Paris 2-star hotels
 

Hello.

I have rates for a single at two places: Hotel de la Porte Doree and Residence Les Gobelins, both of which get pretty good reviews on tripadvisor. Both are 55 Euros.

I was wondering if anyone has stayed at these two places or any of the following, which I am also considering:

Hotel Plessis
Hotel St Marie
Terminus Orleans
Cabourg
Hotel de nevers
Beaunier
Crimee
Sofia
Aviatic
Timhotel North Garde de Lyon
Flor Rivoli
Gilden Magenta
Grand Hotel Lafayette Buffauet
Eldorado

I have looked for comments on venere and tripadvisor but am looking for ones on this forum as well. My concerns are safety of neighborhood, and cleanliness of bathrooms and rooms. I also prefer hotels that can be booked on-line as my French is quite bad. I have heard Tiquetonne is quite good but cannot be accessed on-line.

Thanks very much!

toppping.

Someone has posted recently about liking the Residence les Gobelins - I think she has stayed there more than once.. "keren" maybe?... It's close to walk to the rue Mouffetard market, and the metro is right at Gobelins, and you're one stop away from 2 other metro lines....

Also, just an impression, may be true or false... a hotel right next to a train station or the tracks doesn't appeal to me..that would rule out Eldorado, may the Timhotel but I didn't look it up...

p.s. the Terminus Orleans - isn't that on blvd Brune, at metro Porte d'Orleans? I don't know the hotel itself and it is on a busy street BUT I've enjoyed the 14th the last two trips, lots of shops and cafes on ave du General Leclerc and ave du Maine. You'd be close to Parc Montsouris, and the RER-B line to the airport (at Denfert Rochereau).

Thanks, travelnut. The Terminus Orleans is where you suggested.

http://www.hotel-du-champ-de-mars.com/

http://www.hotel-leveque.com/tarifs.php

i've been contacting hotels recently and you don't have to speak french. Just send them a fax--it seems that within a day or two i've had a return fax with the information in english. i think most hotels in such a big city have at least one person who speaks some english.

More...
Author: Keren <threadselect.jsp?screen_name=Keren&fid=2&g t;
Date: 02/02/2005, 06:09 am
Message: Hi Newtraveller,
Try the <b>Hotel R&eacute;sidence les Gobelins</b>. It's a good budget hotel, very clean, run by very nice people. The location is great, quiet and residenatial but with lots of cafes and restaurants, close to the rue Mouffetard market, metro station right next to the hotel. They offer a triple for 89 E.
http://www.hotelgobelins.com/ It's recommended by Fodors (with quite a few good comments by readers) and almost all comments on tripadvisor.com are very positive.
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Author: Travelnut
Date: 02/01/2005, 11:32 am
Message: I forgot about this budget hotel, has been favorably mentioned in the past.
<b>Lux Hotel Picpus **</b>
http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75012lux.htm
Singles are in your price range; not sure how it would be rated these days...
-----------------------------------------------------
Another good one: <b>Hotel Port Royal*</b>
http://www.hotelportroyal.fr/english...ion/index2.htm
Single but not en-suite 48&euro;

Hotel Sunny in the 5th lists a single with shower at 62 euro on its website. www.hotelsunny.com

I've never stayed there, but it was mentioned last summer in Conde Nast Travel mag. as good value for the money, along with Hotel Port Royal, that Travelnut wrote about.

I would vote for Hotel Crimee, because of the friendliness of the staff and because of the cleanliness of the rooms too...it is one of the cleanest hotel I've ever seen for a 2 star hotel...The management staff is great, they always smile and they are very calm...
The locationis just near a metro stop....so it is easy to reach other places in Paris!

i have recommended the Lux Hotel Picpus in the past and have stayed there several times the last being this christmas.

i can still recommend it with this caveat: in 2003 a large public parking garage was built under rue de picpus parallel to the metro line. this cavernous space unfortunately acts as an echo chamber and there is some noise when the metro passes.

it doesn't bother me appreciably but it might others particularly light sleepers. my understanding is that a neighborhood group has been active in getting the authorities to install some soundproofing or dampening.

all that said, i love the hotel and the surrounding neighborhood and will continue to stay there on any trip to paris.

Hi Joe,
I spent 13 nights in R&eacute;sidence les Gobelins last September and liked it. I stayed in a small single room, which was nice and clean. One of the owners, Jennifer, is a native English speaker, so you won't have to try to speak French. I liked the neighbourhood: it's residential, safe, close to the Latin Quarter, surrounded by 2 beautiful boulevards (Arago and Port Royal), a small park is nearby as well. Hotels Port Royal and Sunny, mentioned here by others, are in the same neighbourhood.
I've stayed in 2 other hotels on your list: in September 2003 I spent 11 nights in the Hotel de Nevers. I believe it has only 1 star. For me it was too basic, I didn't enjoy my stay that much and won't be going back to that hotel. If you end up staying there, ask for a top-floor room, so the restaurant across the street won't bother your sleep. The 2 cats are beautiful, by the way :), the neighbourhood is pretty good, very close to R&eacute;publique, which has 5 M&eacute;tro lines. The Plessis is on a parallel street, rue du Grand Prieur&eacute;, next to a wonderful market on Tuesdays and Fridays, and to the Canal st. Martin, which makes for an interesting walk. The Gilden Magenta isn't too far away and I've seen some recommendations for it as well, but for me it's too close to the train station Gare de l'Est, so I would think it less safe, maybe.
I've also stayed in Grand Hotel Lafayette Buffauet, but that was a long time ago, in 94. I don't remember much, other than liking both the hotel and the neighbourhood.
Lastly, though I didn't stay in any of them, I like the neighbourhood of both Terminus Orleans and Porte Dor&eacute;e - residential, safe, with some lovely spots here and there.

You know, I haven't stayed at any, but would avoid one around Gare du Nord (I believe the name Gilden Magenta suggest that).

Perhaps there are several Hotel Aviatics in Paris, but the one I know is a nice 3* hotel in St-Germain on rue Vaugirard. If that is the one you are considering, I would choose it. It's nice and a great location. It's not that cheap, though, so maybe you have another one.

I've read good things about Hotel de la Porte Doree, it's just pretty far out for many people.

No, there's a Hotel Aviatic on rue Brezin by Metro Mouton Duvernet, used to be listed as a 1*.
http://www.venere.com/en/booking/hotel/215196/
http://www.cybevasion.com/hotels/fra...ic-14_741.html

Very basic...

JoeTro, my wife and I stayed in a really handy little two star on the edge of the Marais this Christmas and really liked it. It is just four blocks from Notre Dame, one block from Hotel De Ville, a few blocks from the Louvre, and just around the corner from the Pompideu. It is the Andrea Rivoli [email protected] A double was 84 euros. It has a phone booth elevator that was really welcome at the end of a long day of touristing.

We contacted them by email and booked the room.

I have mentioned the Porte Doree a couple of times in previous posts...do a search and see if it's enough for you, if not, speak up, I'll try to give you more info...in short, we liked it but it's far away from a lot

try the Excelsior in the 5th.

Thank you very much for all of your comments. Just a bit of background on myself:

I'm a college student who is visiting a friend in Paris in mid/late April for 5 days. He is studying at the Sorbonne, so in some respects Residence Les Gobelins might be the best for location. I was very attracted to this hotel and Porte Doree from the get-go, but was a tad worried because neither got glowing tripadvisor reviews - there was a negative comment in each that made me question things a little bit.

I see how Porte Doree's location can be a negative, but I was intending to take the metro most places anyways since I will be there for a few days and can just get a carnet. I have also been to Paris once before, so I might miss some of the main stuff in search of other sights.

It will probably end up being Porte Doree or Residence Les Gobelins, assuming both are still available. My concern with Gobelins was simply because they are so small, if I decide to book and then cancel for some reason, I would feel awful. And, Christina at Porte Doree has been so nice with all of her e-mails, but then again probably neither place will be empty come the date of my stay.

Anyway, thanks for everyone's help, and any additional comments are welcome!

Two things:
1. I believe the negative post on TA about Hotel de la Porte Doree was really about Hotel Doree, a totally different hotel that does look suspect.

2. I don't know if I can find it again, but I thought I read deep inside ratp.fr that the Gobelins metro station was going to be closed until April 22 for renovations.
Maybe someone can translate:
&quot;<i>Nous r&eacute;novons plus de 200 stations afin de rendre nos espaces plus clairs, plus fonctionnels et plus agr&eacute;ables.
Dans votre quartier ou sur votre itin&eacute;raire, d&eacute;couvrez celles qui vont bient&ocirc;t se m&eacute;tamorphoser.
La station Les Gobelins est en chantier vert.
Les Gobelins ferm&eacute;e Jusqu'au 22/04 inclus</i>&quot;

Hmm. Well that would affect things for me because I would be there April 14-18.

wow, great memory by Travelnut, that is important information for you. yes, RATP does say Gobelins station will be closed through April 22nd, so that does make it less convenient for metro. That basically says it is closed for renovations (&quot;est un chantier vert&quot; just means they are doing the renovations in as unobtrusive or ecologically correct manner as possible for the neighborhood, in terms of noise, pollution, etc.).

There is a convenient bus that runs east-west right near there (no. 91) which goes over to near Gare de Lyon and then place de la Bastille, and then the other direction along bd Port Royal all the way to Montparnasse tower. You won't be as easily able to hop on the metro though, which is more versatile in many cases.

The next closest stop is Censier on the same line. That is not terribly far, but is about 5 blocks or so away. I believe the Porte Doree is within only a block or so from that metro station. That line is a lot farther out and you'll have to transfer most likely anyway, so I'm not positive you'll really save a lot of time, if any, by being much nearer to that metro than to Censier. If it were me, given your friend is maybe somewhere near the Sorbonne (do you know where your friend actually resides? that could help a lot), I think the Res. des Gobelins would still be a more convenient location.

Thanks, Christina. My friend is actually living with a family, and I am not sure where he is. He mentioned it is a suburb. But being closer to his school would allow me to meet him say after his classes during the weekdays.

Probably a basic question, but what time does the metro start to run?

By the way, thanks very much Travelnut for alerting me to the closing of that metro station. That does impact my decision. Again, thanks to everyone for your responses.

The Excelsior is next to the Sorbonne. Literally.

Keren, would you please mind elaborating a bit more about nevers? For me, the fact of no elevator would not be a big deal (I'd have a duffle), and although the TV of Porte Doree or Gobelins is certainly nice, it isn't essential. What about it did you find basic and not to like as much? The price difference is only about 5 Euros, but multiplying that by five nights is a bit of a difference, plus the Metro access seems pretty good. Thank you.

bump for future reference.

If your friend is staying in a suburb on the northeast side of Paris, then Porte Doree would be close for that. It could even be a suburb near the 12th.

The Sorbonne has buildings and classes in many parts of Paris, so he is not necessarily having classes in the main older building of it near place de la Sorbonne. When I went there, I didn't have a single class in that location, they were in the 13th near Nationale metro stop (not far from Gobelins), near Raspail metro stop and near St Julien le Pauvre church.

There are 2 &quot;Hotel de Nevers&quot;...
83 r Bac 75007
53 r Malte 75011

Hi Joe,
I would not pay too much attention to the negative comment regarding the R&eacute;sidence on tripadvisor.com. I had a talk with Philippe, the owner, who wanted to know how I'd heard about the hotel. I mentioned all the recommendations on the web and in tourist guides, and also that one negative report. He said he knew who had written this, an American family who during their stay had constantly complained about everything (he showed me some letters from them, too). For me, reading this comment: &quot;Pay the extra 20 Euros and stay at the Eiffel Tower Holiday Inn&quot; doesn't make much sense. All I can say is I enjoyed my stay, I felt like coming back home each night, and got a 10% reduction without even asking (like I said, it was a long stay - 13 nights).
About the Nevers (Travelnut - I think Joe is referring to the one in the 11th, which is a quite well known budget hotel. The one on Rue du Bac is much more expensive):
Stained capret in the corridor, dim lights, old washbasin (fine shower, though, albeit small, but I'm petite), tiny towels. It just felt too old. Thin walls, so I could hear some talking (gladly nothing else) in the next room (but this might happen in other hotels, too). The Lebanese restaurant across the street was open most nights, so I had a hard time trying to sleep, even though I closed the windows, so like I said before, ask for a top-floor room. There IS an elevator, but staying on the 2nd floor, I didn't need to use it. The owners are very nice, you can check your e-mail in the foyer. M&eacute;tro access is indeed very good, with R&eacute;publique and Oberkampf stations very nearby, plus there's a fabulous boulangerie on the corner of rue de Malte and blvd. Voltaire.

Just to update, I booked today with les Gobelins. Thanks for all the help.