JohnFitz

LadyInRed ,it is a good idea to be near the Metro stations wherever you stay as you are likely to use them unless you are prepared to walk everywhere and that is just not practical .In the Latin Quarter / Marais it is easy walking to lots of places . If catching the RER train in from the airport it is helpful to minimise lugging bags the shortest possible distance .
The Rue de Rivoli acts as a border between the 3rd and the 4th arrondisements .St Paul station is located there in a lovely pedestrian treed and paved area with a merry go round in it at the intersection with Rue St.Antoine .
If you can be bothered after all your previous research and want to be closer to the middle of the Marais ,bearing in mind hotel #2 is 5 pleasant minutes walk or less from the heart of the Marais ,then look for hotels enclosed roughly by the Quai des Celestins at the Seine end across either side to the Place de la Bastille and Rue de Temple or even Place de la Republique ,Bd.Henri IV /Bd Beaumarchais and Rue de Temple .
We stayed in the Rue St Paul on the opposite side of the R.de Rivoli in the 4e .It was a wonderful locale .From there either of the stations I mentioned in my previous post are a few minutes walk at either end of the street.
The only caution I give about staying in the middle of the Marais or any lively area is that there are lots of bars and street life and noise however things tend to wind down / close reasonably early .Do not be deterred by that as it is exciting and one of the few spots that is lively on a Sunday night with cafes , bars etc open in case that is one of your precious 4 nights . During the week it is much quieter and easier to look around as on weekends all of Paris converges during the day and is very busy .
Of course the better the position the more expensive the room and it is going to be really hard to beat the 85 euros a night price which is very good .
John

JeanneB

This hotel has gotten previous good reviews from younger posters looking for Paris nightlife.

Hotel du College de France
http://www.hotel-collegedefrance.com/

It's in the 5th near Rue St Jacques/Blvd St. Germain...Cluny Metro. I haven't stayed there, but the area directly across St. Germain (Petit Pont area) is definitely full of clubs and lively late into the night.

It's also close enough to the Iles and the 6th that you'll get a good feel for several different parts of Paris.

LadyInRed

Thank you all for so much help for the Marais area. Unfortunately the Hotel College du France was booked a while ago It does sound like Hotel Sevigne, Hotel du 7eme Art, and Hotel Lyon-Mulhouse are in this specific region so I'll be checking those out.

For the Latin Quarter, could anyone be more specific about the borders for the best area here? How far does the LQ extend from the Luxembourg metro? Is the St Michel metro stop in this region? Thanks again.

Travelnut

Did you try Hotel Familia? They just added A/C this year, from what I've read in TA comments.
http://www.hotel-paris-familia.com/

LadyInRed

I will check out Hotel Familia, thank you. The reason I ask about the St Michel metro stop is that I have found a studio apartment that is right by this metro stop. Would this still be considered in the heart of the Latin Quarter? It looks like it is right by the Seine. The studio would cost me about 81 Euros (and is not air conditioned during my stay in mid-August) as opposed to about 80 Euros in the other air-conditioned hotels mentioned in the Marais and LQ, so if this studio is not ideally located I wouldn't want to go for it. Thank you!

lmlweb

Yes. You will be in walking distance to everything. St. Michel metro stop is at the intersection of St-Michel and Ste-Germaine, and close to pretty much everything.

lmlweb

but it does get very hot and humid in August/Sept at night, so air condition would be a good thing to go for, especially if the price is about the same.

Christina

St MIchel metro stop is like the epicenter of the Latin Qtr. Well, not really, historically, but definitely is the Latin Qtr.

I think you would be making a very bad decision to take that studio in mid-August for the same price as an air-conditioned hotel. You are only going to be there 4 nights, why do you think you need a studio apt. so much.

trafaelwyr

Just out of curiousity, how many of the naysayers have stayed in hotel choices 1 - 3? I personally have stayed in hotel #1 (and I believe I also recommended this place). The area that the hotel is in is NOT a dead area, I can assure you of that! On one corner of the intersection there is a brassier and on the other corner opposite it (to the south) is another one or two. Every night I was there (8 days), those places had lots of people. Not only that, but there's a market that's held every Sunday and I believe Wednesday as well underneath the elevated Metro. There's also a Monoprix right across the street from the one Brassier and there's also, everyone take a deep breath now, a McDonalds! Oh the humanity! Access to the Metro (stop La Motte Picquet Grenelle) is ridiculously easy. Look up the address 66, Av. de la Motte-Picquet in Google Earth (or even google the address and look for the map). I was happy with my stay there last year and I'd stay there again.

Christina

I haven't stayed in it, but I don't think it's necessary to stay in them to know what that area is like. I know the area and have been around it, more than once, so I know what it is like. My response didn't have anything to do with the quality of the hotel itself, but the location and what LadyinRed said she wanted a lot. I did actually stay in a hotel right near those two once, as well as being in that area at other times, but not in the specific hotels named.

However, I will take it back about the hotel de Tourisme, as I assumed the poster was correct in saying it was a block from the Eiffel Tower. It's not, of course, and I do think that area is a little more lively than the area of no. 3. So I would choose it over the Levecque in that regard. I still suspect the OP would prefer elsewhere, though. It's probably just as lively as the Hotel des Mines immediate area, though, and I would say more convenient.

LadyInRed

That was my mistake about Hotel Tourisme. I had looked it up a couple days before writing the message and recalled that it was on the opposite side of Champ du Mars Park from the Eiffel Tower, which of course when now looking at it, is not 1 block long.

Your input about the hotel versus studio is appreciated. I didn't think that I needed a studio, but on many posts I read that it's nicer to have an apartment than a hotel room because you have more space, it's probably nicer/cleaner, can be more romantic, and you have a fridge to store all of that cheese you're going to be eating Sometimes it's also cheaper, although I'm finding for 4 days, apartments tend to be about the same cost as a hotel - it's just harder to find an air conditioned apartment.

Clea

Stayed in Residence Monge, I do not recall a tiny room. It was L-shaped with a bed on one side and chairs and Tv on the other. the bath was a good size for two and had great AC to withstand the Aug 2003 heatwave! Altough not next to the Notre Dame it was a decent walk and there are two metros to chose from. One caution, the metro stopped running around 1:00 am, we did not know this and had to exit the subway prior to our stop. No big issue since obviously this happens to tourist a lot, there were several taxis lined up waiting for anyone who had to exit there!

LadyInRed

Still looking at other hotels that might be better for what we want...would the Hotel du Pantheon (19 place du Pantheon) still be within the boundaries of the lively part of the Latin Quarter? How would that compare to the Place des Vosges/Bastille area? Look forward to any other suggestions.

Christina

The Hotel du Pantheon? That's a great location, I'd stay there no problem. That is a very nice hotel, as well as their sister property HOtel des Grands Hommes. The good thing about it is that it is in the lively part of the Latin Quarter, and very near Luxembourg Gardens and the RER stop is right at the end of the street -- yet, it isn't in the noisy, most hectic part of the Latin Quarter with the cheap restaurants and tons of souvenir shops, etc.

Of all the ones you've named, that would be the one I'd go for.

bashamj

we stayed here last year and loved the location. Fringe of Latin Qtr, right behind Pantheon. Close to ND and metro. Great english speaking staff to help.

http://www.hotel-saintjacques.com/en/confort_en.htm

LadyInRed

Given the recommendations about area, I am now looking to up my price a bit, and was wondering what people thought of these options:

1) Hotel Lyon Mulhouse - double room with 1.5 bath at back of hotel (8 Beaumarchais; 80 Euros)

2) Hotel du Pantheon - standard double room with shower (19 Place du Pantheon; 106 Euros)

3) Abbatial Saint Germain - standard double room with shower (46, blvd Saint Germain; 100 Euros)

4) Hotel Minerve - standard double room with shower (13 rue des Écoles, 104 Euros)

Is it worth the extra money to move out of the Bastille/Marais area to the Pantheon area? Which hotels would be nicest, and would suit what I'm looking for (a lively neighborhood, walking distance to sights, cafes and nightlife all around for a younge couple)?

endlessummer

Hi LadyInRed - I know you have already done a search but I have an idea for you since you have now upped your price a bit. My father, my husband and I stayed in this hotel:

http://www.hotel-hospitel.fr/ang/accueil.htm

I think this is one of the most cheapest and most centrally located hotels in Paris! You walk out the door and you are standing in front of Notre Dame.

We got the idea from the following article:

http://tinyurl.com/2d7vnu

Yes, you are staying in a hospital but it has the most beautiful courtyard (check pics on TripAdvisor). It's VERY quiet, it's very clean, it's located right on Ile de la Cité. You don't have decide on Bastille vs Pantheon - you are equidistant to both!

I picked this place because my father is a fussy traveller and we wanted aircon. The only thing that disappointed me was that we didn't get the room with the view.

If I had to pick from your list, I would go for Hotel du Pantheon - it looks gorgeous.

Christina

If you want dull, stay in the top floor of a hospital in an area that is a big tourist location (right outside Notre Dame) -- I really would not stay in that Hotel Dieu (which is a hospital, those are rooms for guests' families, for the most part) and it is absolutely not one of the cheapest hotels in Paris. It's not that cheap for what it is.

I personally prefer the Pantheon area to the Bastille area, but I don't know about you. I don't love the Marais, either, although a lot of people do. The Lyon Mulhouse is on a major street so I'd be worried about noise, but other than that it's okay but I like the Pantheon area better.

I also don't like the location of the Abbatial and the Minerve, but again, I know many people do. I just don't like that area, think it's kind of dull and inconvenient, relatively -- at least compared to where I like to stay. I did stay right near the Abbatial once, also , so that is personal experience. The Abbatial is right on bd St Germain, also, so I would prefer something else.

I think you are doing too much research at this point and changing your mind too much, I know how that is. YOu'd better pick one or you'll have nothing.

endlessummer

Well Christina, they are pretty nice rooms for patients families - it's quite a novelty and the public areas are hardly hospital like! I'm sorry but for FOR THE LOCATION, it is very inexpensive and you hardly even notice you're in a hospital except for a few people in white coats and the lift. I have stayed in the 4 Seasons, Le Grand, Le Muguet, the Renaissance, Le Walt, Grand Hotel Leveque and others so I have tried a huge selection of hotels in Paris. For LadyInRed, she seems to be vacillating on location one side of the Seine or the other and you can't get much more central than the Ile de la Cité. She is also conscious of price. As for this being a touristed area, of course! But the beauty of the hotel is that you don't even notice this one you are inside. If you have stayed there, you would know this.