Paris lodging

Old Jun 27th, 2007, 02:56 PM
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Paris lodging

Four (definitely) or possibly 6 family members will travel to Paris for 7 nights in April, 2008.
Lodging-Last time in Paris, I was a college age backpacker and now (as a 50 something) am ready to stay a little more upscale. I am looking for good value and a place (possibly apartment or 2 rooms in good value hotel) in order to have a little space along with amenities. It has been recommended that we look to stay in Saint Germain des pres. Please advise.
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Old Jun 27th, 2007, 04:14 PM
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If you are looking for a hotel I can't help you, but if you are looking for an apartment I went with my family of five to Paris last summer- 3 children (13, 10 and 8) and stayed at a "Paris Perfect" apartment and had an amazing time. I did so much research and kept coming back to them because so many of the rental services are peoples apartments that you can rent for the week, but these are apartments that are only used as rentals so you really have luxury hotel feel in many respects. The apartments are not inexpensive but when we priced out what a nice hotel would cost and then multiplied that by two rooms we were at break even cost wise and then ahead with what we felt we got. The thought of going up to a hotel room and then being stuck there at the end of the night was depressing so this worked out beautifully. We stayed in Chateau La Tour and the girls had their own bedroom (with views of the ET), my son slept on the sofa bed in the living room with same views and a dvd and cd player and we had a room with en suite bath and view - plus balcony and dining room/kitchen so in the morning we could opt for breakfast in or at night grab a bowl of ice cream while we watched the lights twinkle..We would go back again in a heartbeat!!!
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Old Jun 27th, 2007, 07:08 PM
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I don't know how many times there have been questions posted here, asking for help on Paris lodging choices (with something like 2000 establishments - - probably doesn't count all the apartment options, it's not an unreasonable item to gfeel overwhelmed about)...

... and often quickly followed by a wag of the finger to "do a search" and show evidence that you are really trying to help yourself.

I have usually not even tried to answer such questions; I have been to Paris a number of times, but for one reason or another, I have never engaged in any significant hotel review/search.

But I am in the middle of one now, and I totally sympathize with the endless stream of threads asking for help. In fact, once I feel set about hotel choice(s), I may well start a thread called "A whiny rant on the difficulty of choosing a hotel in Paris".

Until I am ready to do that, let me simply suggest that these are some websites that you may find useful - - I have been surprised that I keep turning up candidate hotels that I have not uncovered on any other site - - and a number of these websites seem to have been mentioned little or never here:

pidf.com
europe-cities.com

and less obscure ones

bookings.com
activehotels.com

and of course,

venere.com
as well as
tripadvisor.com

I think I am forgetting a few others, but maybe you can use these in making your list of possibilities. Since you have a long lead time, you can watch for my "whiny rant" post when I am ready to compose it.

Best wishes,

Rex
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Old Jun 28th, 2007, 08:14 AM
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I highly recommend this apt:
www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_118.htm
We rented it this past April, we were 5 adults (2 couples and one single) and found it to be very comfortable. There was even enought hot water for all of us to shower in the morning. The location (though not St Germain de pres) was excellent, near rue de Rivoli/St-Antoine and just about any food shop you would need, 5 min walk to Ile St Louis, 10 min walk to Notre Dame, 2 blocks from 2 different metro stops, easy walk to the Bastille market, Place des Voges, etc. Not sure where you're from, but we were also able to pay in $$ which was a plus for us.
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Old Jun 28th, 2007, 08:57 AM
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I would say that you don't have to stick to St. Germain des Pres, which is now way too touristy and expensive. As long as you shy away from 19th, 20th, certain parts of 18th and the Chinatown parts of 13th, then you will be fine. In fact, it's better to be away from commercial and excessively touristy areas in order to experience Paris like locals.

I would take a look at the recs in Slowtrav.com. I would also suggest that you do an internet search in French and check the listings for European/local tourists. Prices may be cheaper.
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Old Jun 28th, 2007, 09:11 AM
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This group hasn't really been in Paris before, and so St Germain probalby would suit them very well.


A lot of people don't want to experience Paris "as locals", if that means staying in a crummy area far from the center. Maybe they want to experience it as locals like Catherine Deneuve.

The problem with this post is that ou haven't stated a budget, mainly. Lots of people have hotels they like in St Germain, so it's easy to suggest one if you state your budget. HOtel d'Aubusson, Relais St Germain, the Madison, the Fleurie, Leftbank St Germain, and some more modest ones are often mentioned.

But you have to state a budget.
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Old Jun 28th, 2007, 03:58 PM
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Because I am unfamiliar with Paris and have heard how expensive it is, I stated that I wanted good value (in $$s) for where I would choose to stay. I would like a full bath, elevator building, clean room and easy access to a metro stop. I would think that a minimum of a 3 star place would suffice but will take your reommendations. The recommendation of staying in St. Germaine des pres came from a good friend.
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Old Jun 28th, 2007, 04:23 PM
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You don't seem to get it. You need to state a budget, or range of prices you could feel comfortable with. Otherwise, do your own research.

I don't mean to be unkind, but many of us on this thread have gone through this exact same dance of wading through hundreds of hotel sites, then plowing through dozens of apartment rental agent sites, and following VIBO, and the Paris Craigslist daily. Once one has done this, at least a little bit, one gets a feeling of how much you can expect to get for your buck.

It can be a daunting task, but you need to do just a little work for us to start to help. Do, so, and then come back and ask opinions of us for comparisons of specific hotels/apartments within a price bracket, an we can probably help you.

I started doing this in February for our trip this October, so you will have plenty of time if you start soon.





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Old Jun 28th, 2007, 04:48 PM
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St. Germain des pres is notably one of the most expensive districts (if not the most $$$ one), just like Upper East side of NYC. In fact, certain locations of St. Germain dp are not that convenient for sightseeing. The metro stations in this area are smaller and often do not have elevators or escalators.

As Christina mentioned, it's easier to help you if you can state your budget in monetary terms. April marks the beginning of high season and prices are high, not to mention the Euro-$ exchange rate effect.

I visited Paris last year and did a lot of research. My jaw dropped as I checked the prices of apartments and hotels in St. Germain dp. In the end, I rented a nice apartment in 12th district that was very close to Bastille. I rented it directly from the owner (so no commissions), who is a designer and has excellent taste. Unfortunately, that place only sleeps 2.
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Old Jun 28th, 2007, 05:00 PM
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Oh, also, many places advertised claim that they are in St Germain des res, when in fact they aren't. You really need to check the address of each location.
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