Am looking at Marais hotels. Can anyone give me feedback on Hotel Saint Jacques, Hotel Grandes Ecoles and/or Hotel Carol de Beaumarchais? Want a nice room but don't plan to spend much time there, so don't want to spend a fortune. Any feedback appreciated.

This is the first time I get to say this---

Have you done a search for each hotel on this forum?
If you are new to board, welcome. There is lots of neat stuff here.

We have stayed at the Caron de Beaumarchais many times. Here is why:

-Rooms are quite small but attractive. They have a/c, TV.
-130 to 150 euros per night, reasonable for Paris.
-Located on right bank near to Ile St. Louis, Notre Dame, the Metro
-Marais district is a bit like Greenwich Village, Soho in NYC. Many nice little restaurants, shops
-The proprietors, the Bigeards, pere et fil, are wonderful, accomodating and gracious.

Good luck.

Only the Caron de B. is in "Marais"... the other two are across the river, in Latin Quarter...

ahh, i see. which do you recommend?

Havven't stayed at any of them.. but Saint Jacques has been getting good press on this forum lately...
http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75005stjacques.htm
(fyi, there is also "Relais Saint Jacques" which is a 4*).

You can do a 'search' above by entering that name, highlighting 'France' and Find (or Go or whatever the button says..)
Isn't Caron d B. a good bit more expensive than the 2 in the 5th?

Also, have you seen pix of rooms in Grand Ecoles? The design is way to busy for me; also no TV if that matters to you.
http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75005ecoles.htm

Again, I have not stayed in any of these - just my impressions...

yes... thank you. this is helpful. more expensive but the only one w/ a/c and we're there end of june... so juggling importance of location, a/c, cost, etc. big thanks, travelnut.

What time of year will you be there?

For me, the best thing about the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles was the garden. So I probably wouldn't stay there again unless the weather was mild. . .

my husband and I stayed at the hotel carol de beaumarchais in April of 1999 for our 10th wedding anniversary. We had a very lovelybut small room on the 5th floor with a french door that let out onto a tiny balcony with view of the rooftops.. Lovely. The room was nice, the bath delightful and everyone at the hotel couldnt be nicer..best part was the neighborhood was way cool with nice shops, interesting restaurants, coffee shops and bars.. and it was a short metro ride to whereever we needed to go to in Paris. We throughly enjoyed our trip to paris and I would recommend the hotel carol de beaumarchais to anyone.

All are nice hotels in their category, but I believe the Caron de B is considered a 3-star, while the others are 2-star properties.

If you are willing to pay the higher rate, I'd stay there. Though as you say, you don't plan to spend much time at your hotel, so that is your call.

See tripadvisor.com for loads of feedback on all three of these hotels.

HGE picked up another star just last year, I believe.

www.carondebeaumarchais.com
www.hotel-grandes-ecoles.com
www.hotel-saintjacques.com

Elle, you are right, the Grands Ecoles is a 3-star now. I know they have no a/c, nor does the St. Jacques. Am fairly sure the Caron does, but I see no mention of it on their site.....

know anything about Austin's Arts et Metiers Hotel 3***?

Don't you love all the people who say "do a search!" For all the effort they put into typing thaht, they could have answered your question!

My choice of you list would be the Caron de Beaumarchais. It's a quaint little place but be sure to ask for a larger room. Some are tiny. I also recommend the Axial Beaubeorg which is also in the Marais in a great location.

If you want to go a bit outside the Marais, I highly recommend the Hotel Britannique. It is a convenient location near the Metro and still walkable to the Marais. Its also very clean, cute and comfortable. The websights....

http://www.axialbeaubourg.com/

http://www.carondebeaumarchais.com/

http://www.hotel-britannic.com/

I also recommend Britannique. It is actually in the 1st. Very close to Louvre and Notre Dame. The 1st is full of charm and history. The hotel was very nice. The room that we had was on the 4th floor and was of a decent size. The bathroom was marble and very clean. It had a large French door opening to a tiny terrace overlooking the quiet street. People at the front desk spoke English and were very nice and helpful. The hotel has a buffet breakfast but we chose to eat outside (there are a few breakfast places across the street).

I love that place.

Hi, Richardab... the reason I sometimes recommend a 'search' is because either the OP can get my lone opinion or he/she can search and get multiple opinions. Since OP is seeking opinions, one way to get them is to search, espec. while waiting for others to respond. Isn't it nicer to make a useful suggestion than not to say anything at all?

When I am in Paris I am in my room as little as possible....so I go cheap on the room and spend elsewhere. Usually I stay at an ETAP. It is very generic, but does have a WC and shower in the room, and it is clean. Cost: 51 EU for 2 people. Hard to beat that.

Which Paris ETAP do you recommend for convenience and location, globalnomad?

well...I am booked in a couple of weeks at the etap by Porte d Orleans. It is on the edge of zone 1, but only a 5 minute walk from a metro stop. Although it is all the way across the city from CDG, it is quite easy to get to. I would have stayed at one closer, but they were all booked.