Inexpensive Hotel/Apartment in Paris
 

My brother and his wife are hoping to go to Paris in the Spring for the first time, likely towards the end of March/beginning of April. They are on a limited budget (ideally around 100 euros/night) and the hotels where we have previously stayed are not in their price range.They are also open to staying in an apartment.

I am hoping for any suggestions for inexpensive gems.

Thanks so much!

No help here, KTravel, but I will watch this post closely. If such a hotel exists, it's going to get popular!

Go on any of the major booking sites - you don't have to book with them, it's just to see what's out there - and plug in your requirements. Looking at my favorite booking site, I found a studio in the Marais for 4 nights in March for $504 total. Taxes, cleaning fees, and such may drive it higher. Like others, I will be anxious to see what they book and how it turned out. Keep us posted.

Apartments are usually cheaper than hotels, and if your family are experienced travelers they would not need the support a front desk offers. I love apartments because I can go crazy in the boulangeries and outdoor markets, bring it all home, and make a feast.

Inexpensive and Pars are almost an oxymoron.
Yes, searching various booking sites is the start. Tell them to study metro and RER lines for better orientation.

Ibis chain?

There may actually be many possibilties. Search on Google Maps for "Hotels Near Paris" and plug in your dates. It's the only way to know for sure. Best to act as far in advance as possible. Even if someone here can give you a rec, chances are small it will be available for your exact dates.

One of my favorite places to visit in Paris is Les Puces de St Ouen, the historic flea market of Paris. It's not really a flea market, but a dozen or so markets plus street vendors, etc. It's a vast, eye-popping area where you can find a suit of armor or an 18th century carriage for sale. Though neither would qualify as a carry-on..... so maybe look for a hotel in that area. Garibaldi metro stop is nearby.

I do know their budget is ridiculously low for Paris but they've had a few terrible setbacks these past few years (house burned down, loss of a job due to the pandemic) and are finally back on their feet so thought I'd throw this out there. They know they will likely have to stay a distance from the center but I figure if they are in a safe area and near a metro stop, they will be OK. I hadn't thought of the Ibis chain so will look into that.

I don't think their budget is ridiculously low. There are lots of people who need/want to be frugal. If they go with the attitude that they are not going to spend a lot of time in their hotel room, then it doesn't matter too much.

I've been to Paris many times, staying in a hotel only once. The rest of the times were with friends who lived all over the place, including near Orly. It's all good.

Here are some hotel prices for that period of time:

https://www.expedia.com/Hotel-Search...dren=&adults=2

I stayed at the 34B Astotel, and loved having b'fast included. Very convenient. The hotel chain is highly-rated and affordable. (For 5 nights in May 2024, I paid 544 Euros with that b'fast; free cancellation up to 1-day before. I had a room with a balcony and mini fridge. Very cute. Smallish, but clean and nice. Also, I found by holding a free-cancellation room, I found the rates would often drop--so worthwhile to check back. There's something called the Astotel "tour" which allows a guest at one Astotel hotel to drop in for a free happy hour and use the washroom at any of their hotels. May be a nice break in the middle of a busy sightseeing day. I definitely took advantage of the happy hour at my OWN hotel, but not at others. Nice of you to solicit help for your family--good luck with the search!
https://en.astotel.com/

Many years ago I stayed at Hotel d’Argenson, a few blocks down from the Nissim Commando museum. I just checked and they have rooms starting as low as 109eu for 2 people. From the photos I can tell that the rooms have been nicely renovated. This price doesn’t include breakfast, but I’d still check it out.

I do think that rate is ridiculously low, at least for Paris proper. Any hotel at that rate will definitely not be a "gem". YEs, you could find something outside Paris. Even the cheapest 1*-2* hotels I know in Paris are more expensive than that during that period, including some hostels (if a private room). I would not recommend some of the things you could find for that rate in some outer parts of Paris. The room will be minuscule, meaning barely larger than the bed, and perhaps no elevator and sketchy cleaning.
And you can usually save about 10 pct if you are willing to accept nonrefundable rates, of course. I would never do that myself.

You could find something like that out near Porte de Pantin probably. The 34B Astotel for example is showing rates of around 150 euro during that time period.

As a tip, hotel rates will likely be cheaper at end of March than if they go into April.

HEre are the cheapest hotels I know in relatively decent areas in Paris proper that could be in that budget.

https://www.hotel-marignan.com/
This is sort of like an adult hostel, but an excellent location. It does have a room close to that rate but gets very booked up. I think the cheapest room won't have a bathroom, you have to use a shared hall one. Which isn't really all that bad, I"ve done that before, because most people have rooms with a bathroom, so it isn't all that busy. If you need to go a lot in middle of night or have some other need, that won't work well.

The Ibis Canal St Martin is their cheapest during that period, it appears and that would be a good choice.

This is a nice 1* hotel and a great location near Gobelins metro, rue de Mouffetard, etc. They do have a double room in that price range without a private bath.
https://www.portroyalhotel.fr/

This is a decent area and appears in that budget. It calls itself a hostel but does have private rooms that look nice.
https://www.leregent.com/

The 2* hotels I know are much more than that, more like 140 euro per night and up. Such as the Familia, the Diana, the Odessa, the Clement, the Daval, the Solar, etc.

It really depends what they are willing to accept in terms of room size and what the room looks like, etc (meaning some really cheap hotels, the rooms are definitely not cosy but kind of bare, just a bed and floor, etc.). Of course if they are willing to go out of Paris, sure, they can find something. I think the Porte de Pantin area would be a good choice. The Ibis out there is cheap enough.

The Adagio Aparthotels even has a few in that price range outside Paris, and the ones near Porte de Pantin (there are two) would be in that budget.

Thank you! I will pass along all of these excellent suggestions.

We stayed at Hotel Chopin in the 9th which was very pleasant and in an interesting location; personable staff. It's not E100 a night but if you stay one week it's E123.21 per night for an economy double or twin room which includes free wifi, tv and private bath - I used March 31st to April 7th as test dates. No breakfast with that rate although they do offer it for E10 per person but you could do better picking up something locally - we found the coffee at a nearby McDonalds surprisingly good and cheap. We loved it there and have thought many times of returning.

There are lots of hotels in Paris unter 100 euros a night. Admittedly some of them are flophouses, but some are fine. In my own neighborhood, hotels cost about 70 euros a night.

kerouac, are there any hotels you can recommend?

As a Parisian, I don't stay in hotels. I do know that the most expensive room at the Hôtel de Torcy is 65 euros -(incl. bathroom and TV).

I stay in apartments that are more expensive than their budget allows but I'll throw an idea out there! One year I stayed in the La Defense area because I was using hotel points and wanted to stretch them to as many nights as possible. The La Defense metro stop is on Line 1 which is handy for sightseeing and takes you to many stations if you need to transfer. There's also RER service to La Defense; while I didn't do any exploring in that area, there is a HUGE shopping center under/adjecent to the metro station with a large supermarket that was handy. It is a business area, so there are a number of hotels. I used a large travel site and plugged in a week in April just to see what's there and found the Residence Mercure Paris La Defense Grand Arche for $119/night; also saw Aparthotel Adagio Access La Defense Leonard de Vinci (apartments w/kitchen) for $101/night. I have no idea about the neighborhood or quality but these are chains that I recognize and staying a bit outside the city center is usually a money saver. Just my two cents!

Thanks, vickiebypass. I will pass this along.

A million years ago I used to stay for many weeks at the Hotel Esmeralda......it was super cheap....curious if it still exists.....???

I need to look it up..probably a lot more than I paid..

There used to be so many places where the bathroom was in the hall on the floor but they were clean and ok......Hotel Stella was another......

I'm just indulging in some memories here......sorry.

Your memories are nice to read about. Yes, I remember heading down the hall to most places where we stayed years ago. Now, I can't imagine not having an ensuite. (Of course, I didn't used to get up in the middle of the night for certain needs, either.) :)

KTravel, what does "ideally around 100 euros/night" really mean? How far can they stretch: 110€? 115€? I suppose how many nights they plan to stay may factor into the equation.

Cosmos Hotel in the 11th used to be a pretty good choice for an ultra-budget hotel in a central location, but I wonder about late March/early April pricing.

Leely2, I am not sure how high they are willing to go. I think they are going to need to increase their budget at least a bit. I'll let them know about the Cosmos.

There are hostels that offer private rooms. Perhaps that could be an option for them, and a bit of an "adventure" as well.

Not a Paris expert, but I still think one of the Astotel Chain hotels might be really nice for them and close to their budget. I spent months last year researching for convenient, comfortable, and cheap hotels, and Astotel kept popping up. Also, rates would drop as I got closer to my stay, so I held only cancelable rooms. [At Astotel 34B, I ultimately paid 544 euros or (at the time) $117/night with b'fast, on a free cancellation room Sun. 5/5-Fri. 5/10. So, I did NOT have a Fri/Sat night, which likely made a difference. But also, this was May, before the summer Olympics.)]

I looked at the last weekend in March (Fri-Tue), and the rates are lowish. The Joke is ranked #24 of Paris hotels on tripadvisor. Hotel George and Hotel Lorette are very close to the Saint-Georges metro. The 34B was also close to metro and bus stop, but so well located, it was enjoyable to just walk to/from many places. (The Louvre was a 10-15 min walk away, and it's Paris, so lovely walking.) Interested to hear what they find, as I hope to return next year!

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a81b4cc8f4.png

Thank you ChgoGal. It's great to hear your enjoyed staying at the 34B. I think those look like excellent options. They are narrowing down their travel dates soon and then will check hotel availability.

FYI, the Saint-Georges Metro is right near rue des Martyrs, one of the great food streets of Paris. An amazing array boulangeries, pattisseries, traitteurs, fromageries, chocolatiers, and markets specializing in fish, meat, truffles, tea, fruits and vegetables. You could have a picnic every day and live like a Parisian.

There is an Ibis Budget at metro Laumière that is usually less than 100 euros. Since it is near the Buttes Chaumont, the Bassin de la Villette and the Parc de la Villette, I consider it to be an excellent location.

Looks like it is 89 euros at the moment.

Ahh, yes, we experienced the Esmeralda several trips ago -- the location was the best as we had huge shuttered windows that opened onro full front view of Notre Dame across the Seine. The lobby was rather interesting, very dark, lots of cats, and had to get to our room by going outside and opening another outer door and racing upstairs hoping the timed lights would not go out before getting there. It was quite huge with large tubbed bathroom, a kitchen and a bedroom with ancient stone wall behind the bed. We'll have to walk around behind Shakespeare & Co and check if still there when we arrive in few weeks. But DH reminds me to this day that I picked it. Ahh. We were young.

I note that in my favorite Paris guidebook, The Collected Traveler, Hotel Chopin and des Grand Ecoles are mentioned as budget choices, the Grand Ecole being in the 5th, Chopin in 9th, also des Grand Hommes in 5th, and St. Thomas d'Acquin in 7th.

Hotel des Grandes Ecoles is no longer a secret and no longer cheap. Sounds like old info, though everythting is relative...

Thank you for all of the suggestions. They have found an apartment in the 17th that they are happy with. It looks adequate (no charm but gets good reviews and walking distance to the Metro.) Merci!

It would be quite difficult inside the Paris city limits to find any address that is not easy "walking distance" to the metro.