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.