The Verneuil and Relais St. Sulpice hotels are stylish choices with great locations in the 6th for less than €200.

Hôtel Duquesne-Eiffel (3*)

Hôtel de France - Invalides (2*)

Hey could you guys say a sentence or two about why you like them? I'd like to include a detail or two; just something short.

Great location?
Sweet staff?
Larger than expected rooms?
Quiet street?
Near a market?

My recommendation is the Hôtel Mansart, in the 1st--just off the Place Vendôme and sharing a wall with the Ritz. Rooms are larger than many in Paris, often furnished with antiques. Breakfast is a good value; the street is quiet, and near the hotel are an ATM, a post office, and a pharmacy.

Hotel Duquesne: efficient, if sometimes a bit brisk, staff. Rooms nicely decorated in provençal fabrics (some are quite small, but all are nicely appointed). Several rooms with small balconies and rooms with views of the Tour Eiffel.

Hôtel de France. Most floors recently renovated to include small but very nice marble bathrooms with all amenities. Really comfortable mattresses. Absolutely delightful staff who will cater to your every whim (including providing a dozen free bottles of champagne to my sister and her 9 drunken nurse friends who stayed there with her once). And I like the fact they have an umbrella stand by the entrance full of umbrellas in case you need one.

I'll second Underhill's recommendation of the Mansart. My room last spring was quite large and nice, and it's a good location on the Right Bank.

Underhill: I'm amazed that a hotel room can be had in such a "posh" location at that price! I will have to look the hotel up.

Katie: Please tell me more about the newsletter you refer to.

Here's the story Katie was talking about: http://www.fodors.com/wire/archives/002713.cfm

My daughter and I were in Paris a few weeks ago. We stayed at the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles in the Latin Quarter-- 115 euro/night for a double room. http://www.hotel-grandes-ecoles.com/

The hotel is in a great location, on a quiet street between Rue Mouffetard and the Seine. It's actually three buildings set around a private cobblestone a courtyard and garden... kind of a private and very peaceful oasis in Paris. We'll definitely stay here again.

Kathy

Katie:

How do you account for seasonal variation in "lumping" and "splitting" hotel room rates for Paris? Maybe this year is more of an anomaly than some, but I have found many hotels with rates "starting at xx euro", which is available, perhaps in August in particular - - and in contrast, almost double that same rate for (at least some weeks) in September; the World Rugby Cup is undoubtedly a factor in driving up room rates, but I have to think that sharply lower rates in August and sharply higher rates in September have happened in much of the past decade (I was looking, in June/July, for dates in the second half of September, while reading various posts here on this forum about rates for many of those same hotels in August, of this year).

And thanks for your reply, albeit slightly disheartening, on the thread "Search problems"...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=35041413

Best wishes,

Rex

Hotel du Pantheon in the 5th. Right next to the Pantheon, near the Luxembourg Gardens, not too far from the Balzar. Pretty wallpaper and nice bathrooms.

Leburta--- Fodor's sends out a newsletter every week (usually first thing Thursday morning). It doesn't typically revolve around one destination but this week's was because Paris pulls it off. You can sign up on the home page on the right hand bottom corner. We won't share your address with third-parties or bombard you with emails.

Rex--- The rates stated in the article are for August; you're right---they vary wildly by month. Are you heading there soon?

Hi K,

We always stay at the Hotel Bonaparte, 61 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th. From 128E dbl w/bkfst. It is located near 3 metro stops. Has AC and an elevator.

Tel 33 1 43 26 97 37
FAX 33 1 46 33 57 67
reservation@hotelbonaparte.fr
www.hotelbonaparte.fr

For more info, enter "Hotel Bonaparte" in the "search this forum" box.

Great location, very pleasant, helpful staff.

I know that Fodor's is more upscale than, say, Lonely Planet, but it might behoove you to tell people that Paris is the 4th cheapest city of Europe for 2-star hotels (while being quite expensive for 3-star and ultra expensive for 4-star) -- the average price on the latest survey was 88€ for 2 stars, but cheaper is quite possible, obviously.

I'm sure that you also know that the star ratings in France are based on amenities and not the actual impression that one might receive (for example, they take into consideration the number of languages spoken by the staff, whether or not there is an elevator or room service, and the number of square meters in the room). There are some fantastic places out there where the staff might speak only 20 words of English and which might have a tiny bathroom but a breathtaking view. If it does not already exist in Fodor's guides, I think a paragraph or two might be in order pointing out that carpet depth, in-room safes or hair dryers are not necessarily of the utmost importance to every traveler.

PARIS HOTELS: Our very first hotel ever stayed in was recommended in a travel book (who's name escapes me)but it was cheap and clean with a 'Biggie Best' makeover. It was the Hotel Perryve in rue Madame. We liked it as it was close to the Luxembourg Gardens. I would stay there again without hesitation but I'm a creature of curiosity so always book a new hotel!

Easter in 1994 we went the Travel Agent route and stayed at a hotel in Blvd. La Tour Marbourg which has since changed names. Very nice - both bedrooms had their own TV.

My next trip in 1997 we stayed at the Hotel Esmarelda, rue St.Julien-le-Pauvre. (Also travel guide related as we were on a budget) but the ONLY star in this hotel's crown is the fact you wake up every morning with windows thrown open wide to one of the most glorious sights in Paris - Notre Dame Cathedral. The rest is uncleaned rooms and atrocious furniture.
Bhoemian? ( maybe, just maybe).

On a holiday in 2000 we decided no more small bedrooms with a toilet within striking distance and opted for the very nice small well run family Hotel Gavarni in the 16th. Lovely room etc. but the metro stop was an uphill climb so that put us off staying there again.

We choose the Holiday Inn Opera in rue de L'Eschiquier for our month long trip around France & England in 2002.
Mainly because it sported a kingsize bed. We were very impressed at the lovely finishes and wide passage ways leading to the rooms. Only problem was lack of restaurants in the area but we did find a very good Chinese place in rue Thorel off Blvd.Bonne Nouvelle.

On a solo trip in 2005 I opted for three different hotels as it was a two week long stay in the City of Light.
Firstly, the Hotel Belmont in rue de Bessano. Ver nice but too far from the Champs and Geoge V metro than I thought.
Next move was to Hotel Duquesne in the street of the same name.
Lovely room with view of Eiffel Tower but I felt too far from the action of cafe`s and choice of restaurants.

Finally the last hotel I stayed in was Hotel Clement, rue Clement off busy Blvd.Saint Germain.
Nice room but noisy in the early hours due to the many eateries around. (You just can't win!)

All in all, they had their merits but this rolling stone will be gathering no moss - so it's a new hotel every time for me!

We stayed at the Parc St. Severin on rue de la Parchemenerie in the 5th in May 2006 for, I believe, €130. We had a front room, which was noisy from the restaurants below us; but another guest I spoke with who had a side room said they didn't notice any noise.

The room was quite nice, and the bathroom was a nice size. There was no air conditioning.

As no great fan of the left bank, I used to stay at Hotel Apollo directly opposite Gare du Nord (I now prefer apartments). Unusual for Paris, their double rooms are quite large and the location is very near Montmartre. Price about 70E.

A jewel of a hotel for under 200 euros is the Hotel Residence Henri IV in the 5th Arr, of rue des Ecoles. It's at the end of a little dead-end street and faces a park, so it's very quiet. Most rooms have little balconies and the bathrooms are a nice size and also have a window in most rooms. Best of all, rooms have a tiny kitchenette, so you can buy cheese and yogurt and the nearby open market a couple of times a week and you can make some coffee and eat goodies from nearby pattiserie. The hotel has 2 rooms per floor and the staff always gets to know me well enough to tell my husband what time I went out when he calls. Convenient enough to walk to the Pantheon or across the bridge to Notre Dame, the nearest metro stop is about 3 blocks away.

<< Are you heading there soon? >>

Yes, in September, and I plan to review my hotel choices again today. We are staying our first night, and our last three nights of a nine-night trip (nights 2 and 3 in Turin, mights 4, 5 and 6 touring from the area around Chambery through the Cote d'Or to the Yonne). We have tentatively chosen to stay in two different areas for the two different Paris segments. I'll share more details when I am certain about what we plan to do.

Hotel Eiffel Rive Gauche in the 7th. is the pick for my family. The location is wonderful,rooms pretty (even though small) and reception easy to deal with. It is walking distance to Eiffel tower, LOTS of food, and Rue Cler. The Metro is nearby and buses at the corner.

It is 'well hidden' and therefore quiet.

Hotel de la Porte Doree in the 12th. Not to be confused ith Hotel Doree a few blocks up the street.

This one is family-owned, a lovely restoration. A number of the rooms are quite spacious. Ave Daumesnil is a lovely neighborhood. There is a Monoprix on the street, a great bakery directly across from the hotel, several good restaurants, the Porte Doree metro stop right outside and a park nearby. Hey, there's even a McDonald's if you're desperately munchie in the wee hours.

The owners and staff are very friendly, mostly bilingual. They offer free wifi and a free computer for internet access. Their most expensive room is about 78Euro.

I had a fantastic week there. It's far from the madding crowd, yet situated in a nice, vibrant area.