I would recommend Hotel de l'Abbaye and stay in a suite. Our courtyard room was enormous with a large marble bathroom. Beautiful decor and convenient walking to most sites.

Thanks Weekender, I just had a look at Hotel Saint Vincent and it looks really lovely plus they have offered us a really good rate of 210 euro for a superior room. Are you staying here over Luxembourg Parc in December? Has anyone stayed here before? Also, RobinMM the Villa D'Estrees looks great - do you all rate these above Luxembourg Parc and D'Aubusson? Getting more confused I think!!!!

hk,

I stayed at the Luxembourg Parc in March. I had a front room that was newly renovated and was beautiful and charming with a great bathroom. The room was small but fine for my daughter and I. I saw some larger rooms in the back while there with king beds. Our room was 2 very small twins. (Seemed narrower than a US twin to us.) But, very clean, cheerful and charming. I think we had room 405 but can't really remember...

The location was not as good for me as the Hotel D'Aubusson, but I didn't like our room at the Hotel D'Aubusson. Tired and dark. I had the superior room there. It was spacious and with very nice linens, amenities and service but for the price was a bit underwhelming.

Breakfast at both places is nothing to die for...with the HA being better although with poor service.

Overall the concierge at HA was excellent.

I'm in the process of finding a room for one night in June and thought I'd try another spot. I looked at the Villa d'Estrees mentioned above but it is 300 Euros a night...I may try for a better price - I'll see what L'Abbaye and Le Regent are offering.

good luck!

gruezi

Not a budget place at all L'Abbaye is charging 367 euro/night for a large double and suites begin at 461 euro/night.

ira must have that same post on speed dial. "We always stay at the Hotel Bonaparte ..."

Since Weekender spilled the beans then I must confess I have been holding out on you all about the St. Vincent. My husband and I went to Paris in January to find the "perfect" Paris hotel. We stayed in 4 lovely hotels and looked at countless more rooms, explaining that we were looking for a hotel for a future trip. Then we stumbled on the St. Vincent. It is exquisite! Wonderful linens, beautiful furnishings, marble bathrooms with towel warmers, and a "lobby" that is more like the living room of a fine home. Enjoy the fireplace and the best coffee I have ever had! Just please, keep it between us, the European business people have discovered it and book it way in advance. A group from German Vogue came in after us and booked the whole hotel.

The St. Vincent is actually in the 7e right near the 6e.

anneeby, that and some other 'new' hotels were outed by my France Today magazine, which I shared back in March...
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35113410

At the Madison, corner rooms facing the Blvd. St-Germain are absolutely wonderful--and large, too.

I'm really interested in the comments regarding the Saint Vincent as I am also holding a booking there for mid June. I'm thrilled to see it described as "exquisite".

Do let us know what you decide hkgirl!

Well I've made my decision and gone with Hotel Saint Vincent. They have given us a discounted rate for two rooms for two nights in December - 210 euro per room per night for a Superior Double. They have been very helpful and prompt via email and I just spoke to them over the telephone and they were helpful and friendly. Now - where to eat??? I have a couple on my list, any comments and/or additions would be appreciated...
Le Petit Troquet
L'Epi Dupin
Cafe Roussillon
Le Florimond
Any ideas for a great breakfast - pain au chocolate, croissant etc?
Also any favourite wine bars...Thx!!

For wine bar, make it a point to try Lavinia, on Blvd. de Madeleine just off the Madeleine square. It's actually more of an enormous wine shop with an attached restaurant. They will sell you any bottle in the house (and they claim to have 3000 different wines) at retail cost to drink with your lunch (they only do lunch--or snacks, because they close at 8 p.m.) We love their charcuterie plat and you feel wonderful dining surrouded by wine.

Thanks JulieVikmanis, I will have a look. Also has anyone popped into either Au Sauvingon or Juveniles?

BM for october trip!

hkgirl, I ate at L'Epi Dupin last month and loved it. I would also recommend looking into Le Christine which was our favorite meal of the trip. Both I have written up here in my trip report which you can get by clicking on my name.

For breakfast, run, don't walk, to Bonbonniere du Buci on rue de Buci for their famous eclairs. We did this on more than a couple days, walking nearly 15 minutes from our hotel based on a recommendation I read in a food blog and they were, hands down, the BEST eclairs I have ever had (and we tried others in and around Paris and they never came close). And I dare you to try the foot-long one...that is my only trip regret, that I didn't try (although it probably would've been breakfast AND lunch!)! ;-)

I second the recommendation for Le Christine. You can see my review by clicking on my name and scrolling down to the post entitled--To reserve or not 12 mostly happy meals in Paris

hkgirl:

I will be at the Luxembourg Parc in October and the Saint Vincent in December (perhaps when you are there.) Fireplace will be perfect in December.

>run, don't walk, to Bonbonniere du Buci on rue de Buci<

This was right around the corner from our apartment, and we went there every night for our pastry du jour. I did not try the eclairs. Bummer!

I did, however, try a chocolate mint candy. It was truly the best piece of chocolate I have ever had. I almost took the metro from Ecole Militaire on our last night (we were staying in the 7th on that last night) just to get a few of those chocolates to take home, but we ran out of time.

The guy who was working there every night was very nice, and insisted that we try several of their candies. YUM!

In July 2006, we stayed in a decent place in St. Germain Des Pres (6e)named Hotel le Clement. The cost is 120 to 140 euros per night, breakfast extra (10 euros). It was clean, centrally located, but don't expect a large room as you will find rooms in Paris very small in comparison to N America. Ask for a twin room as they are larger. It is a close walk from there to the Seine, St. Germain des Pres cafes, pretty much everything. We walked to Notre Dame, Tuileries, the Louvre, and the Seine. To eat, recommended is Bergamot restaurant on the corner which had fixed priced menus in the 25euro range. Closest Metro station is Mabillon. I was there in summer, so can't speak as to the winter activities. Enjoy your trip! We liked Paris so much we are returning this June!

We rented this apartment for October. It's in an excellent location, and it has a lovely view. It has a double bed and a sofa bed, but you may want to opt for a 2 bedroom, since sofa beds can be hit or miss as far as comfort goes. The area is wonderful, on the Ile St Louis in the 6th, close to lots of fun stuff. Great place near green spaces for relaxing, or sit by the Seine and watch the world go by. I loved workign with this company, they are very professional and everything is very above board and predictable, I like that. http://www.parisaddress.com/paris-ap....php?ref=ORLE4
The cost was about 210 euros per night. But if your budget is 600 euros per night, you can surely get a large 2 bedroom. You may want to try guestapartment.com, they have gorgeous properties in many areas. http://www.guestapartment.com/apartment_list.html