Paris hotel
 

Has anyone heard of the hotel in the 18 arrond. by the name of trinite plaza? It was reserved by my travel agent but I havent heard of it before. What about the area?
Thanks
Ron

Michelin lists it as a comfortable hotel without restaurant at 41 r.Pigalle which is very near the Pigalle Metro station. The location would appear to be below the Sacre Coeur. I am not really familiar with the area and don't know how safe it is. Ask your agent why he chose this hotel and why this location is desirable. If he can't satify you, I would look for another agent. A double room is listed at 660FF or about $105 night which seems high for the class of hotel and location. The hotel is in the 9th e. not the 18th.

The neighborhoods in Paris (as in any large city) are many and varied. I have found that travel agents are typically familiar only with prices and ammenities. Often, you can get a better rate by contacting the hotel directly. Highly recommend you go to your local bookstore and review one of the many excellent tour guides for Paris. Nearly all are divided into neighborhoods with good descriptions of what to expect in the area. If the surroundings of your hotel during your visit are important to you, it's wise to familiarize yourself with the neighborhoods before selecting a place to stay.

Donna above is so right about getting a guide book and contacting the hotel directly. If your French is as bad as mine, I recommend you fax the hotel. I tried calling several and got French-only speakers. When I faxed, I got replies from everyone (sometimes the English-speaker in the Maison only works one shift!). Nearly everyone will book a reservation on your credit card. By the way, my wife and I read several guide books before we go anywhere. They are not telephone books, but all have definite points of view. I do not have a Paris map handy, but don't remember any tourist sites of consequence in that area. Dump your travel agent.

Ron, there is a great little site on the Internet that is great in looking for hotels in Paris. It's at http://www.paris.org/Hotels/ I looked up Trinite Plaza for you. It is indeed in the 9th arr, not the 18th, however, looks to be on the border between the two arr's. There seems to be a lot more cheaper hotels in those areas of Paris, probably due to the fact that it is out of the centre a bit. I have been looking for hotels in that area myself, mainly due to price and proximity to Gare du Nord station. Some of the comments left about hotels in the 18th arr remark that the area around Montmarte and Sacre Couer is full of colour, charm and is "the real Paris". I'm just quoting them - I'll find out for myself later this year!

That's not an area I would choose to stay in --
the Pigalle area is full of sex shops and just
south of it (where Trinite Plaza is) is nothing
special, either -- just sort of a commercial area.
It's a little out of the way for most tourist
interests, but you can certainly get places by
metro in a fairly short time and you probably won't
want to spend your time around that area, anyway.
Few places in Paris are really dangerous,
however, so I wouldn't worry about that factor.
The Trinite Plaza is a hotel used by a lot of
tour groups and airline packages--your agent
probably got some type of kick-back on the room
which is why he or she booked it -- ask. The price is about
is about right for a decent 3 star hotel in a
non-central area; you would have trouble finding
a double room in a 3 star hotel for less than that.
You could easily find a better hotel yourself in
a more desirable location -- even using Fodors
hotel listing here online would probably be an
improvement over what your travel agent is doing.

Chris - Thanks for the tip about the Pigalle area! Was considering that area, now know to look elsewhere! You don't find out those important points in tourist mags!

To those looking for hotels in 18th & Jenny: I
think many guidebooks will warn you about this
area and few recommend hotels in the 18th arr. for
this reason. Basically, bd. Clichy from Place
Clichy to Place Pigalle is a porno/sex area. If
you've been to NY, it's sort of like around Times
Square but worse. There's prostitutes in bars and
bars with drag shows if that's what you're looking
for, plus porno shows, etc. The "quaint"
Montmartre area is more residential and north of
there and you won't find many hotels there; plus
it is quite hilly and is probably not the most
convenient for tourists. A hotel in a decent,
relatively picturesque area of Montmartre would
be the Timhotel near the Abbesses metro stop in
a quiet square -- it's not super cheap, though, but
prob. about $100-150 per night for a double room.
The area around Gare du Nord is not very nice,
either, and I wouldn't suggest staying there.
Paris is a fairly small city, really, you don't
have to stay that close to the train station as
you can get places quickly by metro. Better areas
in the north part of town would be the Marais area
in the 4th arr. or maybe something around the
Bastille area in the 11th arr.(although there
aren't a lot of hotels there, either, but I'd say
it's preferable to the Gare du Nord neighborhood).

I have a handful of guide books for Paris, each has their strength. Let's Go Paris does include an informative blurb on each arrondissement prior to listing recommended hotels. The sentence most telling about the 18th "Do not walk alone through the 18eme at night" speaks volumes.

Hello,
Find it all very helpful on the info above. Thinking of staying in the Latin Quarters? How's the area like. Thank you. ann

The Latin Quarter is a good left back location, near transportation, walking distance to many sights, has many small hotels and restaurants, and also many tourists. It can be noisy in spots. The best location for you is based on your tastes, interests and budget. There are many nice areas to stay around Paris and each if different. Do a lot of library research and buy some good tour guides such as Fodors puts out. When you have reduced things down to a few selections, ask specific questions on this forum to help confirm your expectations. It is best to stay in a location that has things of personal interest convenient to you when you walk out of your hotel. Otherwise, the first thing you will do everyday is get on the metro or bus.

The Latin Quarter is a popular left bank location, near transportation, walking distance to many sights, with many small hotels and restaurants, and also it has many tourists. It can be noisy in spots. The best location for you is based on your tastes, interests and budget. There are many nice areas to stay around Paris and each if different. Do a lot of library research and buy some good tour guides such as Fodors puts out. When you have reduced things down to a few selections, ask specific questions on this forum to help confirm your expectations. It is best to stay in a location that has things of personal interest convenient to you when you walk out of your hotel. Otherwise, the first thing you will do everyday is to go down into the metro station or get on a bus. It is so much more enjoyable to have a pleasant an interesting time within the walking radius from your hotel. Based on your interests location is everything and the hotel room is not of major concern as you will spend little time in it.

I am planning to stay at the Hotel de la Places des Vosges. Has anyone stayed there?

Thanks

I'm in the middle of plannnig a trip to Paris in late Oct. Using the Fodor's list of highly recommended hotels, I sent out several faxes and e-mails and came up with an interesting shortlist. All seem rather interesting and all are within my budget. I guess what would break the impasse would be the recommendations from other travelers, and the actual location of the hotel. If anyone can say anything to help me decide, I'd appreciate it.

1. Etiole-Periere 146 bd. Periere, 17th arr., double: 790 FF, breakfast: 54 FF
2. Gallion-Opera, 32-34 rue Gregoire-de-Tours, 6th arr., double: 700 FF, suite: 800 FF
3. Le Pavilion Bastille, 65 rue de Lyon, 12th arr., double: 795 FF, Junior suite 1200 FF, breakfast: 65 FF
4. Le Tourville 16 av. de Tourville, 7th arr., small double: 790 FF, Medium double: 890 FF, Large double: 990 FF, breakfast: 60 FF
5. Regent's Garden 6 rue Pierre-Demours 17th arr., small double: 700 FF, medium double: 790 FF, large double: 940 FF, breakfast: 45 FF

(complete descriptions of these hotels are in the Fodors Hotel Index)

Below Sacre Coeur is not an area I would go in the evening. I would check into someplace else if possible. If price is a factor, try the Bastille Area. It's closer to where you'll want to be and this area is the new hot spot for younger people, sort of the Greenwich Village of Paris. My sister & I stayed at a hotel near the Bastille in July and thought it was fine in terms of location and safety and the price was unreal!

When faxing the hotels in Paris, what has been anyone's experience using English vs. French? I'm at an intermediate level in French, but really want to be understood! This is my first time arranging accommodations by myself, and I'm feeling just a little trepidatious. thanks for any responses - they say no question is a stupid question but.....

The fax machine may well be the greatest invention ever for the independent traveller. My experience is that faxing a message in English will get a reply in English, almost always within 24 hours,from any hotel in the world. Someone at even the smallest hotel inevitably speaks the language. My worst experiences have been trying to write in a language with which I have only a passing familiarity – the hotel at the other end takes whatever you say literally! Try this tip: keep it brief, and stay away from colloquial English. "Please provide room rates and availability for room with one bed (two persons). Arriving Paris 22 September for 5 nights. Do you have non-smoking rooms?" Not, "We're arriving in Paris on September 22 and are looking for a..."

I know French very well so I always write mine in
French. For Paris, at least, you can be assured
that someone will know English in a 3 star hotel
or higher; two stars probably (one stars probably
not, but they may not even have a FAX). In Provence
and smaller towns, this is not always the case,
however. I've made reservations in Avignon, for
instance, where the desk clerk did not speak or
write English. The most important point to get
across (aside from the price, whether they have
a free room, and the dates) is the number of persons
and size of the room and type of bed (i.e., double
versus two twins). Oh, and often there may be
different type of bathrooms available that affect
the price (only with shower vs. with bathtub).
I guess you'd want to make sure it had a bathroom
if that's what you want, but most hotels in Paris
at two stars and higher do (esp. if they're taking
FAX reservations). You may need to ask what,
if anything, is required for a deposit, also.
Anyway, I've always gotten back FAX responses to
my FAX questions within 24 hours. I have a friend
who was trying to make a reservation in a hotel
in Rick Steve's guidebook "Europe thru the Backdoor"
(which are pretty low-end) by FAX, and they never
responded (she wrote in French, also).

Hi, I see you that you know the Bastille Area, and I wondered if you familiar with "Sud hotel Bastill" ? or can you recomend good and chip hotel in that erea .
Thank you in advance.
Yair.

Found this web site. http://www.globe-market.com/75paccue.htm . What i do is to look at what i want and let the webmaster know which hotel i want (usually ask for more than one) then he/she will get back to you. Got respond the next working day. ann