Message: Okay, I now know what to pack for my 3 year old and that it's worth the cost of the train to hop over to brussels for chocolate and the grand place but now I'm terribly confused about where to stay. You have all been so helpful I was hoping I could impose one last time?
A friend recommended the Familia but I just read a bunch of bad reviews and feel like I'm swimming in a sea of Parisian hotels. We are husband and wife in our early 30's travelling with a 3 year old critter from SFO to Paris for a week in late February or early March. We are pretending we can afford to take this trip so inexpensive is as important as location. By inexpensive I mean well under 100 E. We will dine early (out of respect for folks travelling without critters) and probably take a stroll after dinner before heading back to the hotel. We won't need the opera or theatre or nightclubs. I require pastries at all times. A fridge for critter milk would be super. We'd love to be able to walk to as many attractions as possible, gardens, eiffel tower, arcs, a museum or two so we don't have to drag the critter on and off of buses and trains everyday ( a few days will be fine).
Clean is great but I don't mind the odd dustbunny. Shower or tub ensuite please.
I'm thinking we want to be in the 5th, 6th, or 7th but correct me if I'm wrong.

I've read a billion reviews on just as many sites in the last week and am having a hard time choosing based on reviews from people who may or may not be anything like me.
any suggestions would be SO aprreciated.
trish

here's a link to your previous posting on this topic if you'd like to refer to it later

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34537945

ttt

Ira,

Would the Bonaparte fit the bill for this family?

ttt

Brussels is a great place to go, but if $$ is an object, and you're really only going for chocolate, you can find wonderful chocolate in Paris and stay in a little better hotel. I'd suggest www.hoteldulys.com for a great, reasonable triple that includes breakfast. Great location in the 6th and lots of charm; great value for the $4, in my book!

OOps, meant to hit the dollar sign twice with shift key held down, but it came out as $4. The 4 is a typo. Sorry for the confusion.

The Hotel Marignan in the 5th arr. is a good value and might fit your needs. It has a kitchen and laundry room available for guests and is well located in the St-Michel area, convenient to lots of sites and transportation.

There's no elevator, so tell them you've got a child and ask for a lower floor so you don't have to carry her too much.

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/hotel-marignan/html/p1_a.htm

Hotel Bonaparte has a very nice large triple with a tiny balcony..Ask for N. 7.
The location is great, the place is clean, comfortable not very fancy..Very family oriented.

The Hotel du Lys does not have an elevator either, but the triple is on the ground floor. Also, the staircase is an ancient winding one (bldg dates from 17th century), and I can imagine a 3 year old loving to climb it for the novelty. No frig either, but I would think the owner *might* let you keep milk or whatever in their frig for your child. I was there in March, and just stuck my bottled water out on the little balcony.

Grandmere,the hotel seems a very nice place to stay..Great locations, good price..Are the rooms large?

They are not large by US standards, but they are as large as/larger than some hotels I've stayed in, in Paris, that have cost significantly more. My 6'2" son and 2 college buddies stayed in the triple a few years ago, and they did not complain about the size.
I've stayed in a single and doubles, and there is "plenty" of walking room; in some lower priced hotels you have to literally jump over your suitcases to get into bed, etc. I don't think you can beat it for the $$ and the location (there is so much w/in walking distance, and you're very close to 2 metro stations, St. MIchel and Odeon), as long as you don't mind not having an elevator. And as a grand-mere, I can still do the stairs!

You mention that the triple room is on the ground floor..It could be noisy..

Hi trish,

You have answers on your other post as well. Click on your name to find your posts.

The Bonaparte would be a good place for you, but it is higher than you have indicated.

Forget Brussels, go to Brugge.

Those people telling Trish to find her other post should <b>read</b> her other post first. On her other post people were telling her to repost with Paris in her title to get better replies. So, she replied to her other post (and obviously, therefore, had seen what people were putting there) that she would indeed repost with Paris in the title. That's what this post is.

In addition to other mentioned, I can recommend Hotel Monge in the Latin Quarter.

Kismetchimera, it indeed could be noisy, but the hotel is on a quiet street, and I've never heard any noise in the hotel. My experience has been a quiet clientele; but anything's possible.

The Bonaparte sounds super, pastries and a cat! I just don't know if we can pretend we have that much money for this trip. We'd have to find a flight that was practically free.
Hotel Monge sounds pretty good too, where can I find their rates?

Oh, and why Brugge instead of Brussels?

you are all travel advice rockstars, thanks
trish

www.hotelmonge.com