We plan trip to Paris 10/15 and have narrowed our hotels to Hotel les Marronniers, Hotel d' Angleterre, Hotel Prince de Conti and Saint Germaine Left Bank Hotel. Any comments or advice would be appreciated. Our goals are charming, convenient to activity yet quiet, and under $200 (US). <BR>

Hi Terry: I stayed at the Angleteere this past June and I can't say enough about how pleased I was with the hotel and especially the location. It fills all your goals perfectly--well, I was working with an exchange rate of 6 francs to the dollar...You might have to pay @$225/ night including breakfast (nothing special but nice little breakfast room). For that price, we had a beautiful large room facing the courtyard (which has a little garden) and it was really quiet. The hotel looked like it had been renovated within a few years...lovely fabric wall coverings, antique furniture in the room, marble fireplace. However, I think we got the largest double (not suite), and I'm sure you can get a better price for a smaller double. But charming, convenient to activity yet quiet???You couldn't ask for better. I'd go back in a nanosecond! One more thing--they don't pay travel agent commissions and the best way to reserve a room is to call (desk clerk speaks fluent English) with a followup fax.

It is hard to get a room in Paris that is not cramped (without paying a fortune.) The Angleterre is definitely the best choice!

I haven't been paying attention, so don't know if the exchange rate has soared recently, but we stayed in the 6th in June, at a place I'd be happy to return to, for about $80 a nite. I consider us pretty fussy when it comes to hotels, and this place was just dandy. Spacious? no, but I also would not call it cramped by any means. Les Grande de Balcons, on a quiet side street a few steps from the Odeon. (You cand it, along with pictures, on the www.paris.com site) Very pleasant staff, with sufficient English for us first-time, non French speaking Paris visitors to manage very nicely. Bon voyage!

My husband and I will be staying at Grande Hotel des Balcons in May. I picked this hotel based on the many good comments, including the ones from Raeona. I was quoted 505FF which is about $92 and includes a private bathroom. When we return from our trip, I will post my comments!

I stayed at the Marroniers once for one night only. We checked out the next day because we felt our room was extremely small for the price. The bathroom had only a partition for the shower, no tub or shower stall enclosure. Front desk staff not particularly warm, if you care about that. I must say we are a minority opinion because most people find the place charming but we felt that for the money we could do better elsewhere. <BR>There have been previous comments on this site about the Angleterre and the Prince de Conti, you should do a search on those. Good luck. <BR>elaine <BR>

an add-end to my earlier post (and mentioned elsewhere this morning, as well) -- While I highly recommend the Balcons, be sure to request a street-facing room....from the layout of the hotel that we observed, it would appear that there may be some rooms with windows opening only on an airshaft. I'm not sure about this, but better to request a "Real" window and be safe...

Raeona: <BR> <BR>This is probably a ridiculous question, but do you know if the Balcons had any nonsmoking rooms? This seems to be an impossible task -- finding nonsmoking hotel rooms in Paris! Thanks.

re non-smoking rooms - we just booked a room in April at the Hotel d'Aubusson in the 6th arr and they have non-smoking rooms - std double room 1350 ff <BR>

Dear Terry, <BR> <BR>I stayed at the Hotel des Marronniers for one week this past July and was very happy with it. The double room was small, but very quiet, overlooking the hotel's garden and Paris rooftops/ St. Germaine des Pres church steeple. I agree with the above post that states that the shower was extremely small (only a partition, with no bath, but it certainly worked fine for me); however, I found the desk staff to be very welcoming and helpful. Other pluses were the cheerful and sunny breakfast room with large windows looking out toward their private garden; the room was inviting (about 7 or 8 tables), in floral motif, and while the breakfast was a basic continental offering, hot dishes were available at a low cost. <BR> <BR>For me, the two negatives were the location of the public sitting rooms in the basement of the hotel, and also the location of a television near the front desk -- it was on all the time, and near the breakfast room. Having a preference for quiet, it was the one jagged moment to hear CNN on my way to eat breakfast. (However, I realize others would probably welcome it.) <BR> <BR>Having said that, I would definitely stay there again. Waking up to that view, on that quaint street with so much literary history, close to the Metro and cafes/shopping (and the room itself was very cozy and charming), was exactly what I wanted. So, if you are looking for a charming, garret-like experience, and are able to secure a room up on the 4th floor with a view, this hotel may work for you. <BR> <BR>Hotel d'Angleterre has beautiful public areas and rooms, and is slightly higher in price, also located on quiet Rue Jacob, with all its charm and convenience. So, I would very much agree with the above posts in their glowing recommendations. <BR> <BR>As for the other two properties that you mentioned in your post, I have no direct personal experience with either. Regards, Cynthia