Thursday, April 12, 2012

My mind is mush...Please help...1st time in Paris

Yes! my mind is mush.... LOL



I have looked at so many hotels in every arrondissement of Paris and I am just completly overloaded...please help



My 14 year old daughter and I are going to Italy for 15 days then taking the overnight train to Paris for 6 days/5 night--this will be our 1st time in Europe..we will be in Paris from June 14 to June 19, 2006



I have all of my hotel rooms found and booked in Italy...but when it comes to Paris I just can%26#39;t find %26quot;the best%26quot; one.. I have read most of the other %26quot;which hotel%26quot; threads..and I really hate starting another one..but here I am starting one anyway..



the last thing I want to do is go thru a travel agent b/c I%26#39;ve planned every single part of our 20-day trip(except this last %26quot;hotel in Paris%26quot; part) on my own..



here is what I%26#39;m looking for



~room with a nice view of something other than the hotel garden--a beatiful Paris-street view is acceptable



~Individually controlled A/C


~private bathroom


~in room safe


~soundproof rooms


~quiet street...(it doesn%26#39;t have to be %26#39;church quiet%26#39;, but I also don%26#39;t want mardis gras going on in the street below-LOL)



~nice places to eat breakfast very near-by, but also reasonable priced hotel breakfast



~Nice Restaurants,markets,shopping near by



~windows that open



~cozy %26quot;french%26#39; atmosphere


~internet cafe near-by/at hotel


~laundry near-by


~centrally located (I live in an area that doesn%26#39;t have public transportation-so I%26#39;m stupid when it comes to buses or subways--which means we%26#39;ll be walking alot or taking taxis)



~TV with english CNN


~Elevator a plus


~historic building a plus


all for the low price of 125 EUROS or less (less would be better of course-lol)



I was thinking of the Rue Cler area...but I just don%26#39;t know anymore...I was also told the latin quarter...and again... I just don%26#39;t know... both areas seem to have the %26#39;atmosphere%26#39; I%26#39;m looking for...but so do all of the other Arrondissements.



Like I said,my brain is overloaded! I%26#39;ve tried taking a cpl days off and then coming back to find the right place, but I just get overloaded again b/c I don%26#39;t know where to stay...I knew where I wanted to stay in Rome so that was a breeze, Paris on the other hand is going to kill me-HA!



I%26#39;m hoping I can get some help with either the perfect area or the perfect hotel or both!



Kelly




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Poor dear - you need to get hold of yourself! LOL





What you%26#39;re asking for at 125 Euros might be a little tough - are you flexible?



Choosing a hotel in Paris shouldn%26#39;t be this big a deal. I would suggest making a list of the places you%26#39;re looking to visit, perhaps even put colored dots on a map and see where the majority congregate. That%26#39;s where you should choose your hotel.



Most of the hotels have what you are looking for - the view part might be tricky - and expensive. Laundry might be touch and go - but public %26#39;lavanderies%26#39; are around. The higher up your room is the less noisy it will be. But, Paris is a large city like any other. Street noise is inevitable. Many hotels keep their rooms on the street side of the building with large windows for circulation.





The Left Bank has plenty of spots to choose from - Rue des Ecoles has a couple good ones, down near St. Severin Church and along the quai near Notre Dame. Since I love ancient history I love the buildings in this area. This is where St. Thomas Aquinas lived when he came to Paris to study. There is an internet cafe on the Rue de la Huchette.





Wherever you choose to stay, find yourself a cozy, pleasant cafe and make it your home base. Mine is the Relais Odeon right across from the Odeon Metro station.






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If you intend to walk a lot, then avoid the rue cler area, and in general the area around the eiffel tower, and aim for the 5th or 6th district near the river seine. I don%26#39;t know much about hotels, but i think you are asking too much anyway...




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In most Paris hotels the quiet rooms are those at the back, overlooking a courtyard, an alleyway, or an air shaft. You%26#39;re unlikley to find everything you%26#39;re looking for for 125 euroes or less. You should also re-think your stand on public transportation. The Paris Metro is easy to use. Furthermore, the places of interest in Paris are not all within walking distance of any one hotel, and taking cabs will end up being expensive, and not really any easier for a novice than using the Metro.




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These hotels will not meet all of the criteria on your %26#39;..wish list..%26#39;...but may suit many, while still being at or around the price range--





http://paris-hotel-louisdeux.com/





http://paris-hotel-grandbalcons.com/





http://www.hotel-de-saint-germain.com/




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Dear Kelly; In my experience, location is the most important criteria, particularly if you intend to do a lot of walking. But being centrally located is not cheap even in the lesser hotels. I admire your list of qualities to wish for in a hotel but they would be extremely rare and hard to find.





I could recommend a hotel I have stayed in that is centrally located but a little more expensive than 125 euros. I think I paid around 150 euros the last time I stayed there. It is the Hotel Britannique hotel-britannique.fr/English/Frameset.html





It is on a relatively quiet street in a neiborhood between the Rue di Rivoli and the Seine River. The surrounding streets are very busy but this end of the avenue Victoria is relatively quiet. You are two blocks from the Isle de Cite, six blocks to Notre Dame. There are several restaurants, patisseries (try Pauls for hot chocolate[ on Rue di Rivoli about 4 blocks away]), drugstores, and department stores[Sarmantaine , check the viewing platform on the top] within a few blocks.





The staff at the hotel are very helpful and outgoing and readily speak English. The rooms are typically small but adequate with private bath. Take a look at their website for more info. Good luck and have a great time in Paris!




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If you can up your budget a bit more, there are a couple of nice hotels on Ile St Louis, where there is limited traffic and the buildings are characteristic. If you read their reviews, I imagine you will learn of nearby cafes/bakeries... after you choose one, let us know and we%26#39;ll find the nearest couple of internet cafes for you.





Hotel Saint Louis



Hôtel des Deux Iles





If you can mastermind a trip to Europe you can learn the Paris metro system. There are documents online that explain the terminology, but basically you:



- insert your ticket into the machine and retrieve it, go thru the turnstile



- choose the %26#39;hallway%26#39; with signage that is going to the direction (end of the line) that you want



- get off at the station on that line that you want and go to ground level



- if you make a mistake, get off, cross the hallways and go to the %26#39;other side%26#39; of the metro track - not a big deal at all





When looking at the metro map



- the colored %26#39;dots%26#39; are just stations, no changes to other lines



- the white circles are where other lines connect in that station, so you can stay underground on the same ticket, and go to a different metro line (these stations are called a %26quot;correspondence%26quot;).





Do be mindful of your belongings, don%26#39;t just drop your bag at your feet, etc.




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Thank you everyone for the information...





travelnutty thanks for the quickie metro lesson..I have no doubt it will come in handy..to be honest I%26#39;m just afraid of the metro..but once I see it and see how easy it is I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;ll master it..





KDKSAIL.. I LOVE the Hotel Louis II..Thank you for the suggestion.





I am VERY flexiable on the %26#39;amenities%26#39; I want in a hotel room... but the price(125euro) I cannot be too flexible with.. Paris is the last leg of our 20-day trip..and after staying in every major city in Italy then taking the overnight train to Paris(which isn%26#39;t cheap-LOL)..We will be on a pretty tight budget, so with the money I have alloted for Paris I would rather spend it on tours/day trip to London and Stonehenge, instead of a pricer hotel..the most I can do for a hotel is 130 euro..





beansandcod your advise on coloring a map and seeing where the majority of the dots are is a great Idea.....the problem is we want to see it all.......LOL





I have one last question...LOL what area/arrondissement SHOULDN%26#39;T we stay...either b/c of the %26#39;red-light%26#39; night life, prices of hotels/shops or b/c it%26#39;s out of the way...I ask b/c I found a small hotel (Hotel France Albion http://www.albion-paris-hotel.com/English/TheHotel1.htm) when I 1st started looking last month.. but it%26#39;s in the 9th arr. by the Moulin Rouge and the Opera and I was told this is NOT The area I want to be in..is this true?





Thank you all again for your help and patience, I couldn%26#39;t have planned this European trip for me and my daughter without tripadvisors and it%26#39;s forums.. :~)




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Hi Kelly,



We have made 3 trips to Paris. Our 1st one, and at the time, I thought, our only one, we splurged and stayed at the George V for 3 nights. I was afraid to use the Metro because of the language barrier..or so I thought. We walked everywhere and that Hotel is very centrally located. The 2nd trip we made I wanted to really experience Paris, so we stayed at Apart%26#39; Hotel Les Halles and had a studio apt. I loved it and shopped in what remains of Les Halles and cooked and had a great time. The area seemed edgy and the metro stations were always crowded but SO easy to use. Even better than the London Tube. At night I felt we had to take extra care, which we did. My last trip, by myself, I stayed in the Quartier Latin and had a ball! I felt much more at ease on the streets, even at night and after my last trip I fell in love with the Metro. It is so easy and quick to transverse Paris. But as one poster said, try to keep your day trips to one sort of central area. We pick our main destination and I then schedule metro trips and eating and shopping around it. For instance, last trip I went to UNESCO, then wandered Rue Cler, where I picked up a picnic lunch..even though it was mid-February, and walked to the area just beyond the Eiffel Tower and sat on a bench and ate it, under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Then I wandered avenue Rapp back to Pont Alma and the Marceau metro back to L%26#39;Odean and wandered through a charming passageway with Au Procope and Grim Art and tea shops etc. And back to hotel for a bit before dinner at a local place for dinner. Then explored some more of the Latin Quarter before bed. Every corner revealed a surprise or something lovely. It is a great area with good metro access and many places to eat and shop.




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In the rue Cler area, the Grand Hotel Leveque has a/c from June 15-Sept 15... you can research the rest of your requirements with them...





http://www.hotel-leveque.com/





Another possibility in the 5th arr might be the Comfort Andre Latin - photos appear to imply that a renovation has been done recently, and it was also recently added to Parisby.com.. (a/c in %26#39;some rooms%26#39;)





choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/html/ArrivalInfo…





www.parisby.com/andre-latin/pages/profile.htm

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