Hello!

I would love some hotel suggestions for the St. Germain area of Paris for July. I am looking for a 2 or 3 star hotel, in the $150-$180 range. I am looking for a hotel that is central to the sites, near charming cafes, shopping, restaurants, etc.

I have it narrowed down to 3 hotels, but not entirely sold on any one of them, so am open to suggestions! If you have any comments on these 3 hotels or any others, I would love it.
1-Best Western Aramis Hotel Saint Germain
2-Hotel Bonaparte
3-Hotel Clement

I also looked at the "Paris Hotels Left Bank" thread in this forum....

Thank you!

Did you try any of the "St. Germain area" hotel threads?

http://www.fodors.com/search/results...Germain+hotels

Or "Paris Left bank Hotels" thread.

HI-

Thank you so much for the info. Yes, I looked at both of those threads, but unfortunately many of the hotels listed are out of my price range.
Does anyone have any comments on the 3 hotels I mentioned above or any other suggestions?

Thank you so much!!

I don't but good luck. I'm sure pretty soon there'll be lots of responses.

Forgot to add I am going in late July, so would also like the hotel to have air conditioning!

I have stayed at Hotel Bonaparte.

Good: price, location (next to Saint Sulpice and across a narrow street from Pierre Hermé Macarons shop-oh my,) front desk help, quiet (I asked for a quiet room away from the busy Rue Bonaparte), AC, prompt email replies, surprisingly comfortable bed.

Bad: I did not stay in the room featured in their web site, and the room had absolutely no charm. It was like a large, dark dorm room with a squeaky closet. The restroom separate from the shower was so small I had to sit down before I could close the door. If you want to take shower more than once a day, ration a small packet of shampoo or bring your own.

Thank you so much for the info! Has anyone stayed at the Best Western Aramis Saint Germain or Hotel Clement? Or any other reasonably priced hotels with a/c in the St. germain area?

Thank you!!

Hotel St. Jacques is in the 5th but close enough to St. Germain to walk there. They recently put in AC. I love this hotel and usually stay at it when in Paris.

Based on comments on this site, I'm trying the Hotel Clement in May.

I stayed at the Hotel Bonaparte two years ago with several friends, only one of the three rooms had any charm at all.

My friends had a separate toilet so small they could not use it with the door closed! A friend traveling single switched with them.

Two years ago wifi was only available in the lounge. That may have changed.

The public areas were shabby, can't understand why they don't do some basic painting and plastering.

OTH, I agree with all of greg's pluses and would add that breakfast was reasonably priced although basic but oj and yogurts could be ordered for a supplement. And, large, free umbrellas on loan.

Not that it helps anybody, but I'll be staying at the Clement with my wife in mid-June.

I'll tell you about it when we get back.

I stayed at Hotel Bonaparte several years ago. Location was very good; very accessible to everything. Although room lacked any character; it really did not seem to me that it was as negative as several of these comments suggest. Our bathroom was OK in size. And I generally look at the accomodations as being only someplace to sleep; so I don't need anything more than that. I'd go back. Staff was helpful; and breakfast was provided (rolls, cheese, coffee).

Thanks for the feedback! Has anyone stayed at the Best Western Aramis Saint Germain?

no, but I know where it is and would not recommend it from that viewpoint. It isn't in what most people even think of as St Germain, although I suppose technically it is. But it's on very busy rue de Rennes, a major street. Not only is it potentially very noisy in that regard (and no charm, of course), it isn't really that close to the cafes, etc that you probably want by deciding to stay in St Germain. It's just past rue Vaugirard on rue de Rennes and is really closer to Montparnasse, although it doesn't have any particular character of any neighborhood b ecause it's on that major street.

It may be a nice enough hotel and is convenient enough to transportation (very near the St Placide metro stop and buses run along that street), but if you just look at a map you can see that location isn't really in what people call St Germain (meaning the epicenter around Mabillon/Odeon metros).

But if you have a great deal and don't mind these issues, it should be fine. Yes, it is "near" to what you wanted, but there aren't great cafes on rue de Rennes, actually, it's just too busy a thoroughfare and stores are built right out to the sidewalk. There are a few corner cafes, of course (but not charming ones that I can recall). That location is near FNAC and some good luggage shops and a money exchange, although no one uses them anymore. Lots of discount stores along the sidewalk. One advantage is that it is close to Montparnasse, also, so you can just walk a block or two south and get all of those cafes and restaurants in a fairly short distance. I would want to make sure I got a room off the street as it will be noisy with all that traffic.

That is great info Christina-thanks! I am now leaning towards the Hotel Clement based on the location, price, fodorites comments, TA reviews, etc. Anyone have any more comments regarding the Hotel Clement?

Thank you!!

One resource that will help you is Tripadvisor, where you can see some of the reviews on hotels.

Have you checked Hotel du Luxembourg?? Right off Luxembourg Gardens, and around the corner from the fantastic Les Papilles. Polidor also a great old, old Paris choice (restaurants).

Aliced-Are you talking about the Hotel du Luxembourg Parc? It looks beautiful, but it's $300 a night, way out of my budget. Thanks anyway!!

Les Papilles is a very good restaurant. Do eat there if you have the chance.

Not charming, but a hotel with a very lovely staff and inexpensive rooms right next to the Sorbonne and across the street from Pre Verre, is the HOTEL COLLEGE DE FRANCE.

Tschuss,
Pepper

Hi Maur2010. We stayed at the Hotel Clement last August for six nights and loved it. I wanted French charm, good location with A/C in 6th and chose this hotel after much research and deliberation. We had a triple room on the 5th floor and although small, nicely decorated and comfy beds. I will admit the bathroom, although brightly lit and very clean, was a shock at first with a half-tub shower setup (don't know if they are all that way) but we adjusted. Our room looked out at St. Sulpice with a flower box in the window. The church bells were lovely and not a bother at night. The location was excellent with three metro stations within a short walk. The front staff was friendly and very helpful. We would definitely stay there again. Hope this helps you. BTW, I made my reservations directly with the hotel; they are quick to respond to emails.