Will be going to Paris for 4 days in September and would love to find a good hotel in St Germain des Pres. Ideally something that has either large rooms or a suite. Close to Marche Buci or Luxembourg Gardens.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Kat

You don't say what price range you are looking at. That would help.

If you don't need expensive, we stayed at the Hotel St. Andre des Arts this Feb and loved it. Ask for room #2 which is a quad (2 double beds) in a very large room for about 102 euro/night and a modern bath tub/toilet . Rm has an excellent view of the street below (view to your right is r. Buci) and of the Cour du Commerce directly across where Le Procope is located. Rm #2 is conveniently on the first landing. OR ask for the room directly above that (I think #21?) we actually like it better as it had a HUGE modern, marble shower and was worth walking one extra flight. They keep their water divinely hot. They actually were very nice and only charged us for a double since we only were using one bed and they weren't full up. (Had explained husband was older and couldn't do much climbing-no elevator- and would be willing to pay the quad price even tho there were only 2 of us) You can get more info if you pull up my report "trip report Paris-La Rochelle".

We arrive Paris in September too, maybe we'll bump into each other!

I knew I had read "toddler-friendly" but then didn't see it when reviewing your text as I answered...it was in the title!

Rooms are CLEAN and large for toddler play space and the window view would provide you some entertainment when you are "stuck" in the room for nap time etc. the wonderful large windows are high enough that it wouldn't be an obvious danger issue, though I wouldn't turn my back on any toddler and a window (and every room is going to have a window, after all) Bathrooms in these 2 rooms are separate from the main bedroom so you can just shut the door and not have to worry about toilet play and other fun stuff kids manage to dream up! The street side, while highly entertaining, may be a bit noisy if you are a light sleeper so you might want to ask if they have larger rooms on the backside if that's the case. Lastly, Monsieur Goubin speaks excellent English!

Klondike, do you think it is best that skatterfly specifically ask for the room you got or just demand a renovated room?
I am reading the Great Sleeps book and the reviews don't exactly describe the rooms the way you mention it. The author states that some rooms had quickie facelifts in the form of a coat of paint. She also mentions that "some of the airless, trainlike bathrooms with hot-red toilet seats are still in use, but some more enjoyable stretch tubs have been included in a few of the new bathrooms."
Also the author mentions that the housekeepers are allowed to smoke while on the job!

As I said, the owner speaks English and is very helpful with special needs. I am sure skatterfly can address any issues/areas of concern directly with him IF this hotel is even the type s/he is looking for. (being just a no-frills one star, for example)

We must have had one of the refurbished room--or at least there weren't any red seats--and maybe I don't need more than a fresh coat of paint--I dunno. In one of the rooms the fireplace marble mantle was cracked...that's what you get when you stay in 1-2 star hotels. We "fit " in the bathrooms and they were as clean or cleaner than mine at home. Good enough for us, but maybe not everyone's standard. I didn't inspect all the rooms to compare. It never hurst to ask for the newly redone rooms in any older hotel as you suggest.

I never saw a housekeeper smoking, but the night front desk personnel did smoke. As we are non-smoking people ourselves, We avoid smoke when we can, but choose not to make an issue of it in France; it is their culture and we'll tolerate it to some degree. We could choose to stay in more expensive hotels where nonsmoking is enforced or at least (supposedly) available, but choose to spend our money other ways.

Thanks for bringing up some potential concerns that skatterfly might want to consider.