(I'm reposting/rephrasing in hopes of more replies)

My brother is going to Paris with his girlfriend for Valentine's Day, and is dithering between two hotels: a charming, romantic one in Montmartre, and a basic, generic one in the 5th arrondissement.

They're similar in price and size, so what would you go for? The charm of a hotel, or its convenient location?

Which part of Montmartre? There are sections there that are best avoided.

i think the location of montmarte is superior to the 5th, anyway.

I don't think you're giving up anything by being in Montmarte. Which hotels -- do you have the links?

Sure do:

He's narrowed it down to l'hotel Ermitage in Montmartre, which you can see here:

http://www.ermitagesacrecoeur.fr/

And the much more central, but possibly less special Hotel California, which is here:

www.california-paris-hotel.com/index.html

L'Ermitage has gotten many rave reviews, but it's near the end of the 12 line and is about a ten minute walk (uphill) from the metro station. And they're going in February...

Whereas the California is right in the middle of everything.

I think it's a good enough area of Montmartre, though, close to Sacre Coeur but not in the touristy part.

Thoughts?

Hi imelda,

The Hermitage looks very nice.

Have your brother look up the address at www.mappy.com

It is about 200 m from the funicular. The bottom of the funicular is about 200 m from the Abesses Metro stop.

Also, the Montmartrobus from Pigalle stops in front of Sacre Coeur, about 100 m from the hotel.

I don't think the California is all that bad, but for Valentine's Day, I'd go with the Hermitage.

Montmartre might be bit further from main sites, while in the 5th you could possibly have shortish walk to Seine, Notre Dame, Ile St Louis, Luxembourg Gardens, St Germain blvd. Have they been to Paris before?

I'm curious why that particular hotel, there's so many in the 5th in that price range.

I would go for convenient location (which I consider the 5th) but look for a more charming hotel.

Are they getting that promotional 90E/night rate for the Hotel California? If so, that's a really good price, and I'd be tempted to take it.

An uphill 10 minute walk in February may be unpleasant if they're not used to the cold. If the walk itself is pretty and/or otherwise interesting and they're accustomed to cold weather, then I wouldn't consider the Montmarte location disadvantaged.

We stayed next door at the Moderne Sant Germaine and the are a perfect to walk around. You look up the street and you see the Pantheon. Two blocks down is Notre Dame. You can walk along the Seine at night or into Ile St Louis. But the Hotel looks like the one we stayed at...generic and no charm, but functional.

ttt

You can up the 'charm' in a room by adding a bouquet of flowers and some candles, a bottle of bubbly and a nice bubblybath.

Travelnut--good point, lol.

As it turns out, after all this (and more), my brother went with another hotel. Go figure.

But thanks anyway for the help!

Well, you surely know that we want to know which one 'won'.