i stayed at the Hotel de Mericourt (11th).around 80$ nightly for a double room.this was the first time we tried a 2star.i like spending my limited budget on entrance fees rather than on hotel luxury but my wife was a bit worried she would not like it.we were pleasently surprised.
the room (and hotel itself) was tiny but clean and suited our needs.had a shower/bath & tv. no a/c or fridge. it has an elevator.we went in august.it wasnt hot but if it was i would ask them for a fan. breakfast was tiny but yummy.
they have a staff member at reception at night.the neighbourhood was nice and hotel was 100yards from a metro stop so we didnt need a taxi.the staff were very friendly.we are used to spending our anniversary at our local 4/5 star hotels to relax on our anniversary but for holidays in europe i have used 2stars ever since.

Just to clarify Maureen's posting, that is Expedia's star rating system--not at all the same star ratings officially given to hotels in the various countries.

E.g., such concepts as "clean" and "stylish furnishings" are alien to the official Italian star rating system.

You're right, Rufus (just had to say that). It would be nice if everyone used the same classification system for hotels so it would make more sense. Maybe there's method in their madness-- to keep us confused.
P.S. Rufus, do you live in a state where there are fireflies? I miss seeing them, having grown up in the Midwest. My kids saw them once when they were toddlers, and were fascinated. Ah, memories of childhood summer evenings....

If you can get two decent 2* rooms for the price of one nice 3* room, take the two stars!! For one thing, you'll get two bathrooms. And two 2* rooms will give you more space than one 3* room, even if it's a quad.

Maureen, your quotes on stars is irrelevant to Paris because it's from Expedia and they make up their own definitions. I wouldn't ever base hotels on websites that make up their own ratings.

Rufus, I don't quite understand your response to me. I never said anything about stars being related to cleanliness nor service. Now, I do think they are related to service at some extent because more stars means more likely English-speaking staff, someone at the desk at all hours, etc. My main point was that they are related to the comfort, size and quality and general pleasantness of the hotel--and amenities, which are partly how I rate quality. I don't mean silly things like soaps with names on them, nor things like conference rooms which are irrelvant to me nor parking facilities in a city-- I mean things like TV, telephone, elevators, minibars, hair dryers, etc. All of those things, which are reflected in star ratings, are what I think of as "quality".

I don't think the stars are related to cleanliness, and I never said that. I know they are related to room size and bathroom size, as I've seen the official criteria, as well as windows in rooms, real basic things. I have had some crummy beds and mattress and towels in 2* hotels. Part of that is not regulated, but just what people expect for a certain star level. A 4* hotel is not going to get away with foam mattresses, but 1-2* hotels will. There are some things that aren't regulated, but are correlated with stars because of price and expectations, also.

As far as the elevator, it depends on the number of floors as to whether it is required for diff. star levels. It is required in a 2* hotel of five floors, in a 3* hotel of four floors.

So, I think star ratings are a measure of quality by my definition, but never said that meant cleanliness/service, and think they are based on a lot more important things than fancy soaps, parking and conference rooms. At least in France, they definitely are.

And I do not agree that a 1* hotel can be superior in every way except for a parking lot and a conference room. I would say that is impossible.

I think you may have the idea that I stay in expensive, 4-5* hotels, and my opinions are of an upper strata, and I do not. I stay in more modest places than many of the people on Fodors from my reading of the posts on here and have never in my life stayed in a 4*L or 5* hotel. But I am realistic and just don't agree that 1* hotels are the same except for a parking lot as higher rated hotels.

I mostly agree with Christina and some of the others, I think it's unlikely (not impossible, just very unlikely)that a one-star would be superior in every way to a three-star, or a two superior to a three; if that is the case there is something very wrong with the three-star.

I think there are bell curves of quality and there can be some overlap at the extremes of adjacent star ratings; that is, an excellent two-star can be better than a poor three-star. But it's not supposed to be that way on average (the middle of the curve), the ratings are supposed to be objective guides as to what you can expect in terms of services and amenities for the price you are paying.

As stated above, we're not talking about decor or how nice the towels are when we're talking about government ratings, but on the other hand, if I'm being charged 150 euro for a three-star room vs 80 euro for a one-star room, I will expect the more expensive room to have nicer towels and a built-in hair dryer, or it's not worth the money.
That's a value for price paid, though, not a gov't rating.

I've stayed at all levels of hotels except for a one-star, and recently I had an unacceptable two-star experience, but that's not to say I will never again try a two-star, I hope I just picked the wrong one.

I've taken the three-star route in booking the Hotel de la Bourdonnais, based on tripadvisor.com, value, and most of all its location in the 7th, in an upscale residential neighborhood with views of the Eiffel Tower and close to Rue Cler and Les Invalides. Let's hope it's nice. I'll report back in late June.

I stayed at the Hotel de la Bourdonnais in 2000, and loved it. would stay there again.

Lots of discussion and good advice. Other hotels? My wife, her sister, our grandaughter, and myself were in Paris for a long weekend in the fall and stayed at the Pas des Calais- check it out on line or google it. It is in the 6th and right off the blvd. St.Germaine- near Metro, nice rooms, lots of nice stores on the Boulevard and not too far to walk to many sites .... don't be afraid to use the Metro- have a great stay!