We will possibly visit and stay in Paris from 9/11 to 14/11 (depart on this day). We could stay in Paris for longer if we choose to base in Paris and do day trip to Loire Valley instead of renting a car.

I had a quick look at the hotels. It is overwhelming!! it seems there are a lot of nice hotels with good reviews.

We started from Pullman Hotel near Eiffel, but for over 500AUD/night, it is too much for us. then we found Terrass Hotel. from its most expensive suite (still cheaper than Pullman), you can have a very nice view (including Eiffel, a bit distant though). but it is not that close to the centre. i read people suggest to book hotel in the central area. is the location of Terrass good?

We want the hotel close to convenient transportation (i guess subway is the most convenient?). reasonably close to the major attractions (half an hour by public transport?) clean room in a good suburb (no security issue) ideally, some good views from the room.

the budget i hope will be below US$200 per night.

will airbnb be a good place to find some nice options?

2 adults, no kids. we dont mind walking either.

thank you.

Well.. first off.. for most first time visitors to Paris they enjoy staying in central areas.. you can walk to many( but not all ) sites.
The 4th aka( the Marais) 5th ( Latin Quarter) and 6th( St Germain) are considered the most central... and very tourist friendly.. tons of shops, cafes, and sites .

When looking at hotels and not sure of area.. check out the code in the address. Paris is 750-- The last two digits are the area.. so 75006 means the hotel is in the 6th, St Germain etc..

Your budget is in Aussie dollars and I have no idea what that is in euros.. so lets look for hotels with euros, because on this board you have Canadians( me) talking Canadian dollars, Americans with their dollars and you with yours.. all different.

Also.. just to be clear.. do you mean this October?

Quad rooms are actually not that easy to find, so a good search engine like booking.com is helpful.

I personally think paying for a view is not a great idea( unless money is not an issue).. it usually ups the price a lot.. means a smaller room for the money etc.. you can see the view when you are outside .

How old are kids.. if young.. staying near Luxembourg Gardens is fun.. its got a nice playground etc.

PS you do get more room for your money if you stay less central. .but if kids are young I would think twice before building in a commute everyday.. Paris can be exhausting enough for them. Walking all day,, standing in lines, seeing some sites that may not interest them ie Cathderals and musuems.. etc..

I am not sure the type of rooms you are looking for. You have listed higher end places along with an economy type nightly rate.

It is not difficult to find a hotel less than US$200/night (USD, I presume) in the middle of Paris in November. For example, last year, I stayed at Hotel Clement in the 6th arrondissement just around a corner from Mabillon metro station. I looked at the days you listed. The lowest rate room for two that can be canceled is shown as 126EU/night = 142 USD = 197 AUD.

A rental would probably go lower and roomier provided you stick to a legal rental. However, understand that rentals have stiffer cancellation terms, if they offer one at all, restrictive check-in/out time windows, and luggage storage issues if you arrive earlier or leave much later than the check-out time.

I think the Terrass Hôtel would be excellent. It is not far from the Place de Clichy metro station and also has several bus lines running by it.

Good advice above.

I just stayed at Clement this week - good value for money 2 stars worth 3 hotel.

Never been to Do as Jutine says, use a good diste.
I use Booking.com or hotels.com and have hardly ever had a problem. You can select by area (download a map of the 'arrondissements de Paris' in order to familiarize yourself).

All hotels will be around 30 min form nearly all the attractions... My daughter stayed in 14e and loved it. But a lot of people prefer central. 4-5-6 are so 'central' and touristy that you hear more english spoken there than french.

Enjoy your trip

Hi Eric, take a look at Hotel de L'Empereur or Hotel Muguet, which are both in the 7th, just near La Tour-Maubourg metro station. They are small family-run hotels, clean, well-priced and well-located. Both are below $200US a night in November. If you walk ten minutes north, you are at the river, ten mins east past Les Invalides is Musee Rodin and ten mins west is the Eiffel Tower. And as long as you're near a Metro station, you can go virtually anywhere! It's a quiet, safe neighborhood, and plenty of good restaurants nearby too (very famous food street Rue Cler is also around the corner). Just remember that wherever you stay in Paris, the vast majority of two and three star hotels will be on the small side compared to Australia.

I suggest you The Arch de Triumph Hotel. It is almost fifteen minutes walk away and the Eiffel Tower. It has good staffs, cool ambiance, and it is less than 500AUD which I think will suit your budget.

the budget is less than US$200/night (dont mean we have to spend all US$200 on accommodation everyday) the exchange rate for A$ to C$ is roughly 1:1, to US$ is roughly 1:0.7

we dont have kids. two adults only.

yes i mean this November (2015).

Terrass hotel looks really nice, but just not that close to the "central". anyway, i may follow the suggestions not to pick a room based on its view from the room.

our preference of room type is always 'self-contained' apartment when we travel in australia, new zealand, and even hawaii if we will stay for a long period (more than 3 days). its why i would also like to see any comments on airbnb. however, this is paris and our first visit to this city. we are open to any decent place in a reasonable (to fit our budget) price range.

Hi Rosemaryoz (oz? thanks for the recommendation, will definitely have a look.

Eric

I just slept in 18e - Villa Montmartre - run 'nearly' like a hotel, and you got something 'nearly' like an appartment.

Nearly means the door shuts at 21 30 - complicates logistic a bit, but ok and appartment is much more fuctional than a real one, with much less furniture.

30 m2, with a separate sleeping chamber, a fully functional kitchen. I loved it.

And it doesn't cost that much, and probably they offer degressive prices with a long(er) stay.

Some people hate the area (the worst review on TA was from someone saying the are is full of drug addicts and is soooo bad), I love it : very living, nice, not that touristy yet very close to Sacré coeur.

Anyway have a look !

On a first visit and with as little knowledge of the city you seem to have go to a hotel. The desk can be of immense help to you for reservations, directions, etc. Also, as much as Kerouac (a resident) loves to suggest staying out of the center, for a first timer, why do that. The center is large and diverse--and close to the sights you will want to visit.
There are innumerable hotels under $200 that are excellent. Several have been suggested. Do a search for 2^ hotels in arrondisements 1-8.
the transportation system in Paris is probably the best in the world and will easily get you from your hotel to where you want to go. Also, if you are in the center, walking is very much a good way to get places.
The Muguet is a very nice hotel in an interesting part of the 7th with many restaurants and the market street, rue Cler. From some of its rooms you have a view of the Eiffel Tower--since you mentioned that first. But one thing that is fun about that area is that you can round a corner and all of a sudden, the Tower is right there.

One of my principal reasons for suggesting staying away from the central area concerns people wanting to save money. Since the OP mentioned a budget, I was perhaps under the mistaken impression that money was trying to be saved. Accommodations, food and other shopping are all more expensive in the central tourist areas. The street markets are often <b>four times</b> more expensive for common items, leading people to say "Paris is such an expensive city." And don't get me started about the legendary $8 Coke that some many people complain about. But if people enjoy paying those prices, by all means stay exactly in the center or even off center in the even more expensive Eiffel Tower area. I'm not against people spending lots of money when they have too much of it.

Are you planning to actually buy groceries and cook your meals everyday? Or do you just need a refrigerator for snacks and a coffee maker? Lots of hotels have minibars and coffee set ups available and some have free breakfast. Hotel Saint Andre des Arts is in a good location in the Latin Quarter.

There is a crackdown on illegal vacation rentals in Paris - which means most of them. You need a place that will store your luggage if you arrive before your room is ready and front desk staff to help you with directions etc. You need to stay in a hotel. Besides being illegal, most of the rental apartments in Paris are not worth the time and trouble it takes to rent them.

I am one who says Paris is the bargain city of the world, and we stay in central Paris. When on vacation, I am often drawn to buy something I wouldn't in my home city--that's called enjoying being somewhere different and exotic.
Street markets are fun to browse and shop because we don't have these many places in the US.
The OP mentioned a "budget" number of $200. That is certainly ample for shopping for a hotel--even in the central part of Paris.

Everybody is on a budget pretty much, the OP didn't say they wanted to save money, just what they wanted to spend on a hotel, which is very reasonable, you don't need to stay far out to spend that. I think the OP thinks Paris is more expensive than it is as that is 175 euro, you don't need to stay in a suburb to spend that.

Here, this is a compromise, not the most expensive parts of Paris (eg, St GBermain or Marais), but very central and you get more for your money but it's a lovely hotel. I've stayed there several times, it's near gare St Lazare so very convenient, double superiors are about 166 euro in November.
http://www.hotel-langlois.com/

IN fact, the 7th arrondisement is not really that bad in terms of hotel prices, even though people who live there are pretty well off and it's an expat haven. Some things in shops may be expensive, but tourists shouldn't be buying much anyway, I wouldn't think, if in a hotel, why buy a lot of food in street markets. (BTW, I have never encountered the legendary $8 Coke myself and I don't stay in the boonies, some people exaggerate and some people buy stuff in very expensive cafes on the Champs-Elysees, or something--even there, you can't spend that on a Coke if you buy one from some of those cheaper sidewalk places, like Brioche Doree or whatever).

Here are my relatively recent stats on quality price hotels :

Center arrdts 1-8 not bad actually.
21 hotels, 12 good, 4 bad, average price : 108.
Best arr for me : 4th !

arrdts 9, 10, 11 : good price/quality ratio
16 hotels, 9 good, 2 bad, average 97

arrdts 12,13,14,15 : I'm not lucky there////
15 hotels, 1 good, 5 bad, average 115

arrdts 16,17 : I tend to pick expensive hotels here..
10 hotels, 6 good, average price 155…

arrdt 18 : my fave area
11 hotels, 5 good, average price 99
arrdts 19,20 : my worst area. but less expensive.
11 hotels, 1 good, 7 bad, average 87
Suburbs 13 hotels, 3 good (La Defense) 3 bad (Aubervilliers), Average 120

girls and guys, i really appreciate all your input. it is friday (morning) here now. i will try to decide on where i will stay in paris this weekend.

the reason we are often after a self-contained apartment is, yep, we can cook at "home". we did this quite often when we were on ski trips to new zealand.

but i am aware this is Paris, it is not Queenstown in the south island. so we will stay in a hotel this time.

i have to admit i had no clue about the suburbs of paris even 2 days ago. thanks for your help and google map. i believe i will find something good for us this weekend

IMHO for a first is it to Paris it is worthwhile to stay in the 5th or 6th - so you can just walk out the door and be near to a number of major sights - even without using the Metro at all. And there will certainly be places in that area well within your budget.

I know a lot of peole here reco staying farther out - which is probably great for living there - but with only a few days - and a first trip - I would go for the most convenient.

Caveat: we never do any meals in our room - unless room service. Although we always want a mini fridge so we can have cold drinks and a few snacks/fruit if we want.

Please don't have dinner in your room. YOU are IN PARIS!! Snacks,bread, wine, cheese--absolutely.
Stay in the middle--my recollection is it is for less that a week.
Have cafe and croissants at a nearby cafe to your HOTEL for breakfast. Less than what you would pay at Starbuck's for the same--if you stand at the counter. (learn the custom of standing at the counter for cheap and sitting down at a talbe for a bit more.)

The Hotel Bonaparte in the 6th is frequently mentioned on this forum as a budget-friendly good place to stay. I have also read good things about the Clement.

We stayed at the Hotel Louis II in the 6th a few years ago. They have small but comfortable rooms. It was reasonable and well located with friendly staff.

We also liked the Hotel Relais Bosquet in the 7th but I think their prices have gone up.