Assuming roughly equal prices, which of the following two hotels would you choose:<BR><BR>(1) Grand Hotel Francais (11th Arr.)<BR>or<BR>(2) Novotel Tour Eiffel (15th Arr.)<BR><BR>Please bear in mind that this is my fourth trip to Paris (so pardon my stupidity for not being able to make my own decision) and that my concern is more with cleanliness and quality over location (because, in my experience, the Metro, RER, and my feet do a pretty nice job of getting me around town).<BR><BR>Thanks in advance for any input.

I can't tell you about the Novatel, but I've used the Grand Hotel Francais several times and I think it's a great value. The rooms are small, but well-maintained and clean. The manager and staff speak excellent English and are happy to do so -- it's just a very helpful and attentive staff. But definitely skip the hotel's breakfast, since it's totally clueless! But that is not a problem because the neighborhood is filled with a variety of places to eat or have coffee, drinks, etc. The prices are more reasonable than you will find in the more "touristed" environs of the city. There's a little grocery store right across the street, which is handy (but keep in mind that it's closed Saturdays, since it's Jewish). You're a couple of blocks from the Nation Metro/RER station, giving you a straight shot to the heart of Paris.

That's a tough one as neither is what I would choose, but I might go with the Novotel. It's a 4-star and the other a 3-star so I'm surprised they are the same price. The Novotel used to be a Nikko and is sort of a typical fairly modern business/superior airline package hotel. It's a lot larger than the Francais, as well as being newer, so you might go by whether that bothers you or not. A lot of older renovated hotels are modern inside, anyway, in Paris, and I think the Francais is, also, so I don't think either is "charming" but I could be wrong on the Francais. I've stayed near the Novotel and know the neighborhood so find it somewhat convenient for shopping, some good and cheap cafes/restaurants and shops (several excellent boulangeries and fromageries near there), some decent smaller restaurants, a movie theater nearby, a large well-stocked Monoprix. Neither is central as you know, but the Novotel is closer to some things on the Left Bank where I tend to spend time and so you won't spend as much time commuting to things, that might be one of my main reasons. I think they are about equidistant from Ile St-Louis, but opposite directions.

I haven't stayed at the Grand Hotel Francais, but I stayed at the Novotel Tour Eiffel last month for four nights. I got all four nights via Priceline.com. BiddingForTravel.com showed me that this is a fairly common Priceline hotel in Paris (I paid an average of about $80/night, in September); if you go to that site, there are several reviews of the hotel including mine.<BR><BR>Briefly: the hotel is clean and modern but dull. In the US it would be a 3-star even if rated 4-star in Europe. For what it's worth, I also stayed in a Marriott and a Renaissance in Amsterdam, and both were far superior to the Novotel - just more luxurious-feeling, nicer furnishings.<BR><BR>The Tour Eiffel is a big high-rise building with a window that doesn't open and an A/C unit that is barely adequate. No, you might not care about the A/C in the fall or winter, but because the window won't open, you must rely on the hotel's cooling/heating to maintain room temperature. I like my hotel rooms to be fairly cool, yet I could not get my room to cool below about 73 degrees F. I even had an engineer visit my room to assure me my A/C unit was working fine.<BR><BR>The bathroom and the room itself are both good size for Paris. The queen bed I had was comfortable. But the carpet was obviously worn and the furniture cheap, sometimes with paint peeling. Still, it's a basic comfortable room. I'd stay there again if necessary, at least for the price I paid.<BR><BR>Location is not exciting, but you don't seem to care. It is about a 5-minute walk to the Charles Michel Metro stop. Bus #70 also goes near the hotel and takes you through the heart of St. Germain and even to Hotel De Ville.<BR><BR>Andrew<BR>

Better than either of those is the Hotel de L'Arcade. Fantastic location. The rooms are large for Paris, and it is very reasonable. <BR><BR>www.hotel-arcade.com