyed the feeling like a resident of Paris. In a four week trip to Europe this was by far the best hotel deal we found.

Thank you, everybody. My mind is at ease! I will book rooms with Hotel Muguet, and hope for the airfare price that we are looking for. By the way, the hotel we booked in London that was horrific was the Carlyle. It was not recommended by anyone on the forum. The recommendation was from HotelUK.

To the top for Sharon. Hope this past info still helps. Recommend you do a seach by Muguet. Lots of info on the hotel and the neighborhood.

Here are some specifics. I hope it helps. <BR>MUGUET: 11, rue Chevert. Tel: 0147050593. Fax: 0145502537. <BR>Web site: http://www.hotelmuguet.com/ <BR>E-mail: [email protected] (45 rms., all w/toilet & bath or shower.) 530F/81EUR single; 575F/88EUR (double bed)-615F/94EUR (2 twin beds); 810F/123EUR triple. Air-conditioned. Breakfast (6:30-10am) at 50F pp can be served in the room & in the garden in warm weather. Visa, MC, AX. English spoken, cable TV w/CNN, wonderful country-style charming hotel w/nicely furnished carpeted modern rms., #19 (large rm. w/double bed) at 575F; 52, 51 (both large rms. w/views of Eiffel Tower & #53 (view of Invalides) have balconies; #54 has view of the Invalides; #62, 61 (both w/ceiling windows & views of Eiffel Tower) & 63 (ceiling window w/view of Invalides) are all large attic rms. w/double beds & large bathrooms; #11 (large rm. faces front) & 14 (small rm.) both w/2 twin beds at 615F for a double & 810F for a triple; rooms for triple either have 3 twin beds or 1 double bed & 1 twin bed; soundproofed, hair driers, landscaped sunny patio, elevator, which only goes to the 5th flr., 6 flrs. Owned/managed by Catherine Pelletier. Métro: École Militaire. <BR> <BR>

Joan- there is a parking lot under the explanade in front of Napoleon' Thomb (Military Museum) within walking distance of the Muguet. Obviously with elderly parents, I would drop them first at the hotel and then hed out to park. There isn't much of a need for a car while in Paris; there are two metro stations near the Muguet. Two worthy mentions for restaurants; Le Florimond around the corner on Av. de La Motte Picquet and Le Nuit de St.Jean on Rue Surcouf, just off the Rue Cler (per a kind Fodorite who shared). On La Motte Picquet there are a number of great bistros. Rue Chevert is lined with apartments and travel agencies; difficult for parking during the day, a little easier at night. very quiet at night. The staff is very helpful.

Maira, Thanks for the info. I feel reassured this will be a good spot for us. Joan

We just stayed at the Hotel Muguet on July 3 and it is still great. We had a large room on the 1st floor (or 2nd in US) with a king size bed, and two twins in an alcove for my children for 760 francs a night. Breakfast was a bit expensive per person at 42 francs. It did have a good selection of food, but breakfast for at $28 is a bit steep. It is an easy walk to the Rue Cler for fruit, pastry, and those great crepes. You love the Muguet.