We can stay at either Hotel du Palais Bourbon near the Eiffel Tower and Napoleon's tomb or at the Vitoria Palace Hotel near the Luxumbourg Gardens. The latter is considerably more expensive than the former and seems further away from the Louvre, St. Germain, etc. but appears to be a "classier place(?)" <BR>This is our 1st and possibly last trip to Paris and we want to do it right. <BR>Any comments about the locations/hotels would be greatly appreciated. <BR>We will be travelling Sept 9. Our previously booked hotel cancelled our reservation at the last minute last week and most of the hotels that we have looked at are full. <BR>

Hi <BR>I have not stayed at either hotel and can't find any info in my resources about the Vitoria Palace, but I will say that the Luxembourg Gardens neighborhood in general is very nice, residential, and although a little farther in, is still a convenient neighborhood. <BR>You can check for comments from past hotel guests at www.paris.org or <BR>www.hotelboulevard.com <BR>The Palais Bourbon has been much-praised on this forum and elsewhere for having decent room sizes (for Paris) and large modern bathrooms, but my impression is that it is a relatively simple hotel. I don't think it has a/c, if that matters to you. <BR>If you want something a little fancier <BR>(and I don't know what prices you have in mind) and you want a hotel that has been consistently praised by many sources, try the following <BR>Hotel d'Aubusson (I just booked it for December)in the 6th on rue Dauphine--no one seems to have a bad thing to say about it, and it is praised for charm, location, service, and amenities. <BR>It has airconditioning. Phone 1 43 29 43 43m fax 1 43 29 12 62. <BR>Also, the one I almost booked: Caron de Beaumarchais, in the 4th; although the rooms are said to be on the small side, it is praised for the same above <BR>reasons. It also has a/c. <BR>If you want to see my Paris notes with more suggestions and sightseeing tips, feel free to email me. <BR>good luck

I recently booked the Palais Bourbon but am staying there after you mention. I will say thus far that the mgr. and conceirge have answered every email I have sent them and even booked our family into the restaurants I requested. I like the area around Nappys tomb, and decided to stay there the next time around. Hope this helps.

stayed at le tourville close to napoleon's tomb and the eiffel tower last year. i loved the area and the hotel. don't know anything about your specified hotels however.

Hi, I stayed at Louvre Montana(Comfort Inn) Reasonable priced, view of Sacre Coeur from top floor room, but the best is the location. Literally around the corner for the Louvre 1st arrondissement. We walked everywhere. If you are interested, e-mail me and I'll dig up the particulars. Good Luck

Stayed in a small, 20 room hotel, the <BR>Relais du Louvre one block from the Louvre and Seine. Walkable to most <BR>places and two metro stops within two <BR>blocks. Quiet, helpful staff and in <BR>about the $130-140 range. <BR>Bill

I would suggest trying the Hotel de Louvre. It is literally across the street from the Louvre (Rue du Rivoli and Avenue de l'Opera). It is a beautiful hotel, with great staff and comfortable rooms with large bathrooms. I think it is a 4 or 5 star hotel. The cost a couple of years ago was about $180-$200 USD per night for two people. It was well worth it.

We are going to Paris for first time in Sept. We had lots of trouble getting accommodations (fashion show week) but finally settled on "Hotel Dauphine Saint-Germain Des-Pres" from the small and elegant hotel guide. We are hopeful! We understand the area is wonderful - has anyone out there stayed at this hotel?

Hi Julie <BR>I'm glad you mentioned the Louvre Montana Comfort Inn. I stayed there several times --it was called the Montana Tuileries then. A very pleasant hotel, but as you say the location was so outstanding as to make it my favorite hotel in its class in Paris. I have not stayed there for about 5 years now, since it became a Comfort Inn. Glad to hear it is still enjoyable.

The Luxembourg gardens area is close to the Sorbonne and Boul Mich,fairly busy and therefore safer and more fun after dark. Nicer to be near those beautiful gardens too. It's a short walk to the Seine and lots of cheaper restaurants too. <BR>Hotel des Grands Ecoles is in this Latin Quarter (5th arrondisement) district, is quite charming and reasonably priced. 2 star I think, as is Hotel de la Sorbonne in Rue Victor Cousin. This is a reasonable, clean, budget hotel with a tiny lift and tiny ensuite bathrooms. Annie the receptionist speaks English. You won't spend much time in your hotel so save your francs for eating out etc. Cluny Sorbonne metro is close to both these and Luxembourg RER station is on the direct line (B) from Charles de Gaulle airport. Bonne chance!

I have stayed in the Latin Quarters on a couple of occasions during my trips to Paris and found the area very convenient & within walking distance to all the popular sites with the furthest being the Eiffel Tower (approx. 25 min.walk). We stayed at a hotel called Le Home Latin in the Boul. St.Michel/St.Germain area. Lot's of eating areas nearby and close to the RER if you're coming from the airport. <BR>

The following site could be quite useful in assisting you on getting an idea on how the hotel neighborhood looks like: http://www.pageszoom.com/rc.cgi?lang=en <BR> <BR>If you go into the yellow pages, type the name of the hotel. The site will then display a map of the neighborhood, pictures of the hotel, and pictures of the street up and down. You could also enter a street name to obtain similar output. <BR> <BR>I stayed on the neighborhood of the Palais Bourbon and LOVED IT. Definitely a good choice, looked very, very nice and the location is excellent. If you found a room, you were lucky. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps. Have a great time!

I think to get good advice you will have to give addresses and more information, at least on the Vitoria Palace as it is not findable in any source I looked. Perhaps it is a new hotel, or at least new owner, but since the Luxembourg Gardens are more centrally located than the Palais Bourbon Hotel, it must have a location that is not really near them at all for you to say that. I know many hotels stretch the description as to where they are, but given the Lux. Gardens are basically IN St-Germain and a very short distance to the Louvre, closer than the other hotel, you should probably explain where that hotel is. I have just a few comments: from your criteria, I would not recommend you stay in a low-budget two-star hotel (eg, La Sorbonne, etc) as it is not that nice (and I have stayed there, so that's a personal opinion). But, as someone else said, the Palais Bourbon is also a rather basic two-star hotel, so if you want something very "nice" and special, you should look at a little higher quality and rating. Also, being closer to bd St-Michel doesn't necessarily mean an area is safer, it could very well be the opposite. Both of those areas are relatively safe, however. Given you only have a couple weeks and that is a very busy time in Paris, I am surprised you could even book the Palais Bourbon now, but you won't have a lot of choices at this late date, probably, as you've found.