My husband and I are gong to Paris for 3 nights in June. We have both been there before and don't need to focus on sightseeing. I want to be near the department stores which I believe is the 8th. Can anyone recommend some nice hotels? I would like something around a 4 star.
Thanks!

Alot of nice deluxe hotels are in the 8th district. What about Plaza Athenee? Also a bit less in cost than the Plaza Athenee but high in quality is Le Tremoile. The Vernet and San Regis are other ones to look into also.

I can recommend the Napoleon:

http://www.hotelnapoleonparis.com/

We stayed there in September 2003. We had a junior suite. Everything was perfect. However, I would recommend avoiding the bar - excessive price for a G&T and an absolutely foul glass of wine.

If you want something cheaper, I stayed at Powers Hotel in December and thought it excellent value for the price and preferred the location over the Napoleon. It?s a bit faded, but I was given an enormous and comfortable room .

http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll...910019075&

That having been said, I only stayed in the Napoleon because my husband wanted to stay close the Arc de Triomphe, and this was HIS treat, and Powers because I was on a business call and it was close to the client's office. Personally, I don?t like the area at all.

Would you consider the 1st Arr?

Regards .. Ger

I can't recommend any hotels from personal experience as I don't stay in that level or that area, but FYI the dept. stores are in the 9th, not the 8th, not far from the Garnier Opera building, near Havre Caumartin metro stop. At least a couple of the big ones -- Galeries Lafayette and Printemps. Samarataine and BHV are actually more over towards the Louvre. There are a lot of expensive designer shops/boutiques in the 8th, however, but not big dept. stores. They aren't far from the eastern border of the 8th, so if you had a hotel around the Madeleine area, which a lot of people like, you'd be very near them. There are some nice hotels around there, I believe, and that is a pretty central location. I think the Lancaster Hotel in the 8th has always sounded very attractive to me (it's on rue de Berri, though). It's not cheap, of course.

I recently visited the George V (Four Seasons) on Ave. George V just south of the Champs Elysees. Very impressive, especially the floral arrangements.

I have previously stayed at the Intercontinental on Castiglioni and enjoyed it very much. You may also be able to find a good deal here.

Good luck!

We stayed at the Marriott on Champs Elysees. It was lovely and the location couldn't have been better.

The Lancaster is very good, as is the fairly new Sofitel Le Faubourg.

Le Grand Hotel InterContinental (not the same as the InterContinental Iregeo mentions I don't think)in the 1er on Rue Scribe across from the Garnier Opera House has recently been redone.

In the 8th, the Hotel Raphael on Ave Kleber near L'Etoile is first rate elegant.

Correction, the Raphael is in the 16th district-not the 8th.

Yes, francophile is correct. The Raphel is in the 16th. Wanted to mention cparris has just posted a trip report titled Just back from London and Paris. She stayed at Le Grand Hotel IntrContinental & mentions it's 1 block to Galleries Lafayette & how much they liked it.

panzanö: Your post would indicate that you think the major department stores are on/near the Champs Elysées, but they're not. There are stores on the Champs Elysées, but they are not department stores and are really mostly big American-type chain stores.

I personally think the Champs Elysées itself is one of the biggest downers in Paris, but there are lovely hotels nearby it. If you want to be near the department stores, however, you need to be near the Boulevard Haussman in the 9th or near the Louvre in the 1st.

Thank you all so much for your input. It looks like I was mistaken on wanting to be in the 8th to shop. I will look at everyones hotel suggestions.

panzano

<< Can anyone recommend some nice hotels? I would like something around a 4 star. >>

The Paris Marriot is four-star. I stayed there in March and can recommend it.

I took at Pages Jaunes to have a look at the exterior of a few hotels located in the 8th district. Of course, the hotels themselves look nice, but the surroundings look a bit unattractive. The streets don't look as "charming" as the left bank's. The same thing for the area around the Raphael-the area doesn't look interesting. Maybe I am wrong and looks are deceiving.

I meant "I took a look at..."