allisonm

We are looking at Hotel Dauphine and Hotel du Danube, both in the St. Germaine area. Pricing is similar, both include breakfast. We can get a prestige room at the Danube for not too much more, and for a week's stay, I would love to have a little extra space so we are not tripping over stuff or each other. But the Dauphine rooms look very charming...

Does anyone have any recent experience at either of these? Thanks!

kerouac

There is no Saint Germaine area. Perhaps you were thinking of Saint Germain?

kerouac

Sorry to be snarky, but outrageously petty questions that have been ignored by everbody else for a full day sometimes do that to me. Do you often trip over stuff in your hotel room? If you are visually impaired, the rooms for the disabled always have considerably more space.

allisonm

Sorry if you thought that was a petty question, Kerouac. I do apologize for the misspelling. As you know, there is no edit button here.

However, asking for opinions of travelers who may have stayed at hotels I am considering is not petty to me. So if you really have nothing useful to add, there is no reason for you to make any further comments on this thread. Thank you.

MmePerdu

"...no reason for you to make any further comments on this thread."

An executive order.

kerouac

Yes, allisonm, please continue your animated discussion with all of the other experts on these two hotels. I realize that every single room in these old buildings is identical, so if somebody tells you that they tried both room 11 of the Hôtel Dauphine and room 203 of the Hôtel du Danube, that will be a fantastic help to you.

MmePerdu

I think it unlikely you'll find someone here who's stayed in both hotels and in both size rooms at the Danube. Since I assume you've read reviews and both get good marks, if you choose the one that seems right for you (price, location, room size) I imagine you cannot go too far wrong. It may not be perfect but travel can help us learn to compromise and shift our ideas of perfect just enough to make whichever one you choose perfectly satisfactory.

I'm one who doesn't consider my room "just a place to sleep" and look hard for a place where I feel it's a retreat I enjoy, since I tend to stay longer than average in a given place. On occasion I'll move, but not often, even on my limited budget. I suspect you'll be happy with either place. You can always put your things away and put your suitcases in the hotel storage.

WoinParis

Good move Allison

You manage to offend KErouac, who is a great guy and one of the most knowledgeable people on this forum.

I must say I told myself exactly the same : what good will it make you to have the opinion of some guy who would have slept in both ?

Anyway, here is my tip : I check on Hotels.com and sometimes on TripAdvisor. On TA, I ignore all english posts related to hotels or restaurants : US will criticize size of the room and rudeness of the staff. So check the french reviews, they at least compare based on french criteria, which helps in France.

And yes Germaine is a girl, Germain is a boy. like 99% of first time posters, you got it wrong.

Leely2

She said "either," not both, so I really don't see what the big deal is.

I've stayed at the Danube but it was almost 10 years ago. Stayed in a big/superior room category and it was one of the most spacious rooms I've ever stayed in while in Paris.

Sue4

Somebody is in a bad mood today! Anyway, allisonm, seems like a perfectly reasonable question to me. Opinions on hotels are quite relevant on a travel forum like Fodors, I would think. And since this forum is FULL of questions and answers regarding hotels (and rooms) many others must agree with you and I. One doesn't really have to open up a thread they aren't interested in!

I for one, AM interested, as I've been obsessively researching the same type of hotels in St. Germain (by the way, my iPad just autocorrected my spelling of St. Germain to St. Germaine - but I dutifully corrected the iPad immediately!) and the Dauphine was one I was considering. I looks quite nice and for the area is well priced. I hope someone will tune in who has stayed there.

kerouac

Perfect. Go for that one. Less chance of tripping over your stuff.

tuscanlifeedit

This is my opinion, and everyone has one, but I think some were too hard on the OP. She comes here, she gets stung, she stings a little back, OH NO!

allisonm, there are nice people here and if you have more questions, please give us another try.

kerouac

Oh, even some of us who are sometimes nasty are nice.

However, knowing how to phrase questions is sometimes extremely important.

allisonm

MmePerdue, thank you. I know we will make the best of our room, no matter the size. After all, we will be in Paris!

Leely2, thank you. That is very helpful information. We have stayed in Paris before, in rooms that were small but big enough, and another that was uncomfortably small for us but which we were able to upgrade the next day. It helps that we travel at less busy times when the hotels are not fully booked.

Sue4, if we stay at the Dauphine, I will be happy to share our experience. We will be there in late March.

WoinParis, that is a great suggestion. I had not thought to filter the reviews and will give them another look with that in mind.

And Tuscan, I appreciate that.

Leely2

The room at the Danube. It was nice but I would assume they would have refurbished since then! The proportions would likely be the same. Plenty of room for luggage, kicking your shoes off, strewing your belongings about without it turning into a huge mess, etc.

http://www.pbase.com/leelygoes/image/77288920

http://www.pbase.com/leelygoes/image/77288926

fuzzbucket

If you do not absolutely have to stay in Saint-Germain, you might be interested in the huge rooms located in this hotel:
http://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/ha-tel-langlois.fr.html

WoinParis

For info, I have booked a room in the Danube on feb 14th. (Price was one third on hotels.com....)
If you remind me I can tell you what I think of it ;-)

kerouac

You can absolutely trust Wo. He is the greatest hotel expert in Paris.

allisonm

Thank you, I will be interested to hear your thoughts, Wo. Paris for Valentine's Day, very romantic! We did that once, our first trip to Paris.

We ended up booking Hotel Saint Paul Rive Gauche. This was the one we first considered before we got sidetracked by the Dauphine and Danube.

Thanks for the photos, Leely. I really liked that their rooms had a little table since we are sure to eat in a couple of times. I hope our room at Saint Paul has one.

WoinParis

St Valentine in Paris with your wife in Bruxelles is much less romantic ;-)
Danube will be my 170th hotel in Paris... getting close to 10% of the available hotels...