Location - Location!
 

We are traveling to London for 6 days and Paris for four days with our 19 and 22 year olds. We would like to know which area in both cities would be the best place to stay. Our price range is between $700-$800 total for two rooms and we want to stay in an area that is convenient to shopping, theatre and museums or close to a tube stop. Just started planning this but we are leaving in the end of May. Please help a confused and overwhelmed, but excited traveler. Much thanks!

Days Inn Waterloo in London is great. Big, modern rooms, friendly staff, close to tube, close to center of town.
YOu can get rooms for 60 pounds a night online.

Can't help with Paris. I'm going there in May and staying near the eiffel but the room is 130 Euros

Do I understand you to mean you want two double rooms for six nights for $700 - $800 -- Total?

If so, you are only budgeting from £30 to £35 per room per night. There are many budget properties - but even the cheapest run much more than £30 per night for doubles. This just isn't a realistic budget. You might be able to get decent 3 star rooms on Priceline for $75 - $80 per night but you'd need two of them so that would be $900 to nearly $1000 in total.

When are you traveling? If it is during term breaks you could possibly get university/college residence halls on a B&B basis for near your budget.

I don't think I made myself clear... $600.00-$700.00 total PER NIGHT. That means spending approximately between 350.00-400.00 per room per night.

HI--I realize we are all adults here, but am I the only person whose delicate sensibilities are offended by the name of one of the above posters?? When I first saw the name on a different thread, I was somewhat aghast. Just now in looking at the agreement w/ the Fodor site, it says there shall be no "vulgar, obscene, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable" content. I guess, IMHO, that I feel that screen name falls into those categories....

You mean that term for the player who makes the opening turn in billiards?

;)

Best wishes

Rex

Rex and Socialworker-

I really do not care what you think of someone's name so please do not use my site to express such opinions. That is not what this site is for. I have seen your names on other sites offering helpful information. If you had a serious travel question, would you want me to reply to you in the same way you did to me. You didn't offer me anything useful or appropriate so please do not bother to reply again. Thank you.

P.S. Ballbuster, thank you for your reply. However, you must have thought that I was crazy when I stated 700.00-800.00 total instead of per night.

..a comment re London..you have quite a big budget which is needed in London! In London, if you can get a good rate I'd suggest 47 Park Street. Nice for a family as a kitchenette, livingroom and dining room. I dont know if 2 bedrooms cheaper than a 2 br suite but you can check. EXCELLENT location in Mayfair and the street is quiet. I have stayed in a one br (not the deluxe just the regular..cant even begin to imagine what the deluxe looks like). fruit basket and breakfast provided. I think worth a call! Otherwise I would use priceline mayfair..I think the high end categories have all good hotels but I am sure someone on the board will correct me if I am wrong. For Paris I would stay in the 1 or 6th arr. I much prefer the 6th but I lived there so a real prjudice..and I like the 6th near the 7th as opposed to near the 5th...lots of good hotels in your price category..Check trip advisor. I like the location of Hotel Duc de St simeon as it right near where I lived..a very quiet understated hotel but I never went in to look at the rooms so check trip advisor..Another really interesting place is Hotel de la Reine (I think I have the name right). Is on Place des voges..I like the area (and my god daughter lives a block away) but I am not sure that this is an area I'd choose for my first visit to Paris..but definitely for a second visit!..good luck!!

Social worker -

I don;t think the poster's name falls under the "obscene or profane" category - although it is - in fact - quite vulgar - or as my grandmother would say "coarse". However, as you know many people now seem to revel in vulgarity - and I believe the days of good manners and wit (except of the three stooges variety) are sadly behind us.

Paci - sorry this is not your board - and almost any thread can be hijacked for any reason - you don;t get to make the rules!

As for hotels in London and Paris - there are many in your price range. If you can provide more info on what you;re looking for (modern with lots of services, small and charming, super trendy) and possible locations (or specific things/neighborhoods - do you want quiet/staid, lively with lots of cafes and nightlife?) - people can make more specific suggestions.

Have you thought about getting an apartment in London? Most are rented by the week, but if you're staying 6 nights you could easily pay the weekly rate and just leave a day early.

You could get some GREAT apartments for the price you're willing to pay, and have a kitchen and living room along with the two bedrooms, two baths.

Two sites I've found helpful:

www.londonguestsuites.com
www.vrbo.com

Gayle

HI Paci--I will take your very curt response as an indication of--as you put it--feeling "confused and overwhelmed" about your trip that is coming up quite soon. I am sorry if you took my need to comment on someone's vulgarity as an offense to your post. Some helpful feedback for you is that your post is vague, w/o details. Since people have to open it to ascertain what your request is, it means that you will not get as many answers as you would hope.

Re: your request--The Hotel Russell in Russell Square is a wonderful large hotel right across from Russell Park and around the corner from a tube stop. It is a beautiful, Edwardian hotel in a lovely neighborhood very close to the British museum and a short ride to the theaters. We were also there in May and the weather was warm bordering on hot, with the long days typical of that time of year. The park was a lovely respite to sit and walk in whenever we would come back to the hotel to change clothes or take a break from touring.

"do not use my site to express such opinions"

what site is your site?

"You didn't offer me anything useful or appropriate so please do not bother to reply again."
they were both very civil to you so what is your problem with their replies?


for someone who has been posting new topics here for a year you have a remarkably strange idea of how forums life works on the internet.

if you want to keep people from replying to your topics you can create your own forum (forumforfree.com) , but i doubt you would have many members interested in joining you.

Paci, this is your previous posting on the same topic

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34561934

ballbuster is a tennis related name, as I am a huge tennis fan. ;)

Now, can we get back on topic and talk about travel???

HI bb--this is the last comment I will make on your screen name. Sorry about my lack of tennis knowledge. It is true that there are other generally pejorative terms used for females in certain other areas of interest, such as dog breeding that are entirely appropriate within that domain. However, if you say them in general use, that is not the first thing that people will think of, but rather will think of the insulting sexist use for the word--just my opinion.

And on your other point, I agree wholeheartedly. Let's get back to travel talk.

Parisperfect.com is a company that rents apts of the highest caliber. This would provide you with some extra space over and above a hotel room. I think all their Paris apts. are in the 7th arr. near the Eiffel Tower. They also have some London apts that look lovely. While they may have a 1 week minimum, as someone else said, you could pay the week and still be within your budget. They might also only charge you the nightly rates if you used their property for both London and Paris.

If you don't want an apt., I'd suggest the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in London. You can make to the theater and Covent Garden, it's near the Holburn tube stop and it's near the law courts and the Law schools so there are lots of students in the area. It's also walkable to the British Museum.

Another idea in Lodnon is the Landmark Hotel. I stayed there on my last trip and was quite impressed. It's not as convenient to the theaters, but it's across from the Marylebone train station(where there are also tubes) and the Baker st. tube. You can walk to Oxford St. and several of the museums.

In Paris, while I love the Raphael which someone else recommended, it's not the location you describe you want. Look at the Plaza Paris Vendome.

Also, I forgot to recommend specific areas. South Kensington is really nice, and I personally like the Victoria area as well. Near the British Museum (Russell Square) can be OK too.

Gayle

Since MK hasn't posted it yet, I'll say it - probably the nicest area in London to stay is Mayfair. And with your budget, you shouldn't have trouble getting rooms at one of the nicer hotels.

Or another great location is the Marriott County Hall - located on the Thames overlooking Big Ben and Pariliament.

For London, we like South Kensington the best. It is convenient to tube stops, charming and near some museums but if you like large, elegent hotels, you might prefer Mayfair. So. Ken. has some lovely and charming boutique hotels.
In Paris we prefer the 6th Arrondisement. We like the ambience. Arrondisements 1-8 are all very convenient to shopping, museums, etc. I get the sense from your post that this may be your first trip to London and Paris. If so, I highly recommend a hotel rather than an apartment. It can be very helpful to have a concierge to assist with directions, reservations, etc.

When I first travelled to Italy last Fall, I received such wonderful and helpful responses from many people without one negative, sarcastic or caustic remark. I am hardly "overwhelmed" or "confused" about our trip. In fact, I have a fairly large list of hotels but sometimes it is nice to hear first hand from others about their experiences. Also, there is nothing vague about my thread- maybe you should read it again. I would never think to be as rude and obnoxious as some of you. Socialworker mentioned that they can hijack anyone's thread, whenever. If you have nothing useful to add to the forum, why bother commenting at all. I never mentioned this was my board but it is my message. I think some of you have too much time on your hands. You are not helpful to those of us requesting info and your verbal volleyball is annoying. Get a Life!

Thank you to leonberger, travelbunny, mclaurie and others for your courteous and much appreciated information.