Well, it's just about the 15th and time to try to get September reservations at Hotel des Grandes Ecoles. My question is: will there be someone to talk to if I call just after midnight? Is it better to call or email? I know they book up quickly so I want to maximize my chances of getting a room. Anyone have any insights? Thanks.

I would suggest you follow this procedure:
Since Paris is 6 hours ahead (on the east coast, more further west), you can email anytime after 6 p.m. today and you are following the hotel's rule of reserving on the 15th (which is tomorrow).
I would not call in the evening, because the person handling reservations--Marie, by name--works during the day. Further, from our experience there, the evening attendants' English was not that good!
You might want to follow up your email tonight with a call early tomorrow morning.
Good luck!

I think Howard's rules are in general good ones to follow -- don't call in evening their time as night clerks usually cannot make reservations. Don't call at the busiest time when they may be checking people in/out (first thing in the morning). I try to call or send email so it is late morning or afternoon their time. So, I might call first thing in the morning my time (US east coast). Yes, I know rates are not lowest then but I would never expect to get a reservation made at 6 am Paris time when the night clerk may still be there. That is why I love sending timed faxes by my computer. Otherwise, it's a minimal cost to me overall, so I pay the higher phone rates.

Thanks for the adviCe! ;-) As a followup question (especially since Howard seems to be very familiar with the place), should I write my email in English or my high school French? I think I can pretty clearly say I want a room for 5 nights with double bed, but I'm not sure I'll be able to clearly request the garden buildings...

Just wanted to let you guys know that I emailed at about 3:45 PST yesterday (in English) and had a positive response in my inbox this morning when I got to work! Woo hoo! We're off to Paris, the Perigord and the Languedoc in September!

Congrats QueenMab. I'm very happy for you. You'll love it there! Did you get the garden building?
(Just in case anyone wants the answer to her language question, I would suggest that unless you were pretty sure of your [proficiency in French, you should still to English to avoid a misunderstanding. Fear not, the manager's English is good!)

Howard, I didn't get the garden building, but my friend did (we are traveling with another couple, and we each wrote separately)! She sent her email about 2 hours after mine; I wrote in English, she wrote in French. Do you think there is any significance to that? In any case, we are very happy and looking forward to our trip. Now I am just waiting for airfares to go down...

That's a good question, but I don't have an answer for you. Obviously, your friend's French was good enough for them to understand! Considering how tough it is to get a reservation, you seem to have the right attitude that you're happy just to get a reservation there.