Has anyone stayed at the Concorde St Lazare in Paris? We are a family of 4(a 20 year old daughter and a 16 year old son). We will be in Paris as a family from Dec 21 for 5 nights. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated ;-) I am a bit worried as I found my travel agent has been booking us in places that most people on this site don't care for!!! Have a great day

It can be good if you avoid the lowest category room. The hotel lobby & public areas are impressive like a grand dame hotel. It's close to the Galleries Laffayette and Printemps, plus it's convenient if you're planning to do a Normandy day trip by train as the Gare St Lazare is right across the street from the hotel. I would say that it is a good solution if you want a less expensive grand dame hotel, however it's a bit of a walk to the Tulleries & Champs Elysees.

Personally I would prefer to stay close to Place Vendome where there is Park Hyatt, Ritz, Hotel Vendome or even the Westin.

Some travel agents are not the best to ask travel advice I found. So hotels recommended most times the TA's have never even stayed at. Concorde St. Lazare is in the 9th district near the train staion by the same name. It seems like a good hotel judging from Trip Advisor reviews (www.tripadvisor.com), I suggest to stay in districts 4 through 6 if possible.

http://tinyurl.com/3d5rwe

given the ages of your children I think you may need 2 rooms. Have you booked 2? Have you looked into an apt alternative?

Thanks so much. Yes we have booked to rooms but they are both twin rooms. We are only staying for 5 days so I thought that an apartment would be out of the question ... is that so??

I believe most people who complained got the basic rooms which are old and dumpy. However the main entrance is grand and those who stay in the higher category rooms are fine with their stay. So don't take it if you get the lower category rooms.

The hotel could be fine and make a comfortable stay for your family. However, it is not impossible to rent an apt. for only five nights. There are fewer listings or agencies that will allow that, so your choice is less, but some do. I don't know how the holiday period would affect that, though. Some might have different limits at times of the year with high demand, and the Christmas/NY holiday period is one of them (at least it definitely is for hotels, and not for business reasons, so I assume it is for vacation rental apts).