Okay. Here's the deal. I'm the type who needs to know she got the best deal possible. I've been researching Paris hotels for months. I've narrowed down the areas we'd most like to St. Germain and the Latin Qtr. I've upped my budget (2X) to accomodate our needs for a/c and location. But everytime I find what I think is the BEST deal, I check the reviews, and get all confused. How much credence would you give to tripadvisor vs. fodors vs. priceline type reviews? One such example is Hotel Academie Deluxe. The reviews are divided almost down the middle, people either love it or hate it. One of my concerns is that all the bad reviews date from the beginning of this year. Other options on our short list are: Clement, Demure, Lindbergh, Muguet, Des Mines, Bonaparte, St. Germain, St. Christoph and St. Michel. Does anyone have a strong opinion either way on any of the above. Thanks in advance.

I haven't stayed there, but a lot of people on this site love the Bonaparte. I have an extremely fussy friend who has stayed there and liked it, so I wouldn't hesitate to book it myself.

As far as mixed reviews go, I'd consider what the complaints are; if it's noise, poor location, etc. I'd skip it, but if they seem like something petty and other reviews were good, I'd still consider it.

&quot;<i>I'm the type who needs to know she got the best deal possible.</i>&quot; Just relax and realize you probably won't get the &quot;best&quot; deal no matter how hard you search. Someone is going to get a better one somewhere. Plus the longer you take, the more &quot;deals&quot; disappear. If you find a <u>decent</u> deal - go for it and don't wait for the best one . . . . just my 2 ¢

What anyone says will probably just confuse you even more

You've got a point jan. It's already happened, lost Hotel Miverve...this posting was my final attempt to narrow it down. Any rants or raves...but I do need to get off the proverbial pot at this point. Thanks.

I can relate. When we travel we want to make sure we have the best fit for hotels, but honestly, we never know for sure til we arrive. That said, I went the same thing reading all sorts of reviews and trying to decipher it all. We are headed to Paris in less than 3 weeks, and one place that we are staying is the Muguet. I don't know when your trip is, but I would be happy to report back and let you know what we think of the hotel.

You take the best guess you can based on the reviews. I would not put much credence in the reviews that are posted to the website of sellers or marketers.

I know there is one motel in Palm Springs, CA, that gets high praise and a royal going over for grungy rooms and rude staff. Which one is the truth? I have no way of knowing when reading an review by an unknown source.

I would tend to rely on Fodors comments more, both from the official publications and the unsolicited comments from Travel Talk contributers.

That said, you can go wrong without knowing it because we cannot judge other people's standards unless we know them.

I know I was very disappointed in a hotel in London, one that is well known - the Kensington Close. The rooms are tiny slits. We went to another one called Hotel Troy that I picked just because it advertised king sized beds and a/c. It was not so bad; nothing great mind you but the bed was at least comfortable as claimed.

In Paris, I found a fairly decent place near the intersection of Boulevard Raspail and Boulevard Montparnasse: The Aiglon. Since I was there, the management has changed and I have no recent information on it.

I might add that my review is based on one of the superior double rooms that costs us a little more than a standard room. (The bath was large enough and had two lavatories, and we had a real closet for clothes and suitcases rather than an armoir that took up floor space.)

You do the best you can with what you can learn.

I suppose if you really want to be a control freak you could make two reservations and chose one over the other. Or, get a room at a 4-star establishment. They tend to be better, but not always.

You are trying to optimize when the best you can do is satisfice (see note below). Even with the best reviews in the world, you could get a room the night that a smoker with a chronic cough is next door or the power goes out. You just have to say, &quot;This place is better than the least I would accept and approaches the best in several ways&quot; and let it go.

Footnote: &quot;The word satisfice was coined by Herbert Simon as a portmanteau of &quot;satisfy&quot; and &quot;suffice&quot;. Simon pointed out that human beings lack the cognitive resources to maximize: we usually do not know the relevant probabilities of outcomes, we can rarely evaluate all outcomes with sufficient precision, and our memories are weak and unreliable.&quot; Wikipedia

Have you done a search for hotels in the 4th, and whatever other areas that interest you?

There have been hundreds of hotel reviews on this board.

Book the Muguet.

Satisfice, I like that. And yes, Luisah, it's an abundance, not a derth of information from which I suffer.

I'm gonna make a spreadsheet (another one). That's what I'm gonna do. It's the only thing that keeps me from jumping back and forth between websites and review sites...argh! Mms, we're going July 1, maybe we'll see you there. That's 2 votes for the Muguet!

We stayed at Hotel Muguet twice and highly recommend it. The a/c is superb.

There are no constants, only variable. Much depends upon the specific room you are assigned.

Now that you've narrowed down your options, it might be better to switch to most appealing hotel, location, etc., rather than best deal.

A spreadsheet will just get you more confused. They all have their plusses and minuses.

Did those of you who stayed at the Muguet have to give your cc # in order to make an inquiry? Or did you phone? I can't seem to find an availability check feature on their site.

I have a childhood acquaintance who grew up just about barefoot in the dirt in Mississippi and went to the same school that I did. Once, when she came to Paris, after getting a room for &quot;only&quot; 200&euro;, she wasn't satisfied with quality of the pillows. She moved to a 350&euro; hotel the next day and said that the pillows were great. This is the sort of person that I would NEVER ask for a hotel review.

mrschef--We will be crossing paths We are staying at the Muguet the first 3 nights, then heading over to Normandy for a few nights, then back to Paris. But when doing my own search for hotels, and having a hard time narrowing it down, we opted to try 2 hotels. So the last 5 nights will be at the Britannique. If you go with the Muguet, it will be fun to compare thoughts

If you don't want to give a credit card number for a reservation inquiry, e-mail to inquire about availability for your dates. Providing it with the inquiry is done via a secure website and is just more efficient. If you book via e-mail, you'll have to provide it in an e-mail or fax it.

You can make an inquiry at Hotel Muguet using the &quot;contact us&quot; form not the &quot;reservation&quot; form..
http://www.paris-hotel-muguet.com/English/WriteUs.htm

the hotel refurbished about a year or so ago so it should be a nice 2*.

Demure is a bit &quot;south&quot; for most people, isn't it..?

Which hotel is &quot;St Michel&quot;..?

We stayed at St Christophe several years ago. It was fairly nice but the plumbing was noisy everytime it passed down the system. this is probably not uncommon in these old buildings but I hadn't noticed in other hotels...

Travelnut, it's the www.grand-hotel-st-michel.com. I've got it down to 8 properties. H&ocirc;tel Atlantis, Hotel Auteuil Tour Eiffel, Hotel Bonaparte, H&ocirc;tel Muguet, La Demeure, Grand H&ocirc;tel Saint Michel, Hotel S&egrave;vres Saint Germain &amp; Hotel Academie De Luxe. Any advice one way or the other on any of them would be appreciated.

I liked the Muguet a lot also - no complaints. And just down the street is a wonderful restaurant (name escapes me but go out the Muguet door and turn right, it is on the corner). On my next trip I plan to stay at the Bonaparte, based on the recs here. I've walked by it and like the location.

Auteuil Tour Eiffel is the least central although it looks nice.

Demeure is near Gobelins, which is an ok neighborhood but I've read of noise from the emergency vehicles going to the hospital on the same road.

Bonapart is functional 2* that gets some mixed comments here regarding the decor/furnishings. Location is excellent for first-time visitors, very central.

Hotel des Mines may also be in the 'plain but functional' category.

Academie deLuxe - the 'deluxe' part of the name must be a recent addition - did they renovate or something?

Grand St Michel is very central also but I haven't read much about it, nor Sevres St Germain or Atlantis.

How would the list shake out if you reread TA comments for:
- Sevres St Germain
- Grand St Michel
- Muguet