Paris in September - a/c necessary?
 

We're from Florida so the idea of doing without a/c is kind of a scary one since we live with it 10 months out of the year. I was thinking of booking La Familia basically for the price but want a little reasurrance that I won't be kicking myself.

It most likely will not be "hot" but the room could get a bit stuffy if
a. you can't open the window b/c the street is too noisy
b. even if you can open the window there is no circulation

We have been in Sept/Oct, and March/April and did not need A/C. But then we stay outside the 'center' so I think traffic noise may less. If you are really concerned you might be uncomfortable, then go w/A/C. Even then, don't expect too much as the 'quality' seems to vary from comments I've read.

Chances are you won't get the sort of a/c you're used to anyway. A/c in Europe is mostly a gentle "air chilling" type - not the kind that blasts out a constant supply of icy cold air, accompanied by lots of steady white noise.
But I would still try to get some sort of a/c... while I don't like it on all the time and prefer to have a window open, sometimes the steet noise is intrusive.

Shannon, the Familia is not exactly as cozy or charming as it looks on the website. We stayed there last October and were underwhelmed. The rooms are minescule and the street is very, very busy and noisy.

I've just returned from Paris, having stayed at the Bonaparte Hotel, which is a nice, simple hotel. However, my friend and I walked by and checked out two nearby hotels that looked very charming and were priced under 200 euros a night. They were the Hotel des Marronniers on 21 rue Jacob and Hotel de l'Odeon on 13 rue St. Sulpice. Both have AC.

Please allow me to suggest the Hotel du Varenne in the 7th. They have air conditioning, which is how I found them and decided on them after the heat wave of '02.

The hotel was willing to negotiate (included breakfast when I asked when making the original reservation), which is something I liked. Very clean, very cute and cozy, nice atmosphere with a charming little inner courtyard and good location.

The staff was very professional, but not what one might call friendly. All in all, a nice little hotel with AC.

A strong second to the suggestion of the Hotel de Varenne. We have used it (before the recent renovation) and been delighted. It also has a front garden for breakfast when the weather is nice. As for air-conditioning in general, as a long-time loiterer in Paris and survivor of the summer heat wave of 2003, I don't think it's necessary in September. But then, I also am occasionally puzzled, even distressed, to find it on in homes and businesses in the United States at times when it really isn't hot. I do agree that if you can't open your hotel room window it may be stuffy. But the windows that won't open are very likely to be only in air conditioned hotels! Street noise is another matter. For that, gather all the information you can, and then cross your fingers. Even in the same hotel, some rooms can be unbearably noisy and others perfectly calm.

Hi 88,

>Paris in September - a/c necessary?<

Will your vacation be ruined if you can't get to sleep until 2:00 AM because it got into the mid 80's during the day?

If so, yes.

((I))

Hotel Residence Monge on rue Monge in the 5th is clean, comfortable and has very good AC. Prices very reasonable.
Consistently gets good reviews. www.hotelmonge.com
It is close to 2 metro stations and a market street.

Have not stayed at the Varenne but I have considered it before. Seems like a really lovely hotel, nice staff, and great location in the 7th.

I had a nice opportunity a couple of weeks ago to walk nearby the hotel's location on the rue de Varenne as I visited the Rodin and Invalides. Wow, nice area, very quiet, residential and safe neighborhood with lots of embassies (read: lots of police).

Dave In Paris and francophile03-- I really do like the rue de Varenne. In fact, we've stayed there twice in two different hotels. The location is great and the street is so nice. There are tons of bakeries and food shops toward the northern end (away from the Musee Rodin) and a great cafe or two.

I did mean the heat wave of '03 and not '02. Sorry.

ooops; one more thing:

I'm a woman of a certain age, and I am never, ever cold. I could have a hot flash in Alaska in January. It may seem ultra picky and spoiled, but a little air conditioning is something that I find to be delightful. I can live without it, but if I'm on a nice trip and want to be comfortable, I appreciate knowing it's there if I need it.

It's the same as most places you can probably think of in the US for September (East Coast, Virginia or above). No, the odds are you won't need, but nobody can predict for sure there wouldn't be a heat wave. If you are going the end of September, I wouldn't worry about it and wouldn't hesitate to book a hotel without AC if I really found one I wanted without it. I've been there in September and it wasn't remotely warm enough for AC. Ira said it right -- it's your choice as to how much you want to bet your money on it being really hot in September, vs. the usual weather, when it isn't.

As others said, there are choices, however, probably not too different from your rates. I agree with tuscan.... that I don't scrimp on 10-20 euro on a hotel room if I think that's going to affect my vacation which is a major investment.

Dln, although it's been 10 years since I stayed at the Marronniers, and the website looks as though the rooms have been spiffed up a lot, be forewarned that some of the rooms are Very small, even by Paris standards. It is charming and the location is perfect, but a couple of rooms I stayed in, it was hard to find floor room to open a suitcase.

The Hotel de Lutece on Ille St-Louis is air conditioned and quite lovely & charming.
If you have a Fodors -Hotels of Character and Charm, you can look it up. We stayed there in March one year, my daughter last fall.
I think the price is pretty good also.