Posting for my sister...

She'll have meetings at this address

Palais des Congrès de Paris
2, place de la Porte Maillot
75017 Paris / France

Our basic research suggests the hotels in the area might be more business.

She'll be traveling with her husband and would like to stay somewhere that would be easy for walking around at night, enjoying restaurants. We don't know enough to say where that would be. Taking Metro to conference as needed would be ideal.

Budget is $200-$250. Don't need fancy but clean and something charming in an area to enjoy Paris, have nice food, a little romance.

What does this address suggest to you as a good plan?

The Paris metro system is such she could stay ANYwhere and be fine getting to her meetings, and in a cool part of town for the rest of her day. Look at the 5th and 6th

The area near the congress center does have business hotels - but that may be good if she's there on business and needs business services - which you won;t find inmost charming 3* places.

Have done several meetings at that center and stayed at the Meridien nearby. there were several pleasant places to eat nearby - and it's an easy hop on the Metro or by taxi to the center of the city.

For convenient hotels closer to the center - consult the Metro map and pick a hotel on a straight run - since the correspondences can take forever.

Wow how great already some responses. Won't need business services.

I can cross reference general hotel searches for 5th and 6th

I am pretty sure they want to base in the center of the city and hop metro or taxi to get out to conference although I have enjoyed Meridien hotels in other cities.

Meridien Etiole perfect for you from $80/nt

in the past bidding priceline.com

betterbidding.com

www.spg.com more $$ if you do not want to bid.

www.otel.com other cheap no bid hotels

www.eurocheapo.com/Paris map other options

If you want to base more centrally

I just booked the Novotel Les Halles on hotwire.com

115 euro/nt it is their "scret" Loure Vendome Hotel.

GREAT deal...

http://www.expedia.com/Paris-Hotels-...s.h24795.Hotel...

The Hotel du Bois fits your brief. It's located in the upscale 16th arrond residential neighbourhood but is a short walk from the CdG/Etoile (Arc de Triomphe) metro stop - only two short stops to the congress center. I've stayed at the hotel while reporting on congresses there.
http://www.hoteldubois.com/uk/index.php

The Victor Hugo neighbourhood in the 16th is our preferred place to stay in Paris, whether for business or pleasure. Check their specials - if your sister can get a Prestige room at a good rate, she will enjoy it.

Hi SF,

As noted, the venue is about 1/2 hr by metro from anywhere.

We always stay at the http://www.hotelbonaparte.fr/, but DS might want something with less "charm" and more stars.

These are some of the hotels in the area that I have looked at and found to be very nice:
Hôtel Saint Germain des Prés
Hôtel Le Régent
Hôtel Atlantis Saint-Germain-des-Prés

"As noted, the venue is about 1/2 hr by metro from anywhere."

That's absolutely NOT true. Our hotel rec (in a neighbourhood that we like very much) is 5 minutes max by metro. Not half an hour!

Please also check out Hotel Ceramic site:

http://www.hotelceramic.com/index.php

It is just a block or two from the Etoile Metro and that looks like a straight shot to your sister's conference area.

It has been some years since our initial visit so she'll need to check about rates. When we were there it was very "Deco-y" and there are actually vines carved on the façade of the building. Not a B&B but charming when we were there.

Here's the thing--Paris is wonderful in that it has great neighborhoods all over the city. So when FoFoBT talks about his/her neighborhood as being ideal, he/she could be right about services and certainly about proximity.

The crucial question is: Does your sister/husband want to see the REST of Paris? Have either of them been there before? What do they want to do when they are not at the conference?

I can't tell you how many friends dismissed Paris because they stayed near or on the Champs Elyssee. They may have seen the Louvre and the Rue de Rivoli, but they never got to grab the Paris that so many of us did on our first trips. Anyone who asks me "where should I stay in Paris" is directed to areas where stepping out the door provides easy access to the Seine, sites, and good Metro lines.

But if your sister and husband only want to be able to eat at a nice place, then heck, they can stay in that general area.

So if you could answer this specific question, I think we can give you some better directed answers to meet their exact needs.

I hope this is helpful.

AlessandraZoe, you make a lot of assumptions about my rec that aren't accurate. It's not on the Champs Elysees. It's really at the far end of the Passy neighbourhood which is a lovely part of Paris, although it's true, it doesn't have the hordes of tourists you see at other parts of town.

We've stayed in this neighbourhood many times without putting a toe onto the CE. We had NO trouble getting around to the rest of Paris. It's not some stark, empty shell of a neighbourhood with no life.

You could have recommended somplace without attacking my suggestion and taking such a condescending attitude (I do get the sense that you don't know Passy very well).

This just came out on TravelZoo today, which is a great website for deals. Lots of hotels at very reasonable prices and...they include breakfast.

http://www.travelzoo.com/uk/hotels/e...m_medium=email

Hope it helps, Mary

Lots of great ideas here. As requested for more specifics. I think just walking around, feeling the pulse of Paris, some of the classic sites too. Both have been there but not for a long time. The big site is less thrilling than the great bakery, the pretty park, the walkability to just wander around without feeling like you're seeing nothing but tourists (and as they will be there in July that's I am sure a risk everywhere. And yes convenience to transport.

Thanks for all the great suggestions.

To follow up about AlessandraZoe's very good point: DH and I were in Paris for the first time when we stayed at Ceramic and we loved where we were.

Just a few minutes to Arc de Triomphe where, on our first full day, we strolled hand in hand down the Champs Elysees all the way to the Louvre. It was a perfect way to start our trip. We were absolute newbies with a long list of "MUST see's".

We also found the Etoile Metro very convenient for our jaunt to Versailles and a good hub for other venues in the city.

My wife and I have stayed twice within the last 4 years at Hotel Duret (www.hotelduret.com), at 30 rue Duret, a 10 minute walk from the Palais des Congres. The two nearest Metro stops are Argentine and Porte Maillot. We really enjoyed the small boutique style hotel,(hence the repeat stay. For photos and reviews I suggest you visit TripAdvisor. Rates start at 150 euros so that should be in your sister's budget. While the hotel serves breakfast for an additional charge, we always preferred going to local neighborhood cafes. The staff was welcoming and spoke fluent English. This is a bit out of the way (a 15 minute Metro ride to the Louvre) for the average tourist but we felt that we were in an area that Parisians lived and worked in. Also in the area, and rated highly is Hotel Residence Foch, which you could view on TripAdvisor as well.

Hey fofo,

>"As noted, the venue is about 1/2 hr by metro from anywhere."

That's absolutely NOT true. Our hotel rec (in a neighbourhood that we like very much) is 5 minutes max by metro.<

Your hotel isn't "anywhere".
5 min is < 1/2 hr.


Why am I bothering to respond?

Hey ir,
Yes, indeed, 5 minutes is less than half an hour (actually a lot less). Interesting to see that in your book, significantly less means the same thing as "about". So you
would also say that a 40 year old is "about" 60. Hmmm...

The Palais des Congrès de Paris is right on the #1 Metro (station Porte Maillot) - which goes straight into the center of Paris (right bank) without any correspondence (changing lines).

In addition, it is on the RER line C (station Neuilly-Porte maillot) which goes to the center on the left bank (though with further-spread-out stops).

You could easily stay almost anywhere within a few blocks from the river and be a VERY short ride to the conference.

NOTE: The RER C branches heading away from the city center, so you have to be sure to take the correct train heading towards the conference (check the Metro-RER map). This, however, is easy, since there are video screens all along the platforms that list the stops of each approaching train.

SS