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Hotel Recommendaton for Paris First Timer

My wife and I will be visiting Paris for the first time this spring. Any advice on specific hotels to book (or avoid). We're not looking for anything fancy --- something clean, safe, and relatively inexpensive. Any comments from you Paris veterans would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Order the latest edition of Fodor's Rivages "Hotels of Character and Charm in Paris". This is put out by their Paris subsidiary. It has excellent descriptions with pictures. I have not gone wrong with any hotel that I have selected from this book. Also call direct to check on space and confirm it by fax. This saves a lot of time since the best hotels, which only have a few rooms, are often booked. Language is not a problem. L'Abbaye Saint-Germain is a lovely hotel in the 6th. The 5th,6th and 7th arr. are locations we like. The Le Relais du Louvre in the 1st is an interesting location. To save money try the Hotel du Champ de Mars in the 7th. The Hotel Parc Saint-Severin in the 5th is nice particularly if you book the room on the top floor with a lovely terrace. However, buy the book as it is fun to look through. I have found the rates listed to be accurate.

Tony, Hotels on the left bank (Rive Gauche) are usually in close proximity to major tourist sites and considerably less expensive than hotels on the right bank (Rive Droit). To find comparably priced hotels on the Right Bank entails moving away from the major tourist sites. I've been recommending a hotel on the left bank to tourists for six months or so and have received positive and favorable feedback upon their return. Access the website: www.paris-hotel.com. Click on the American flag and you'll be brought to a screen with a primitive map of Paris. Click on the orange portion of the screen (No. 3) and you'll be brought to a more detailed map of the area. Scroll down past the map and click on hotel No. 6, Hotel Muguet, 11 rue Chevert. You'll get some photos of the hotel interior and if you scroll, its current rates: 500FF ($83.17) for a single, 740FF (about $125.00) for a triple. Now, access the website: www.paris.org/hotels/ and click on the letter "M". Scroll down the list of hotels, almost to the bottom, and click on Hotel Muguet and then scroll down for the comments of satisfied clients of the hotel. Hotel Muguet is located on rue Chevert, a short street that runs between Les Invalides (where Napoleon is entombed) and the Parc du Champs de Mars, the park at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. It's a safe neighborhood, part residential, and part townhouses converted to hotels, with restaurants and shops in close proximity. You can "shop around" on both hotel websites to see if you can find accommodations at less cost. I'd suggest you restrict yourself to the 5th, 6th or 7th arrondisements. (These are the city "wards" that are located on the left bank in the area between the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, where any accommodations will be relatively close to major attractions.)

I still suggest that you buy the Fodor's book I recommended above for two reasons: 1. To help pay for this forum. 2. It is an outstanding guide on Paris hotels. It is only $12.80 on the Web and you can have in 24hours for less than $20. Peanuts compared to the price of a trip to Paris. This what they have to say about the Hotel Muguet mention in the previous posting based the 1997 edition. The new 1998 edition is now out. Muguet 11,rue Chevert 75007 Paris Tel 01*47 05 05 93 - Fax 01*45 50 25 37 Mmme Pelletier Category ** Rooms 45 with bath or shower, WC, telephone, TV, 6th etage air -conditioned -3 for disabled person. Pice Single 410F, double 430-650F. Meals Breakfasst 40F, served 7:00-11:00. Credit cards Visa, Eurocard, MasterCard, Amex. Pets Dogs allowed. Facilities Elevator, patio, Parking Invalides (300m) How to get there Bus: 28,49,69,80,82,87,92-Metro: Ecole Militaire. Open All year. Muguet means lily-of-the-valley, which is traditionally given in France on May 1st as a token of good luck. And you're in luck if you're looking for a lovely, small, well-run hotel. Here you'll find immaculate bedrooms, freshly renovated and decoraated with beautiful fabrics and period furniture. Each as a beautful bathroom with floor-to-ceiling tiles, highlighted by an elegant freize in enameled terra cotta. Among the rooms on the street, Numbers 52, 53, and 62 have a view of the Eiffel Tower: on the other side, Numbers 63 and 64 look out over the Invalides and its shining gold dome. Whatever their view, the rooms are quiet. In good weaather, you can hear the song of a pair of canaries in their sunny cage on the patio, where tables are set out for bucolic breakfasts amid the fern, pansies and magnolias, In less temperate time, the small dining room is where breafast is served, with it homey buffet in rustic cherrywoo, Chinese vases, and Impressionist-style paintings that Madame Pelletier collects. With these types of hotels and room rates you are most apt to find them booked when you want to be in Paris. Thus you need to try more than one to find a room when you want it and sometimes you will have to take a lesser choice. Early spring is however less crowded. Good luck.

Tony: I second the endorsement of the Fodors guide mentioned previously. I chose the Hotel Du Danube in the 6th from it and cross referenced the hotel on numerous websites to confirm my choice. Am paying $191.00/night for suite with 2 bedrooms and full bath overlooking courtyard. I am travelling with 16 yr.old daughter and 70ish mother so we need comforatble space as we are staying 8 nights. Again- the fodors guide is an excellent starting point.

Thanks for all the great recommendations. We've found out that these hotels have to be booked WELL IN ADVANCE. We have been able to secure a double at Hotel deFrance Invalides in the 7eme. It had positive comments on the web sites you mentioned. Anybody know of this hotel?

We also would recommend the Hotel de Champs du Mars in the 7th. Stayed there over New Year's and it was great especially with the Rue Cler street Market right around the corner.

We stay at the Delhy Hotel, rue l'Hirondelle. It's on a pedestrian street just off the Blvd St Michel near the river and about 30 yds from the RER and metro stop. English is spoken; the owners (appears to be cousins/brothers/sisters combo) are very nice. Rooms are clean, beds comfortable. Toilet down the hall, but some double rooms come with a shower/sink room in the room. Breakfast included (usual 'continental', but with orange juice). It's definitely not fancy (mismatched furniture). http://www.franceway.com/hotels/delhys/ One of their relatives owns a hotel off Blvd Ste Germaine, so if the Delhy is full, they'll refer you there.

I just got back from Paris two days ago (my first trip there)and couldn't imagine a nicer place to stay for under $100 than the Grand Hotel Leveque on Rue Cler in the 7th. The hotel is on a street that has a daily open market with fish stands, cheese, vegetables, etc. You can get up early and sit at a cafe with your morning coffee and watch the market set up. The hotel is a few blocks from the metro, a block from the post office, has a place to change money right across the street, and has English -speaking staff.