Finalised my hotel bookings for our forthcoming trip in May and thought someone out there may like to know what we finally settled on:

First stop on our way back from London is The Ibis, 4 Boulevard de Neuilly, La Defense.
Reasons: Good rate of 49euros, 100 metres from the metro which goes directly to the Champs Elysees (not that's where we will spend any time but will definitely be walking down to the Grand Palais).

Next we move to: Hotel Torcy, 58 rue Torcy, Metro;Marx Dormoy fairly nearby.
This hotel was reccommended by Kerouac and after sussing it out on PagesJaunes thought it looked good enough to give it a try. So for 52 euros we booked the Deluxe suite with an outside view. Will let you know how it panned out.

Lastly, we spend our final two nights at Hotel Des Grands Ecoles, 75 rue du Cardinal Lemoine, same metro.
I like the look of this old place and the rate was pretty good for the 5th. 128euros for a garden view room.

How many days are you going to stay in Paris ? You are going to move a lot !
Hope you'll have a great time there

Kenderina: 7 nights altogether. I know most people wouldn't move around but it takes maybe an hour out of the day and I love staying in different neighborhoods. Last time I was in Paris 2 weeks and moved three times but we are only passing through this time on our way back to South Africa via Paris/Frankfurt.

Hi tod,

Are you sure that you want to stay in La Defense?

It is a large office complex with hardly anything happening after the workers go home.

Yes, Ira. Does seem strange but we have been there to see the great big square office block. Very sterile atmosphere admittedly but the hotel looks superb and we will leave it earlyish every morning and metro it into the area we will be hanging out in that day and return late evening - depends a lot on feet! I believe the trip is about 10min to Ch. de Gaulle-Etoile. From there we can peel off in many directions or stay on the train and get to Palais Royal (Louvre), Hotel de Ville (Marais) even head to Bastille which we will be doing when we do the Viaduc des Arts walk.

You do certainly have a point about it being to as I would put it - to'hellandgone'!! Probably won't suite most people but I couldn't resist the rate.

Hi tod,
We stayed at La Defense one time, it is an interesting experience, you'll only be there a short time, so I don't see any problems. You are right, it is just a short RER, or an easy bus ride. The RER is so convenient, that we did less walking than on any other visit to Paris. I did not like that there were not many dining places open in the evening, but with just a few nights it won't really matter. I don't know which hotel the Ibis is, we might have stayed there I can't remember (we were right next to the Monoprix). The only thing to look out for, is that you need to remember to close your window coverings, otherwise you may awake to offices of people looking at you. It is a completely different Parisian experience.

I can't imagine wanting to have 3 different hotels, with all that moving around, for a week in Paris. You said you've done it before, so I guess you know what you like. But seems a huge waste of time to me.

Hotel Des Grandes Ecoles is charming and in a great location. I really dont care how great the deal is on the hotel at La Defense is. I just wouldnt stay there unless I was on business at the complex and then I would think twice. It is sterile and quite deserted at night. There are really limited choices re restaurants in the off hours. If you truly figure on leaving at 9am and returning at 11pm without any return visits it is a reasonable plan.

Sounds like a good deal!

I like your idea Tod, I also don't like to stay longer than 4 days in one hotel, so I can relate your wanting to move to a different part of town to experience a different Paris. Have a great time.

Thank you all for your comments - I appreciate every single observation and when I get back home , will report honestly whether we fluffed it or not.

Yet still to try is the Marais and Ile St Louis for nearer locations.
Just as a matter of interest here are some of the hotels we have bunked down in over the years:

Perryve, 63 rue Madame , 6eme - on the doorstep of the Jardin du Luxembourg.

The Hotel Esmeralda, 4 rue Julien-le-Pauvre, 5eme.

A Best Western Elysees-Maubourg, 35 Blvd. de la Tour Maubourg, 7eme.

Hotel Gavarni, 5 rue Gavarni, 16eme.

Holiday Inn Opera, rue de L'Echiquier, 10eme ( 9eme?)

Hotel Belmont, 30 rue de Bassano, off Champs Elysees, 16eme.

Hotel Duquesne, Ave. Duquesne, 7eme.

Hotel Clement, 6 rue Clement, 6eme.

Think I've missed a few but memory grows weak when you're my age!

I'm looking forward to your reviews.

If anyone is interested, there are some other Ibis hotels that are in some interesting Paris neighborhoods that often go for as cheap as 49 Euros per night, if you book them far enough ahead. If you go a little bit suburban (which I can't advise is a good idea or not), 39 Euros is quite possible.