paris hotel help asap
 

Hello,
I cancelled a trip and am trying to redo it. I need to decide by tonight. I have a choice of Ambassador Hotel in the 9th (350 a night), Les Jardins du Marais (11th bordering 4th) 257 a night and Le meridien Montparnasse (not b/t 250 and 300. I need to know which is the best area for a first time trip. I'd like to be safe and also have places to eat and shop around. I have no other choices or I lose a lot of money. thanks in advance
ps i know this is a dupe but was told previous post title was bad for views

You can find replies to your original post by clicking on your name.

Copying here... from your "other" post...

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...this was through an agent so I have to pay their rate its over 300 US dollars for that hotel a night. I am already losing 600 dollars to reschedule trip i'd lose 1100 to cancel and book on my own. Its so upsetting b/c i thought the travel insurance would cover more and now i have such limited choices of hotels and areas for a lot of money

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When your stress (distress?) has lessened (perhaps after your trip?), I wonder if there are lessons you'd like to share with others her on this forum, on how/why this dilemma arose, why the travel insurance has failed to meet yout expectations, and what, if any resolution you work out.

I think that it was good that you r-posted.

Best wishes,

Rex

Boy, that's a lot of money to pay for some not terribly desirable properties or areas! Curious why you're locked into these. I wouldn't want to have this choice, but if I did, I guess I'd pick Les Jardins du Marais. Why do you have no other choice or lose a lot of money? Seems to me you're losing a huge amount already, given that there are so many wonderful Paris hotels in "central" locations that are half the price of these places.

Hello,
I had a package for London and Paris for July. I cancelled for 2 reasons, one the attacks (i was in 911 and it brought back memories and I could not go) and 2 because of an unexpected illness. It was too much to go. I was told if I cancelled I would lose 1100 so we are going in Sept. so we only lose 600 We are doing Paris only b/ c of the time we could get off from work in Sept. The travel agent has given us these choices for the time in Sept we can take. There are other chocies but for closer to 400 a night and I don't want to pay that. The ambassador seems nicer than the others but its expensive.. I do want to be in a nice area to walk around but don't have a lot of choices because the travely agency only has a certain number of rooms they can get etc. I dont want to lose 1100 dollars to cancel and rebook I would end up saving nothing by doing that. I am so stressed the longer i wait the more that becomes unavailable or too expensive...
my main concern is getting the best atmosphere for my 5k trip
i appreciate all the help

So are you saying these are just choices your travel agent has given you and that you're not "locked in" to hotel choices for any other reason? If that's the case, drop the travel agent like a hot potato! You can stay in a perfectly lovely Paris hotel in much better areas for under 200 euros a night - WELL under in some cases.

St Cirq if I drop the agent I lose 1100 US dollars. THat is a lot of money to me. If I do that what do I save in realty by getting a better price deal at another place. I am already going to lose 1100. that is my problem.

Hi sarah,

Am I correct that you have committed to a pkg for two people to Paris for about $5000, that if you cancel you lose $1100, and that it has cost you $600 to reschedule?

Can you give us details on your package?

It is quite possible that even if you eat the $1100, we can help you put together a visit that will be better than what you are now offered, and save you some of your money.

((I))

thanks for the help. Its american airlines from JFK to paris and seven nights at a hotel, i bought museum passes and some other small package add ons my husband chose he planned a lot of the trip. I know I need to pay for cancelling but I want to have the best trip I can have. I dont want to lose the 1100 but I also want to have a good time for the money i am spending. I think b/c i canceled the london part its confusing my agent and the plans. its a large chain agency so I assumed prices would be good. but I dont know what to do. mY husband want to go in sept as to not lose more cash but i am torn

..you mentioned illness in your post..Did you have trip insurance. Most big companies sell this with their packages and it usually inc. cancellation insurance secondary to an illness. If you bought insurance read the fine print as this may be an out!

I don't really understand this question at all, how a travel agent can force you to stay in one of only a couple hotels and then charge those kind of rates for the hotel rooms. Those look like they are even higher than normal rates, whereas some agent with packages should be getting deals, if anything. Le Meridien is often on Priceline from what I've heard.

Anyway, I personally like the area around the Meridien best. It's convenient to public transportation, and lots to do around there, including restaurants. Second, would be the Jardins du Marais -- which used to be Home Plazza Bastille. This used to be a place that was apartments (not huge, but at least studios), and so had kitchenettes, although the website now almost makes it sound like they have revised that plan and some or most are regular rooms. At least they appear refurbished and have AC and minibars. If you are quoting USD, that is the rate for their mid-level rooms (225 euro) called "executive" so don't accept the basic room.

That isn't bordering on the 4th. It is on rue Amelot in-between the St Sebastien and CHemin Vert metro stops, and is not far from the border of the 3rd arrondisement (and some decent restaurants in the Marais area).

There is an excellent Sunday morning market on bd Richard Lenoir which I like a lot. That location would be okay, I sure wouldn't pay 300 for the Meridien.

Hopefully, the discussion about the merits of priceline for Paris hotels (some is on your "other" post) can be amplified further here, on this thread.

Hi sarah,

RT JFK/CDG is $622 pp in coach.

A standard double at Le Meridien Montparnasse is about 90E/night on priceline.

It gets mixed reviews.

If you are going 1cl, the prices would be higher, of course.

((I))

The repliers aren't too bright. AA has a package and offers various hotels plus air. Obviously the writer has narrowed her choices to the named places probably for the price. AA has properties ranging from 2* to the most luxurious hotels. They are priced accordingly. Perhaps the writer didn't properly explain the problem.

In response to last post, I don't want to have name calling. I am in a pickle because I made a bad travel deal. I expressed I am locked in for money reasons to the choices I mentioned. I appreciate the idea that there are cheaper options but I did explain that is not an option for me. Either way I lose money. Spending 1100 in order to get a cheap fare does not save me money in reality. I made a bad deal. I just wanted info on the areas the hotel are in and to vent that I got a bad deal. so maybe someone will check the travel insurance and prices before they book. Many posters were quite nice to me and I really aprreciate people are willing to help. its a great site for that. There is no reason to attack myself or other people who have tried to help me. If some one doesn't like my question they can ignore it and get involved in discussions they deem important. such is life

Hi sarah,

That being the case, have you checked the 3 hotels at www.tripadvisor.com?

I wouldn't take the Meridien Montparnasse at 250-300 unless it was a jr. suite.

For the price, I think the Jardin is your best bet.

((I))

PS,

Do you mean that you could have the Ambassador for the same price as the Jardin?

((I))

Ira, the ambassador is more money that the Jardin. I would do this if it was a better option. the ambassador is 2604 total for 7 nights and its 1874 for the Jardin

You paid for a certain hotel in your package. Now you have several choices, apparently at the same price as your original choice. So you want to know which one is best.
You should explain yourself more coherently. I have used AA packages and I understand what you asre saying. Others do not.

Picky, what is a AA package? I dont think that is what I have since it was a travel agent not the airline that I contacted. I have one hotel choice for same price and other choices for more money. None in the same area I had orginally booked (the 6th)

picky, the poster has stated several times that the hotels vary in price with the Ambassador being the most expensive so your premise that you know exactly what she bought, and that she stated her problem poorly seems flawed.

sarah, I would choose the du Jardins, and based on the tripadvisor reviews, I wouldn't even feel so bad about the price (your talking dollars, right?) It sounds like AA Vacations includes the breakfast buffet which was described as good by many in their reviews. Go to Paris and have a wonderful time!

I have the AAvacations book in front of me as I reply. A travel agent, or you can directly buy a trip . You obviously arranged through an TA. The result is the same. AA doesn't offer an unlimited choice of hotels and they have apparently offered you a very resonable choice based on availability on your new travel date.Your other correspondents don't understand this. See pages 25, 26,27 which have the list of hotels by AA associated with this package. Your travel agent did what you could have done by getting the AA brochure. This why others are telling you look elsewhere because they don't comprehend the arrangment.

thanks for the info about AA

Sarah,
What are your dates? I might be able to help.

thanks for all the help i booked the jardin one last night

For those of you Fodorites who don't know that many airlines offer DO IT YOURSELF PACKAGES, I'll explain it for you. You buy air, hotel and sometimes a car or transport from airport to hotel and have a choice of a number of hotels that vary in price by # of stars, from 2* to 5* hotels.You are then on your own, no buses etc. THESE PACKAGES GENERALLY ARE LESS COSTLY THEN IF ONE BUYS AIR THEMSELVES AND HOTEL ACCOMADATIONS BY THEMSELVES.I KNOW MOST FODERITES DO IT ALL THEMSELVES UNDER THE ILLUSION IT IS THE CHEAPEST WAY. Not necessarily. The airlines have some great deals if you want to spend a week in London, Paris or Rome which is what the author had in mind via American Airlines. I believe many of you who follow these letters are not aware of this type of offering but I not only knew what the lady's problem was, I have used this type of travel myself.

<<if you want to spend a week in London, Paris or Rome...>> (at the hotel(s) they chose, at the rate (they) negotiated)...

I think that this is at the top of the reasons that a package would likely never appeal to me (though, yes, it always might be possible). The odds are so low... that I want to stay exactly the number of prescribed nights, at exactly that hotel, and that no other hotel (priceline or otherwise) would suit me better, or offer me a better value... well, it seems astronomically unlikely.

I think most Fodorites are WELL aware that airlines offer such packages, and also WELL aware that they can almost always do better on their own. Given the OP's stated situation, there's yet another reason why such packages don't appeal to savvy travelers.

just to clarify I booked a liberty travel package. I had no intention of booking through the airline. I booked air fare and then chose hotels etc it wasn't a set formula. If the agent booked a airline package it was without my knowledge. I booked through an agent b/c i wanted it to be easier and did not want to pay 100 percent to expedia or travelocity and havbe no insurance etc. I did have a abd experience and lose money even with insurance but without insdurance id have lost total package price. I will live and learn. i think this is a great resource to reserach trips and values.
ps excuse my spelling i am on a laptop

So I guess Picky was completely wrong and all us other idiots maybe not quite as dumb as he thought. I know about packages, and know full well that you can put airfare and hotels together in them. Sometimes they can be cheaper than buying on your own, but usually not very much, and you are limited in your choice. However, the thing that was confusing to me was that if there is a package you put together yourself, you are not required to book hotels at a certain level. YOu can choose the hotels from lowest price to highest. The confusing thing about this was that sarah was being required to book the expensive hotels, and the prices varied among them. If it were a done deal, the price shouldn't have mattered.

In any case, I think the one in Bastille area should be fine. You can look for restaurants in the Marais, at least the part closest to the eastern border. I also like the Cafe des Phares for drinks/people watching right on place Bastille. Maybe you won't need this, but there is a great, cheap internet cafe a couple blocks north of place Bastille on bd Beaumarchais, on the east side (very near Chemin Vert metro stop). Also, as I said, the Sunday morning market on bd Richard Lenoir is very good.

I think what sarah is saying is that she booked the trip through her travel agent, relying on his/her expertise in well, travel.

Unbeknownst to her (sarah), the agent booked a package tour through the airline's travel dept. Had the agent put the trip together herself/himself, the agent would have been able to switch hotels and sarah would not have been stuck with the change fees.

BUT....she most likely would have incurred the airline change fees anyway which as we all know can be substantial.

She came here asking for our help and some people chose to get snitty. That's unfortunate and I hope Sarah will overlook that and come back here with her trip report.

AS an aside, I stayed at the Meridien Montparnasse for just one night a couple of years ago and found it very "corporate" and sterile, also showing a little wear & tear. It's funny how little it matters to me when a charming older hotel starts to show its age but it turns me off completley in a modern hotel.

Hi Sarah,

Chalk it up to experience, and figure out a way to deduct it from your taxes as a business trip. (:

((I))