Any more ideas on this topic? As mentioned on other threads, I am in Paris July 11-18.

The main reason I am considering bidding for a 4* in Paris is for air conditioning.

The zone I would be most interested in is St. Germain - Latin Quarter - Montparnasse.

The two 4* hotels that have been reported so far (of course another is always possible) are Le Meridien Montparnasse and Sofitel Forum Rive Gauche.

LMM seems reasonably located. SFRG seems to be not so great in terms of location, although near the metro.

How terrible would it be to stay at the SFRG for a week July 11-18, should I happen to end up with that hotel?

BTW, I did a low bid for this zone and got a counteroffer for $120 US - so I know inventory is available right now if I choose to go for it.

Will, a friend stayed at LMM recently through PL for $100 double/night, so if you rebid at PL you may not need to rebid at $120. She liked the hotel for its location. It's geared to business travelers and isn't high on charm or French ambience.

Sorry I can't address your main reason for posting.

Oh definitely, Betsy - if I decided to go for it, I would just wait as needed and then try a rebid around $100 or so. I know LMM and SFRG have air conditioning in all rooms - I wrote and asked.

I stayed at the Sofitel for several days on a Priceline bid. If you are used to (or willing to learn) the Metro it would work fine.

The Metro was VERY close and overall it was a nice stay. The hotel was nice and while it was a little farther out it was in a residential neighborhood.

Considering the dollar's strenght, Priceline will probably be used for my next trip to help keep costs down.

I don't think it would be so terrible at all. That's only a short walk to Denfert Rochereau where there are some cafes and rue Daguerre which also has an open-air market, cafes, wine bars, etc. I think Elaine stayed at that hotel once and really didn't like the area, but I know that area pretty well so it wouldn't bother me -- in fact, I like areas that are more normal and residential than the packed tourist areas near the Seine, but I know others don't.

It is much much better than the other place you were considering, Bagnolet -- I think you can see that from a map. For $100 for a good AC 4* hotel, it wouldn't bother me at all. Why do you think the location is not so great?

Christina - just going by reviews as to SFRG location. Some reviewers complained about it.

My son and I would actually be quite pleased with a residential neighborhood, I think, and walking a lot and taking the metro would not bother us.

How does SFRG compare in location to the budget hotel I have booked at 153, Rue de Vaugirard?

WT, I would suggest that you consult the following website for many excellent tips on bidding on priceline as well as a list of hotels that have been won and for what price:

http://pub210.ezboard.com/bpricelineandexpediabidding

I've definitely looked at that site, Morgan. Thanks. The list there is one reason why I would not want to bid the (Eiffel Tower - Grenelle - Montparnasse) zone, since we know the Sofitel Porte de Sevres is a possibility. Of course I know a new hotel could always pop up anywhere.

After all the helpful responses I got for booking my backup hotel on other threads, I finally decided to proceed with a slightly higher bid on Priceline. I got the 4* Le Meridien Montparnasse for a bid of $110 per night (had failed at $105).

Considering my backup was the 2* Mercure Raspail for 85 Euros per night ($106 USD), I think this is a pretty good deal, even with the taxes and fees added.

Le Meridien Montparnasse looks like a nice centrally located hotel. Plus, now I will not worry every day about whether I made the right hotel choice and whether I should change it, since my decision has already been paid for! I do have travel insurance.

WillTravel

Try biddingfortravel.com to see paris hotel bidding and strategies! It is very useful!!

WillTravel

Try biddingfortravel.com to view Paris hotel bidding strategies, star rating and winning bids by zones etc.

WillTravel

Sorry for the double message above! Just one of those electronic things!

We stayed at LMM in January. Paid more than you bid!! Good business hotel. Excellent one star Michelin restaurant if you want big splurge...well worth it. Since we had always stayed in 6th a. staying here was an interesting change. We walked to Invalides. The metro is right thereand we used it often. But...do not eat breakfast at the hotel...very expensive for what you get!!!!

Elainee, thanks for the info. We definitely will not eat their 20+ Euro breakfast!

N2it, thanks - I did look at the site and I also looked up as much information as possible about hotels that might come up on a bid. As you know, it's always possible a new hotel will appear that isn't on the BFT list (although I think the odds are fairly low of a new 4* hotel showing up). So in addition to checking out all the ones listed, I also looked on Expedia and other sites to see if there were any other 4* hotels in those zones that were possible candidates.

I also paid close attention to the reviews and location of all the hotels that have been known to show up so far, and looked carefully at the zone maps. I then decided I would be okay with anything that showed up in St. Germain - Latin Quarter - Montparnasse, and focused my bidding on that. I had serious doubts about all of the other zones, for one reason or another.

I decided not to bid for a 2* or 3* hotel, because of the very high probability they would not have air conditioning. I wrote to Priceline and found that air conditioning is *not* guaranteed for 4* hotels. However, based on my research, I came to the conclusion that the odds were very low indeed of getting a 4* hotel without A/C if I stuck to that one zone.