Last fall Conde Nast Travel mag. listed the Hotel Port Royal on Blvd. Port Royal as being around $100. The website looks good. www.portroyalhotel.fr

I have heard back from Hotel Monge and Hotel de Saint Germain. Their rates are comparable.

The reviews on tripadvisor are more favorable for Hotel Monge.

I am leaning a bit more towards of Hotel de Saint Germain because of its location.

Any more thoughts?

I haven't stayed at either but how about the 'noise level'...? I think it might be noisier (street and foot traffic) in front of Hotel de St Germain vs. Monge. Also at Hotel Monge, you can request a room overlooking the Arenes.

We stayed at Hotel St Christophe around the corner from Monge and thought the metro was convenient; we did walk up to Pantheon and on to the Seine but it <i>is</i> a walk.

One odd thing I read about Monge was someone claimed they could hear the metro rumbling from their room - anyone ever experienced this in their hotel (or this one)?..

topping one more time

When we stayed at Hotel de St. Germain, our room overlooked the street, and we slept with the windows open. The only thing that woke me up was, each morning the trash man would come by. Other than that, the street gets pretty quiet after 10 or so.

YK, you know at this price, it isn't anything fancy, but it's clean, has elevator, nice modern bath, phone, TV, and refrigerator. I'm pretty sure it had hair dryer too. The location is great, the Monoprix is just around the corner, take advantage of that for soda, wine, cheese, etc. There's a bus stop across the street, and 2 metros within close walking distance.

I may have mentioned before Dina and Laurent are the managers and lovely people. Even though it may be cool, try to get one of the rooms that have a balcony (I think they end in 25) because they seemed to be the largest. Some of the rooms are very tiny, but hopefully at this time of year, you can get your request.

Whatever you end up doing, let us know how it goes. annieladd

Thanks for all your replies, esp annieladd.

I have gone ahead and made a reservation at Hotel de Saint Germain. Somehow I just feel like staying in the 6 eme this time.

I am prepared for a tiny room, but that's ok, as we plan to spend as much time out sightseeing as possible. I think I am getting a pretty good deal - it comes out to &lt; &euro; 80 per night!

Will let you all know how it works out.

Hi yk, you will have a small room most likely. But I'll let you know that rue du Four is just like what the French say alot 'a stone's throw' from Blvd. St. Germain. It's right off of the blvd. near to rue Mabillon. So the location will make up for the small room.

If you stay at the Hotel Germain, I can recommend a fabulous boulangerie at 12 rue Mabillion, Fabien LeDoux. We visited Paris around Xmas and stayed at the Hotel Clement, which is just off the Blvd. St. Germain, near the Mabillon metro. I can also recommend a great steak &amp; frites restaurant, Le Relais d'Entrecote, which is basically an all you can eat white tablecloth place. My DH adored it and had to eat there twice. The Monoprix nearby was a boon for us as well as we had teenagers and we could buy soda, chips, fresh fruit, etc. pretty inexpensively. Be wary of Cafe Mabillon on the Blvd. St. Germain, they ripped us off royally on a couple of single scoop ice creams. Have fun!

We liked the Hotel de Saint Germain... comfortable, even though it was quite small. The staff was very friendly, and it was well located. It was a short walk to Saint Sulpice, Boulevard Saint Germain, and the Bon March&eacute;. A bus stopped right across the street, and there was a metro stop a short walk away. You wouldn't go wrong choosing it.

Sandy

I have returned from my trip and posted a review of Hotel de Saint Germain on my trip report thread,
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34579780
but I'll paste the review here in case this thread ever comes up in a search:


Author: yk
Date: 03/10/2005, 08:55 pm
Message: Review of Paris hotel - Hotel de Saint Germain, 50 rue du Four

http://www.hotel-saint-germain.com/

Early on in the trip planning, I had decided on staying in the 6th (in my previous trips, I had stayed in the 5th, 7th, and near Opera Garnier). It was difficult to find a hotel in the 6th that would fit our budget (~$100/night) as the $ was weak. After perusing multiple threads on this forum, I found Hotel de Saint Germain which fit our budget. We were eligible for their promotion: Stay 3 nights (inclu Sunday) and get the 4th night free. At &euro; 105/night normally, that came out to &euro; 79/night on average.

Upon check-in, we were assigned room 65. The desk clerk nicely informed us it is on the 6th floor, but the elevator only goes up to the 5th floor (hint: the room is in the attic). The room was tiny, which I had expected, but tinier than I had imagined. It measured about 10 feet x 10 feet, while the bathroom was about 6 feet x 3 feet. The room also smelled of cigarette smoke. Luckily I had packed a green tea-scented travel candle, which lessened the cigarette smell. The double bed was larger than a full-size but smaller than a queen. The bathroom was so small that it barely could fit one person inside. If one were overweight, he/she may have difficulty fitting inside and be able to close the door (no, I am not exaggerating.)

More importantly though, the room was clean and the bathroom fixtures were rather new. The room also has all the basic features: TV, telephone, hairdryer, mini-fridge, and safe. The bathroom amenities included shower gel, soap, and shampoo.

Our room faces the street, but with the windows closed, we barely heard any street noise, even in the morning. However, the hotel is located on top of a metro line. Each time a subway train passed by, I could feel the vibration. The elevator was also rather noisy, but fortunately it wasn't used much in the middle of the night.

We chose to eat breakfast at the hotel, which was an extra &euro; 8 per person. We thought it was a reasonable price, as the breakfast included: fresh squeezed OJ, tea/coffee, and a bread basket (1 roll, 1 croissant, 1 chocolate croissant per person). There was also an unlimited supply of plain yogurt, cereal, and fruit.

Bottom line: Would I stay there agin?
Maybe, with the promotion. Definitely not, without the promotion. I certainly enjoyed staying in the 6th, as a lot of sights (and chocolate shops) are actually within walking distance. The hotel is also within close distance to several metro lines: 4, 10, 12. But maybe next time I will give Hotel Tiquetonne a try.

Great info on the hotel, thanks. Don't forget to post it on tripadvisor.com too.