Paris Hotel Confusion
 

I have become completely overwhelmed in chosing a hotel in Paris. I've read the posts and made notes, but can't figure out what to do. I guess I am worried about making the wrong decision.

I would really appreciate some help, if you all aren't sick to death of hotel questions.

Here are the details. My husband and I will arrive in Paris on Sept 13th and will leave on the 18th (5 nights). We would like some place nice, convenient to sites,restaurants, metro, etc but not too noisy. We are not on a tight budget, and could spend up to 250 euros(?),if we had to. I guess if we really had to we could spend more. Of course, some place great for less would be better.

Thanks a bunch,
Sue

Its is easy to get overwhelmed given the huge number of options, even moreso when reading the varying and often strongly held opinions here.
A couple suggestions that may help:
1. Choose a few hotels that are likely candidates and ask for specific feedback on those propoerties.
2. There are sites of potential interest to tourists literally all over Paris, so no single place is close to them all. If you can prioritize what you want to be near that will help narrow your list. Public transport makes it easy to get around, so don't worry too much about this.
3. Is this your first time to Paris or a return visit?
4. Do you prefer a place with local flavor/"charm" and the oddities that often accompany that, or a chain type hotel with few surprises?
Hope this helps.

In your situation, my first stop would be TripAdvisor. I find it helps me to read reviews of hotels by people who actually stayed there. It's going to take some research, but you'll get an idea of which hotels look interesting and are worth considering.

Get your hotel reservation ASAP: September is high season in Paris, and many of the favorite hotels will be full already.

You could try the Ste-Beuve, near the Luxembourg Gardens, and the
lastminute.com site might offer good possibilities.

Good luck!

As a swag...I'd look for hotels in the 4 (Marais)/5 &6 (Left bank)/7th (Eiffel Tower) arrondissements. In these areas you can walk to a lot of the tourist sites. I likes staying on Ile St Louis...Lutece, Deux Iles are a couple to check out. If you search on this site you will find MANY recommendations, also look at the Fodor guide. Bonaparte, Levesque and Madison are a couple of others recommended here.

Stick with what you read at this site and I don't think you will go wrong.

Mike

We very much enjoyed the Hotel Galileo on our last trip. Small and very quiet - great staff. Nice sized rooms and baths. Very convenient. Only few blocks from the Arc d'Triomph and the Champs. Also easy access to public transit. As I recall we paid less than 200E.

Also, check out their sister hotel, Hotel Des Deux-Iles which is a few blocks from Notre Dame. Friends of ours who have stayed there rave about it.

My suggestion is to pick just one or two arrondisement you wish to stay in, and only look at those hotels. Trying to figure out one hotel in all of greater Paris is overwhelming and not necessary to find a good place.

I would suggest the 6th or 7th (maybe the 5th but the Latin Quarter can be noisy).

You can tell the arrondisement by last two numbers of the hotel's postal code. On a map of Paris you'll see the arrondisements spiral like a snail, going up in numbers, outward from the center (maybe you know this already).

Then I'd read Trip Advisor reviews for maybe 3 or 4 hotels you've narrowed it down too. And post those few names back here on Fodor's also.

Initially, I thought 250 euros would get you a 4 or 5 star,in mid Sept.

I thought that, because we are going to Paris this coming weekend, and are booked into a good 3 star for 100 euros.

I didn't know that Paris Hotels were that expensive in mid Sept.
Find a place soon, or go elsewhere for mid Sept.,

G

Some Paris hotels up their rates during September and October because of all the shows: supply and demand really kicks in. The higher rates seem to be true of the CDG hotels as well.

My wife and I have stayed at Le Sainte Beauve (as suggested above).. very nice, "botique" hotel which would meet all of your needs.

TripAdvisor is a very useful resource, but until I 'discovered' Fodors I didn't even know they existed. (And that sounds like an old Smirnoff Vodka advert!!)

I have never actually used TripAdvisor either. Last spring/summer I relied totally on what posters here advised. I read thread after thread, decided what district/arondissement I would prefer to stay in, and searched and read some more, and eventually came to a decision as to the best hotel for my budget (which incidentally was half of yours!) - I think the larger budget you have the easier it is to find hotels to fit...

Personally I like the Latin Quarter (5th - stayed there 3 times now) but have also stayed in the 1st just off Rue de Rivoli ((Hotel Residence la Concorde) and in Montmartre (c**p hotel but VERY cheap!)

So I think what I am trying to say is while I understand your confusion, the wider you search the more confused you may find yourself. Narrow your search to one place - HERE on Fodors - and you won't go far wrong.

Good luck, and don't forget to post a trip report!

I recommend Villa D' Estrees in the Latin Quarter. We stayed there last year and are heading there again in September. Very nice, large rooms and helpful staff. Located on a quiet sidestreet within walking distance of Notre Dame, Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, not too mention countless restaurants, shops, and cafes. Metro stop is half a block away. Price is just under 250 Euros. Website is www.paris-hotel-latin-quarter.com/

Hi Sg,

>We would like some place nice, convenient to sites,restaurants, metro, etc but not too noisy. <

If you don't mind spending less than 200E/night, We always stay at the Hotel Bonaparte, 61 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th. From 124E dbl w/bkfst. It is located near 3 metro stops. Has AC

Tel 33 1 43 26 97 37
FAX 33 1 46 33 57 67
www.hotelbonaparte.fr

For more info, enter "Hotel Bonaparte" in the "search this forum" box.

Photos are at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-l95uyr

((I))

Anyone every heard of the Residence des Arts 14, rue Gît-le-Coeur in the 6th? It is a sister hotel to the Villa de Estrees (does not have anything available even in the high end of my price range. They have 2 rooms available and an internet rate of 165 euros. Each room has a separate kitchenette area.

I believe the Residence des Arts is right across the street from Villa D'Estrees so shares the same great location. We didn't see the rooms there but one of the employees mentioned that the owner of both properties was trying to raise the money to update the rooms in Residence des Arts similar to what he had done in Villa D'Estrees. So this suggests that the rooms are not as nice but of course the lower price reflects that. We did talk to a couple people who were staying there and they seemed to be quite happy with their accomodations.

I think it can be helpful to begin by choosing the arrondisement you think you'd like best, or the view you'd want to have the most. Because there are so many hotels in Paris! When we went last May for the first time, I was set on getting a view of the Eiffel Tower from my hotel room balcony. It wasn't easy, staying around $225/night, but we enjoyed the Hotel de la Bourdonnais, in the 7th. We had a full on view, up a pretty tree-lined boulevard, of the Eiffel Tower, from our little balcony (room 503?). It was amazing at night, twinkling.
We wanted the 7th for its more quiet, upscale and residential feel. It was perfect for us-- a family of four, with two older teens.

Here's part of my trip report:
"Stayed at Hotel la Bourdonnais, in the 7th and liked it very much. Nice-sized quad room for our family, with A/C and a lift. GREAT view of the Eiffel Tower from our little balcony. Friendly front desk, too. Offered a simple breakfast buffet, but we chose to visit Rue Cler in the mornings, for coffee, croissants, crepes and fresh fruit. A nice market next door to the hotel was handy, too. Metro stop on the corner, Batobus stop close by, too, at the Eiffel Tower. Even an ATM machine at the corner bank. Loved the location and the upscale neighborhood. An easy walk through the Champs de Mars to the Eiffel Tower. The other end of the park was Les Invalides."

I would second the suggestion for Ile Saint-Louis. We've stayed at the Hotel Des Deux Iles a couple of times.

http://www.deuxiles-paris-hotel.com/

We loved the location of this small island: in the middle of the river, close to the latin quarter, Notre Dame, Le Marais, the Bastille, several metro stops, a couple of Batobus stops.

http://www.batobus.com/bateaux-crois...ris-seine.html

Things are very quiet during the week; the island is popular on the weekend, but it quiets down at night.

The hotel was affordable and nice, with typically small Parisian rooms.

Recently stayed at the Lutece on the Isle St. Louis. It was remodeled top to bottom quite recently and is a very, very nice hotel. Small room, but well organized with lots of closet space and a good-size bathroom. Fine decor. Impressive front desk. Friendly wait staff in the breakfast room. We did not use the air conditioning, and slept with the window open on the 5th floor. Some street noise (loud pedesrians) around 5 a.m. and I expect this is typical. I doubt it would be a problem with the window closed. Would definitely stay again.

I can highly recommend the hotel Millesime. Patricia Well's also recommends it on her website. My daughter and I stayed there and loved it.

MC

I have stayed at both the Deux Iles and Lutece on Ile St. Louis. The Deux Iles I stayed there this past March and the Lutece I stayed there in Dec. '04 before their renovations. I favored the Lutece more in terms of the general decor of the hotel and mostly I liked their staff much more. Both hotels book up months in advance (I made my reservation six months in advance). If you are interested in either place inquire now. Streetside rooms I didn't find to be noisy but then again we were located on higher floors. Staying on the Ile St. Louis is really special and you will not regret it.

"Anyone every heard of the Residence des Arts 14, rue Gît-le-Coeur in the 6th? It is a sister hotel to the Villa de Estrees (does not have anything available even in the high end of my price range. They have 2 rooms available and an internet rate of 165 euros. Each room has a separate kitchenette area."

Yes, I stayed in the top floor apartment with a friend about five years ago. It was great -- nice bath, spacious living room, king size bed in BR. A stone's throw from the Seine and just around the corner from Place St. Michel. We could lean out our window and see the spire of Ste Chapelle.

I don't know what the other rooms are like, but the location is good and your price sounds good to me.

Whatever you decide to do, DO NOT stay at Hotel D'Angleterre on Rue Jacob in the 6th! It was absolutely unacceptable, despite the pretty website and the rave reviews on TripAdvisor. I will be posting my review--along with photographs--in the next couple of days.

Anna Roz

Yikes, what a job! I had no idea that September was a busy month in Paris. It's a great month to visit other places in Europe. It was pretty shocking to see the difference in room rates in September compared to other months.

I spent many hours trying to book a room and experienced a great deal of difficulty. Either the hotel was booked, or only a few of the 5 nights we needed were available, or the rooms that were available were unsuitable for one reason or another, or only suites were available, or the price was stupendously outragous.

I finally did get a room this morning. It's at the Hotel Latour Maubourg for 233 euros per night with no breakfast provided in September (it's an additional 15 euros--I didn't get it). At lease it's a deluxe room. I hope it works out. This is our first trip to Paris.

I almost booked at the Hotel D'Angleterre, but they wanted 290 euros.

Thanks so much for all you help and guidance.

Sue

Another endorsement from Villa D'Estrees - only 10 rooms total(2 on each floor). One room is larger than the other. Service is also excellent. I just read a bad review that was recently posted about the staff not being helpful but just from reading the tone of the person who posted on TA, granted she was frustrated, I am wondering if maybe she approached the staff rudely to begin with. Another poster commented that they were very unhappy so they transferred to the Plaza Athenee instead and I do have to say, that if they did book at the Villa d'Estrees expecting that it was going to be on the same league as Plaza Athenee, they will be disappointed indeed(not that I've stayed at the PA) but because it's really not even comparing apples to oranges. Just my 2 cents. I did look at the Residence Des Artes across the street and although it is not bad, it is not the same level as Villa D'Estrees. The elevator also stops in between floors literally and you need to walk up the stairs partially(consequence of retrofitting older buildings) and the elevator is very very small so if going up the stairs and getting into very tight spaces is going to be a problem, I wouldn't take Residence des Arts. Both locations can't be beat, a block from the Seine - and a lot of very nice restaurants around - check out Ze Galerie Kitchen and Les Bouquinistes - the same menu for lunch and dinner at Ze Kitchen Galerie but the price of the prix fix lunch for appetizer, entree and dessert is the price of just the entree in the evening.

Hope that helps!

I too have just started my search for a hotel room in Paris for 4 nights in early June 2007. My wife and 2 daughters (21 & 18) are looking for a smaller hotel with alot of charm near the main attractions, with a friendly staff willing to assist with dining reservations, etc. where we can give the girls alot of freedom and sight-see, shop, dine, etc. all pretty much within walking distance of the hotel, or excellent access to transportation. The girls would appreciate a room with a memorable view. We aren't on a tight budget, but we're thinking we might look to a slightly less expensive hotel and get 2 rooms instead of a quad if we can do so reasonably. If you have any recommendations that seem to particularly fit this description, either previously posted here or not, I'd appreciate a reply on this thread...either the quad, or preferably, 2 very reasonably priced rooms, with AC of course. Thank you.

We have always enjoyed Hotel Tourville in the 7th. Ask for a superior room. One block from metro stop, nice bathrooms (my wife loves their towels and pillows...the little things), nice and helpful desk people. Near Rue Cler (sorry AnthonyGA), Napoleon's Tomb, Eiffel Tower and Rodin Museum.

Lots of good restaurants within walking distance.

((H))

I stayed at Residence des Arts a few years back, and was satisfied. It was as expected for the price & location (I have been to Paris many times, and my experience is that it is very expensive compared to comporable rooms in other major cities). The location was awesome. You will really feel like you are in the heart of Paris. We hardly had to take the Metro (the first time I could say that). Not that I don't enjoy utilizing the Metro (in fact I like the Metro a lot), but I liked all the time that was saved getting to places. That alone makes the price worth it. If your vacation time is valuable, you should factor that into the price. That said, I wouldn't call the rooms luxurious by any means, and the service is "Homey" and not like the big luxury hotels at all. As expected since it's about half the price. They were helpful in making restaurant reservations, offering assistance for transportation and helping us finding a salon (and making appointments for us). They also made us some good espresso in the morning, but you have to request it. But that's not really necessary since it is in the middle of an area with numerous excellent cafes, bistros & restaurants. It is also near the very lively & delicious Rue de Buci market. If you MUST sleep with your window open, it IS a noisy area, especially being over a bar and across the street from an Irish pub. But if you close the windows, they are excellent, and you can barely hear a thing. Personally, I slept very well.