Also, did I read somewhere that they have a 'main building' and an 'annexe'?

On their website, it looks like they have a group of buildings, but it's hard to figure out their placement.

It's great to hear that all of the rooms might have some sort of a view... I just don't want to be looking out at the back of another building or something horrible.

There are three buildings at the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles. The one you want is the building across from the main building. The rooms are larger than those in the main building. I don't know what the rooms are like in the third building. I stayed in the building across from the main building and can't remember if there are rooms only on 1 side of the building which would give everyone a view. I tend to think there are rooms on both sides. The third building is very small and is the first building as you enter the grounds.

The hotel is lovely. In October they will probably serve breakfast only in the dining room. When I went (June) everyone was eating in the garden. Mme would come out every morning and say "bonjour" to everyone. A couple of times we brought food back and sat at a table and had a picnic in the evening, but it stayed light very late in June.

There's a security door that locks at night with a security key (one of those little plastic things that you put up against a sensor) and a night concierge.

I'm glad you decided on this hotel, despite the floral wallpaper. Did anyone mention the crocheted coverlet on the bed? The bathrooms are plain, no frufru there, and the tubs are deep. And there two large cupboards.

There's lots of nightlife in the area at place de la Contrascarpe - you can sit in a cafe and have a late night glass of wine or a hot chocolate and watch everyone else doing the same.

adrienne - thank you so much! That is incredibly helpful... now I feel like I can be more specific in my request.

It's funny... I've always wanted to stay at the Grandes Ecoles (especially after staying in Paris for a month and seeing how vibrant that area is), but I assumed my boyfriend would be turned off by the frills. It turns out that's what he expected Paris to be like, so he was kind of disappointed when I brought up the other more modern hotels.

Just off Place de la Contrascarpe is one of our favorite places in Paris

http://epoque-restaurant.com/

djkbooks - I'm so hungry now.

adrienne - thank you again. I've just emailed my friend in Paris about translating my request for a garden annex room with garden view into French. I'm hoping my specificity, impeccable French and offer to pay a little more will result in a guaranteed view.

If not, I may switch to analogue's suggestion of the Eldorado... at least I can guarantee a view and a great price there.

You did check the location of the Eldorado, correct?

... and no TV or elevator, and Tripadvisor review (June) mentions construction on the outside of the bldg.

It's definitely not ideal, but if I can request a garden view (which was apparently not affected in the construction), the location wouldn't be as much of a problem. TV is no issue... we don't watch it on vacation.

I wanted to let everyone know what happened with the infamous Hotel des Grandes Ecoles garden view dilemma:

A French friend of mine was kind enough to translate a message that basically said, "Thank you for confirming my reservation. Is it possible to have a garden view? I would be willing to pay more if it's required." Here's her email in case it helps anyone:

"Je vous remercie de bien vouloir me confirmer ma réservation. J'aurais aimé si possible réserver une chambre avec vue sur jardin. Nous sommes prêts même à payer un peu plus pour être certain de réserver la meilleure chambre avec vue sur jardin. Nous vous en remercions par avance. Veuillez, madame, monsieur, agréer nos sentiments respectueux."

The HdGE wrote back almost immediately (in French) saying that I have a garden view, but it is a small room. If they get any cancellations, they'll upgrade me to one of the nicer, larger rooms for 128 or 138 euros, depending on which one becomes available. (I translated it using Babelfish)

So it's all settled! I'm so grateful to my friend... I think writing in French made a huge difference.

Darn! I knew should have had my hubbie who is fluent in French write for me! :-)

I wrote, in English, when I was concerned about my room with an "alley" view. Their reply was this,
"The room available is a pretty one in our main building.
Usually our guests likte it. We will try anyway to change into a garden building..."

Glad you are happy with your reservation. I will be there in early October so I may be able to report back before you go.

That would be great, Kristina! We'll be at the HdGE on our anniversary, so of course the trickiest hotel is also the most important in our trip.

Have a great time in October (and save some nice weather for us). ;-)

Hi Slangevar ( Snake Danger!)
We stayed at Hotel des Grandes Ecoles this past May and booked three/four months in advance to get a ground floor room off the garden.
It certainly is a delightful hotel - I wrote about it in my trip report and included quite a few photos.
(Click on my name to bring the report up).
You will have a lovely stay - I thought it the absolutely nicest hotel I have ever stayed in while visiting Paris!

Take a look at the Hotel Cujas Pantheon. They have a web site. We have stayed there every time we have gone to Paris. It is within walking distance of a lot of the Paris sights. My only suggestion is..... do not take the breakfast. You can do much better down the street at one of the small cafes. The rooms are very clean and the baths quite nice.

Also do not stay on the top floor. Because of the roof slope, some of those rooms have a slanted ceiling and very low in spots. There is an elevator and the place is quite pleasant, good neighborhood. It is close to the metro and Luxembourg Gardens and what more could you ask for ?

Tod! I've been meaning to thank you for ages for your cafe suggestions last year.

I must've gone back to that little cafe on the slanting steps of Rue Des Barres a dozen times. I even introduced a French friend of mine to it and told her it was from a "Fodors friend." :-)

Thank you for the reassurance on the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles... my boyfriend and I will be there on our anniversary, so I really wanted a special hotel. And if you're recommending it, it has to be great.

UPDATE: After telling a friend about my hotel saga, she sent me this link, which features most of the great hotels mentioned on this thread, as well as a bunch of new chic budget hotels I hadn't heard of:

http://gridskipper.com/60660/top-pic...c-paris-hotels

She also sent this link for people willing to spend a bit more for something unique and stylish:

http://gridskipper.com/65988/excelle...paris#pointmap

Just wanted to share the info!

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Hi everyone! We just returned from our fantastic trip to Europe, and I wanted to post an update on this thread.

We wound up having to stay at 2 hotels after all, since we added a day to our trip. The two hotels that won were:

HOTEL ELDORADO in Montmartre (70 euros/night, not including breakfast)

HOTEL DES GRANDES ECOLES in the 5th (113 euros, not including breakfast)

Both were fantastic, and here are the details:

HOTEL ELDORADO
We LOVED this place - it was exactly what we were looking for. It's in a hipsterish part of Montmartre that I hadn't seen before; walking distance to the Sacre Coeur. The hotel is attached to a fantastic restaurant, part of which is open until midnight and located in a subterranean wine cellar. Great food and wine for reasonable prices, and I swear that we were surrounded by French celebrities.

To get to the rooms, you walk through the restaurant, through a garden courtyard and into another building that's wonderfully kitschy - multi-colored tiled floors, vintage chandeliers, etc. The room (room 1) was great - it had an en-suite bathroom with shower and had two big windows that opened onto the courtyard. Decor was kitschy, eccentric and fun... sort of shabby chic. Walls are a bit thin, but we loved it and plan to stay there again.

HOTEL DES GRANDES ECOLES
As everyone says, the gardens here are incredible for Paris, and the location can't be beat. Unfortunately, our first night here was still a disaster. They put us in a ground floor room next to reception & the breakfast room (room 2). The bed was incredibly small and uncomfortable and the breakfast crowd woke us at 6 am.

To their credit, they handled the situation beautifully and quickly moved us upstairs to a much more comfortable room (room 109). Although a bit flowery & lacy for our taste, it had two huge windows that opened onto a garden and the courtyard, and the bed was MUCH softer. The service was impeccible, so if you can get a room in one of the other buildings or the 1st floor (i.e. American 2nd floor), do it. It's a great value, great location, and really beautiful surroundings.

So thanks to everyone for your help - the two hotels were perfect and made our Paris trip!

So fun to read this thread :) As I read the first post, I would never have recommended Eldorado (I LOVE it, stayed there last year) as I thought that it would not fit slangevar's standard requirement.

So glad you enjoyed your stay, even though your first night at the ecoles was a disaster.