We are planning a visit to Paris in early January and we are undecided between Hotel St Jacques at 35 Rue Des Ecoles and the Holiday Inn at 92 Rue de Vaugirard Saint Germain des pres. There is not much difference between the prices. We always prefer an area where we can have easy access to transport and in the mean time surrounded by nice restaurant and cafes where we can feel 'La vie Parisienne'. The hotel doesn't have to be a 5 stars, but clean and the room sizes are reasonably big for 2 adutls and a 16 years old.
Hotel St Jacques at Rue Des Ecoles or the Holiday Inn at Rue de Vaugirard
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I think you'll have to at least get a triple room to be sure of that room size.
Both hotels offer a triple room.
DH and I recently stayed at Hotel St Jacques, and were very pleased with it. Nice little boutique hotel, good service, good prices. Its location is perfect, with great little restaurants and bars and cafes within a block or two. Le Petit Prince de Paris is right up the street, and is a wonderful restaurant.
But, we probably had the triple room. We had a double bed and a twin bed. The room is good-sized and very cute, but the beds take up most of the floor space. I can't imagine sharing that room between two adults and a 16 year old, though. We were on the 5th floor, I think, so you might ask specifics about the room they define as a triple.
Do check the specific size of the room - in SQ m - to determine what it is. I can't think of any room (versus suite) we have had in a hotel in France that would be comfortable for 3 adults.
My best friend and I stayed at the Hotel St. Jacques, based on recommedations from this board and loved it. Its near everything so we walked everywhere.
I had a double room, so don't know about a triple room.
Enjoy
I'd probably try to find out the size of the rooms, also, and if there was much difference, go with the bigger room. However, otherwise I would prefer the St Jacques as I like traditional decor (but others prefer modern). For the HI, they say they have 12 family rooms and I think they might have a bigger flat screen TV, if that matters (it might to your kid). I suspect that room will be bigger, but just a guess.
I think you would like the area a bit better around the St Jacques in terms of walking around and seeing stuff in the immediate neighborhood. I think a teen would like that area better, even if touristy (that can be an appeal, walking around those pedestrian streets near the Seine).
Both are pretty convenient to transportation, although the line the HI is right next to (St Placide metro stop) is more convenient in some ways, not having to transfer to get across the river, for example.
I've stayed at that Holiday Inn which, except for the brand name on the door, was not at all like a US Holiday Inn, much to the chagrin of a party of Americans who couldn't believe there was no ice machine.
The hotel is neutral modern, not charming. The staff is French but speaks English well, though they do not condescend if one tries French. Our room was nice, though not a triple, and had efficient air conditioning and double glazing, which was our primary reason for staying there.
It is very conveniently located, more or less halfway between the Luxembourg Gardens and Bon Marche, a handy pair of poles.
It was easy to walk almost everywhere in the 5th, 6th, and 7th, and the St Placide Metro stop and the 96 bus are a block away on the rue de Rennes for getting to the rest of the city.
We enjoyed the cafe at the corner of the rue de Rennes, L'Horizon for drinks and for breakfast (they made me ham sandwiches while my wife ate pain au chocolat) except on one holiday when they did not open until much later and we had breakfast at the hotel. There is a very fine traiteur across the intersection at the beginning of Notre Dame des Champs.
There is/was a big FNAC just a couple of blocks up the rue de Rennes toward Montparnasse which the 16 year old might enjoy, and you are close to the Sunday organic market on the Boulevard Raspail.