On the advice of a friend, we were very excited to book rooms at the Hotel de la Bretonnerie. When I initially wrote to them in December, I was told to write back in June to make reservations for September. A good friend who stays there a few times a year called them on our behalf and was told we could make reservations as early as April. Confusing, yes. But, we figured we'd just start trying in April.

In the meantime, that friend found himself in Paris and offered to secure two rooms during his stay at the hotel in February. After he returned, we received a written confirmation by email from the hotel. At that time, they asked us to check in with them to reconfirm six months in advance, April. No problem.

So, at the beginning of April, we started to e-mail the hotel to reconfirm and add another room for friends who want to join us. No reply. No reply. Finally, we tried another e-mail address from which we had received correspondence at some point during the process. They did finally reply today and informed us, without any apology, that they were already full and would not honor our reservations.

Needless to say, at six months out, our choices for hotels are becoming limited. Staying in the Marais for a comparable price is simply no longer possible. Finding three rooms only complicates the matter. We are obviously very upset by this and would strongly suggest you proceed cautiously with this establishment, or not at all.

Okay, that should have read "Shafted." I can't type when I'm furious!

Look on the positive side -- a great chance to discover and new and unknown area of Paris!

This is good to know, as I have a reservation there in September. You might want to try the Hotel Place de Vosges. I tried last week for September just to check their rates, and they still had rooms. I know what you mean I started looking in January and the places I wanted were booked for September. You could also try on the left bank. I had more luck over there than in the Marais.

I don't think you should have a problem finding a hotel room six months in advance, even if Sept. is high season. I know there aren't a lot of hotels at that price range in that area, though, but there are plenty others.

I think the whole way you went about it was very confusing. I wouldn't have a friend make reservations for me, for one thing.Still, you did get a confirmation so they seemed to have a record of it. Possibly you are just running into the problem of booking one of the most popular hotels in the Marais during fashion show season, and that may be where some of that trade stays, wouldn't surprise me, as it's near some of the shows at the Carrousel du Louvre. Perhaps they are just giving their rooms to other people they have more ties to or want to accommodate more. Well, too bad, but it is pretty far ahead, so you should be fine.

kerouac, this is true. We have decided to scale down the expense a bit and stay in the 5th at the Hotel St. Jacques. I don't really know the 5th at all, so it could be fun. Heck, it's only four days anyway.

Thanks for that suggestion happytotravel. I wish you good luck with the hotel. It did look quite wonderful. Do let us know how it goes.

Christina, the confusion really lies with the hotel for giving mixed messages about when to book a room and when to follow up. We thought we had solved that problem by communicating through a regular customer of theirs, a man who is totally fluent, who could actually make a reservation face-to-face. I mean, what could be less confusing than standing at the front desk, booking a room for a future date?

And I think your point about dumping us in favor of known customers during an important business season is plausible.