After much, much research on biddingfortravel.com and reading scores of previous posts on this board, I still cannot decide which is the best Priceline zone in which to bid for an 8 night stay in March (11-19). While we are veteran PL users, this is our first trip to Europe and we'd appreciate knowing which zone would provide accomodations that are close to tourist attractions as well as cafes, shops, etc. for evening strolls. We are trying to avoid business/government areas and would prefer quaint areas close to great restaurants that are a nice spot to begin many walking adventures in Paris. Any recommendations from Paris/PL veterans would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

I'm not a PL expert, though I've used it successfully for a few destintions, but I really don't think using PL for Paris is a good idea. There are so many affordable, lovely hotels in Paris to begin with, and my impression is that PL is usually affiliated with hotels that aren't terribly convenient for touring the city. It's great for London, but not for Paris.

I think you'd be better off just stating what your budget is and letting people here make suggestions for hotels.

Our budget is around $150/night max.

If you still want to bid for Paris, the only zone I'd recommend is St. Germain - Latin Quarter - Montparnasse, and 4* only. So far, only two hotels have shown up in the past five years or so for this zone and star level. It's always possible an unknown will pop up, but I would doubt it. In any event, you could look at the reviews and positions of the Le Meridien Montparnasse and Sofitel Forum Rive Gauche and see if either of those would be acceptable to you.

I did use Priceline for a 7-night stay in July 2004. I got the LMM, and the nice things about it were air conditioning, a fairly good-sized and newly renovated room, an ice machine, a beautiful view, a piano bar, and a concierge. Given I was traveling with my son, it was nice to have a spacious bathroom where one can actually spread one's things out and get dressed. The location was very convenient.

With the Eiffel Tower - Grenelle - Montparnasse zone, you run the risk of getting the Sofitel Porte de Sèvres, which is actually outside of Paris in a business area, and apparently an awful hotel if you believe the reviews.

With the Opera Quarter East zone, you will probably get the Novotel Les Halles, which is very central, but many dislike the neighborhood.

With the Opera Quarter West zone, you are most likely to get the Le Meridien Etoile, which is in the extreme northwest of Paris, right at a busy traffic circle.

The La Defense zone is outside of Paris, and while it's not a long commute, it's not the type of neighborhood you seek.

With 3* bidding, you are likely to get a less than satisfactory hotel at a less than satisfactory location.

These hotels are very central and well-liked:

Hotel Delavigne (6th)
http://www.delavigne-paris-hotel.com/
120-135€

Hotel Saint Jacques (5th)
http://www.hotel-saintjacques.com/
95-124€

Also the Hôtel Duquesne-Eiffel in the 7th - you may even be able to get an Eiffel Tower view for that price.

Another centrally-located, highly-regarded choice:

Hotel du College de France (5th)
http://www.hotel-collegedefrance.com/

Rates range from 78€ for a standard double in low season to 115€ for a superior double in high season – all well within your budget.

Hotel de Varenne:

http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75007varenne.htm

120 E for a room with a shower (complete bathroom, but shower and not tub)

They charge extra for breakfast, but there are cafes that are quite good on the street, and also, when you make a reservation for as many nights as your are staying, you can negotiate for an included breakfast.

This hotel is on a great street in the 7th.

WillTravel put the PL strategy for Paris very well. I have done a lot of research for Paris on PL, but each time I decide to choose a hotel on my own, because frankly, their locations stink.

Paris and Rome are both less than good cities for PL.

Sounds like WillTravel is right on the money. If I were going back to Paris (I mean WHEN - can't wait to go back!), I'd be shooting for St. Germain - Latin Quarter 4-star first, then probably Opera East.

Priceline isn't always the best way to go, just a great option. As always when bidding with Priceline, you have to set bidding limits and don't go above them, vs. getting a place yourself. Also, looking at the hotel list on BFT, if any of the hotels on the list in your bidding zones would not work for you, don't risk it.

Andrew

Delta is offering double miles for direct flights from Cincinnati at this time. We booked a January flight then booked a room on Hotwire. We have a room for $58 USD per night in the Bercy area at a 2.5* hotel. We realize it is outside the preferred area, but it is right next to a Metro stop. We have been to Paris several times and were so happy to get a reasonably priced trip there at the last minute. January sales!! We will be returning for a longer trip in April to Brittney and Paris.

If you are willing to gamble on your location, you could also try looking at Hotwire for a discounted room.

For $150/night or less you should not have to gamble on a location. There are many small (and that is the key word -- probably just too small to be on Priceline), family owned hotels in great neighborhoods availbale.

We like the Hotel Elysa-Luxembourg. Very friendly, good location. They frequently run specials or deals on multi-night stays.
http://www.elysa-luxembourg.fr/indx_eng.htm

I have to agree on the recommendation for the Hotel St. Jacques and the College du France, both in the latin quarter. Both will run between 90E-130E a night depending on room. They are small, quaint, well located and you won't have to gamble on bidding. I have nothing against gambling on Priceline, but in Paris I have found I prefer the small little hotels in the Latin Quarter over any great deal on a large hotel chain anyday!! If you want details on either of the hotels above you can find a lot searching on this board as they are popular or I would be happy to try to answer.

As the others say - Priceline isn't very good for Paris. Except for WillTravel's suggestion for the one zone and star level - every other section of Paris is just too iffy w/ PL.

While PL is wonderful for lots of places - London for one example - it simply isn't much good for Paris. And w/ soooooo many decent small hotels that you can book yourself in almost every neighborhood, I just wouldn't risk PL.

One thing I didn't mention is that every now and then Priceline jiggers the zones around. In that case, all of the above information will have to be adjusted. This hasn't been done in Paris for a very long time, but it's something to recheck every time you want to bid.

I suspect Priceline is a pretty good deal for the category called Four Star Superior, and you're almost certain to get a well-located hotel in this category. This used to be called 5* on Priceline, but I think the name was changed, because France does not have any 5* hotels officially. But this is out of my price range, so I haven't looked into it much.

PL mainly works with chains, that are likely to give whole blocks of rooms up for sale. I regularly use them in the States and have gotten great deals. But in Paris, where most hotels are independent, you'll be stuck in some concrete block definitely not "in a nice spot to begin many adventures in Paris". Don't take it wrong, but you don't seem to be familiar with the fact that urban structures are quite different in Europe than they are in the States: here there is no business devoted downtown that gets empty at night, actually there is no activity zoning to speak of within Paris. Some neighborhoods might be more residential or commercial than others, but you only realise this after spending at least a few weeks in the city. For the new eye, don't worry, Paris looks pretty "quaint" throughout!

I appreciate all of the excellent feedback. I am contacting the Hôtel Henri IV Rive Gauche as it meets all of our criteria. Thank you!