Paris Hotel - Villa D'Estrees vs. Hotel L'Abbaye
 

My fiance and I are trying to book a hotel for 4 nights in Paris in August for our honeymoon before we move on to Provence. Neither of us have ever been to Paris. We've decided (by reading lots of good advice on this forum) that we should stay in either the 5th or the 6th and really like the sound of the St. Germain de Pres area.

We really have no budget for these few nights in Paris. We're on our honeymoon and will be saving money on our accommodations in Provence by renting a gite.

We really like the look of Hotel L'Abbaye although it's only rated a 3 star hotel. But we like the look of the common spaces (i.e. the garden) however the rooms look a bit overdone.

We just recently came across Villa D'Estrees. We prefer the look of this hotel and it is rated as 4 star. However there doesn't appear to be much common space (i.e. restaurant / bar, etc.). And it is cheaper than the other.

Can someone help us make this difficult decision? We really don't have a budget but would like to spend in the 300 to 400 Euro range. We'll be on our honeymoon so want a nice romantic hotel and will want a suite or some type of big room with more space that a standard.

We are also willing to consider other hotels so please let the suggestions fly!

Have you checked out the Relais Christine? Great location (quiet street but near blvd St. Germain), lovely rooms and pleasant service (though it has been a few years since our stay there - reviews continue to be favorable).

Bonjour, I too am considering the Villa D'Estress but vs. Hotel Daniel over in the 8th A. Any comments? thx

We are booked at the Villa d'Estrées in October, primarily because the size of the rooms--large--really appeals to us. Also, friends who were in Paris in December visited the hotel and pronounced it excellent, liking the neighborhood and the hotel personnel quite a lot.

The d'Aubusson is quite popular, but nearly everyone suggests getting a deluxe room--others are apparently quite small.

You might also consider a boulevard-view room at the Hôtel Le Madison, which is just opposite the church of St-Germain-des-Prés. The location is ideal, the hotel is lovely, and the rooms are beautiful. Corner rooms are especially spacious.

I've never stayed at Villa D'Estrees but have several times at Lábbaye. The rates are up, my income down is the ONLY reason I do not return. The breakfast garden in lovely, off the street behind walls so it quite, a fire and small bar in the lounge. Heaven!

Of the two you asked about, I don't know the Villa D'Estress but the Abbaye is lovely and elegant and I would honeymoon there :)
Of the others that have been mentioned, I agree on the suggestion of the D'Aubusson...great location, perfect for a short stay in Paris (right in the middle of all the wonderfulness of the 6th) and a beautiful hotel with great service.
Congratulations~

We stayed at Relais Christine in January, and still love it. The hotel is a quiet and elegant oasis just a few blocks behind Blvd. St Germaine, and only about a 10 min. walk (if that) from the Latin Quarter, 15 min. from Notre Dame, and maybe 20 from the Louvre.

The hotel was converted from a former monastery, and still has some of the original woodwork. Rooms vary in size, but some of them face a small garden in back of the hotel. Try to ask for one of these since they're very nice. You might be able to land a good deal in August, especially if you let the front desk know that it's your honeymoon.

Another hotel to look at, though I can't speak from personal experience is Hotel D'Aubusson, which is just around the corner from Relais Christine on rue Dauphine. We peeked into the lobby and it really looked like a lovely place to stay. I know that it's generally gotten very good reviews online.

Anyway, have a great time!

Underhill-
I realize this is a fairly old post, but just wondering how you liked
Villa d'Estrees. Do you know the size of the rooms?
My husband and I are going in May and are trying to decide between Villa d'Estrees and Hotel d'Aubusson.
Thanks

YougoGirl,

I would suggest re-posting this with the title UNDERHILL, otherwise it might be missed completely.

Another hotel you might want to check is Le Pavillion de la Reine, which is just off Places des Vosges in the Marais. It's a wonderful area which is home to many art galleries, restaurants, and boutiques, as well as the Picasso Museum. The hotel is the sister hotel of Le Relais Christine, which my husband and I have stayed at for many years.

In case it's of interest, we're booked into Hotel D'Aubusson this July. Relais Christine has raised its prices considerably, and we were able to find a pretty good deal for a deluxe room on Hotel D'Aubusson's website. You might want to check to see if it's still available.

I have just booked at the Pavillon de la Reine for three nights in July. It looks beautiful. I was able to get a rate of 290 euro including breakfast instead of their usual rate of 415 not including breakfast for a superior room. This is best rate special and is at the bottom of the list if you try to check availability on their web site.

Underhill has had recent knee surgery and not able to do much with the internet...

gracejoan3,

I'd like to send my bests regards to Underhill! Thanks!

Hi YouGoGirl -

My husband I stayed at Villa D'Estrees on our Oct 2005 Paris trip (and then actually stayed at Pavillon de la Reine mentioned by Weadles plus an apartment in the Marais on our Oct 2006 trip).

Anyway, we really liked Villa D'Estrees as a location in the 6th because it was so convenient to everything and relatively quiet (assuming no big football games or other goings on at the Irish pub at the end of the street!) The room was a very good size with a nice bathroom (the one we stayed in is shown on the hotel's website with the striped red wallpaper and with the bed closer to the bathroom and then a pleasant sitting area with couch by the windows overlooking the street). The hotel staff were excellent and treated us very well.

The only downside of Villa D'Estrees was that the downstairs common area is really just one room with the hotel attendent at a desk in the corner. It is a very nice room but if you are thinking you want to find a cozy little private "nook" in a common area, you won't get that at Villa D'Estrees. My husband makes fun of me for worrying about being too "loud" in public places (actually I'm worried about HIM being too loud :)) but I did feel like I wanted to whisper when we sat in the common room! With that said, we still loved the hotel and felt like we had plenty of space to lounge in the privacy of our own room so on mornings where we wanted to be a little lazy, they would bring us a lovely breakfast tray with our croissants and cafe cremes. Also, we had fun chatting with the hotel staff in the common room and they were great in helping us to book our restaurant reservations.

Hope that helps.

This past fall, stayed at Pavillion de la Reine,just off Places des Vosges in the 3rd. An excellent hotel with an excellent location. Many nice restaurants close by and closer than you might think to Notre Dame, the 6th, etc.

The rate of around 300 euros mentioned above is very good if you can get it.