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Least Expensive Hotel in France

Hi All,

My husband and I will stay at Paris for 6 more days (06/04/2023 - 06/09/2023) after we are done with Rich Steve tour. We want to stay the same hotel that Rich Steve book for us during our tour, but it seems the price is so high. It's about $205 per night.

We are looking for a reasonable price of hotels so we can take a shower and go to bed.

If you know any hotels that is not so expensive, please let us know. We don't speak French. Also, this is our first time visit France; therefore, we want to take care everything before we leave the US. Thank you for your help!

Sandy Chen

Posted by
5355 posts

If you only want a bed and a shower, then perhaps consider a hostel instead of a hotel. Sites like Hostelworld are like booking.com, where you can filter for private rooms, and ensuite facilities. You can look at photos and read reviews. Book directly with the hostel.

Posted by
1632 posts

Use booking.com to research a hotel in Paris. I trust their ratings more than others as only people who have booked and stayed in that hotel can leave a review.

Posted by
3927 posts

You may want to post your question in the France section of the Travel Forum. This is the section for reviews and obviously people will see it but more people may see it in the section for questions/recommendations. By the way recognizing that $205 per night is not acceptable for you, what is your actual budget? Right now, the Hotel Le Beaugency is showing as roughly $230 per night for next June. June is prime time in Paris so room rates are at the higher end of the annual spectrum of rates.

Posted by
6713 posts

And BTW, the least expensive hotel in France isn't in Paris. It's in some unattractive town none of us have ever heard of.

Posted by
369 posts

For reference? That’s reasonable and not expensive at all in Paris. As others have suggested look into a hostel, search booking.com, or perhaps consider a hotel further out.

Posted by
3003 posts

I stayed at Hotel Clement in Saint Germain des Pres in September on a recommendation from Tocard from the forum. It’s close to bus and subway, walking distance to Norte Dame and other sights. It was nice for the money, €139/night. Looking at their website, a traditional room is now €141 without breakfast. https://www.hotel-clement.com/chambre-simple-tradition/

There is a very good patisserie 2 blocks away that I ate at often, Maison Mulot.

Posted by
3927 posts

@horsewoofie, is that price for a room for one or a room for two?

Posted by
2505 posts

$205/night in June is actually a pretty reasonable rate. Paris is one of the most expensive cities for hotels. Be careful what you wish for when you say “a bed and a shower”. You may end up walking up five flights of stairs to a tiny room with a tiny “full size” bed and a shower barely bigger than a coffin. That was our first hotel room in Paris. We’ve returned to Paris several times (not to that hotel!), and know that a good night’s sleep is key to enjoying your days.

Posted by
3003 posts

JHK, re: Hotel Clement’s price: I travelled solo so my price was for one. But when I looked at Hotel Clement’s website for Sandy, i used 2 people for the quote. The Traditional room is their cheapest. I’ll call it cozy, but not the smallest hotel room I stayed in. There is a small elevator but you walk up a few stairs to reach it from the lobby. I’d stay there again if I go back to Paris.

I just noticed that the link I posted shows a twin bed. I had a double overlooking a fairly quiet street.

Posted by
677 posts

Sandy,
The price of the hotel may seem expensive, but I just did a quick check on Booking.com for hotels in Paris for the 6 nights you plan on staying in Paris, and the hotels that came up on my search which included "breakfast & city center" were more than $205 per night. IF you remain in the same hotel, your breakfast would be included (savings in time and money) + the location is probably centrally located, so you would be able to walk to many sights.
Since you have never been to Paris, I think a location convenient to metro stations and places to eat is very important. I would trust the location of the Rick Steves hotel. I would try to economize elsewhere.
You could "save money" by eating the provided breakfast, and perhaps eating lunch in the mid-afternoon, thus avoiding an expensive dinner. Or...just have a light snack for lunch and then you'd just have to spend money on one meal each day. And since you trip is still months away, you could budget a little extra for the unexpected cost of the hotel room.
Paris is worth it! Good for you in staying extra days to just enjoy your first trip to France!

Posted by
8312 posts

I once stayed outside Paris at a modern hotel on an exit of an expressway. They were so cheap they didn't even have an office. We checked in and paid online and they gave us a room number and combination to the door. The bathroom was like something out of a RV--3 in 1. They had a double bed with a single bed over the headboard--rock hard.

Accor Hotels out of France is a huge hotel chain with many brands. Their budget brands are Ibis and HotelF1 in Europe. (In the U.S., their budget brands are Motel 6 and Red Roof Inn.) They have a big reservation system online.

Posted by
27765 posts

You may be able to save money by finding a room without a private bath. You'd use a toilet and a shower down the hall. Your room would probably have its own wash basin. At my age, I'm not willing to deal with a bathroom down the hall, but I did it often when I was younger.

A hotel room that includes breakfast doesn't really save you money unless you're traveling with voracious teenagers, someone who needs 4 cups of coffee to get started, etc. Hotels make a lot of money on their breakfasts. Unless you have unusual needs, you will save money by looking at hotels that either don't offer breakfast or make it optional. It's much cheaper to get breakfast elsewhere. You can then grab something as you walk around. I've found French bakeries often sell mini-quiches. They are a good start to my day, since I like to have something beyond bread. On other occasions I've bought some cheese or yogurt to go with a croissant or something like that.

Posted by
7680 posts

$205 is a very reasonable price for a hotel room in Paris. I just looked on www.booking.com for your dates, hotel rooms with a rating of 7/10 or above, and I searched on the map to see what’s available within the more central part of Paris for less money. Looking at the very few options, I wouldn’t recommend any of them as an alternative to your hotel as a first-time traveler to Paris.

If you select something farther away from the center, you will need to ride the metro, etc. for awhile to go to every place you want to see. Time is valuable. I would rather have one less day in Paris and be within walking distance to enjoy the sites in the evening, too.

Posted by
7680 posts

Another option - you’re looking at the most expensive location in France. If you took the train to another city half of that time, it would be cheaper. For instance, just one idea - there’s a lot of options for Lyon during that week that are about half price of Paris hotels.

Posted by
1017 posts

Do check Booking.com but then go to the hotel's actual website to make reservations. You'll save money. Also, you might inquire at your hotel to see if you can get a "Rick Steves" reduced rate. It's worth a try.

You didn't mention breakfast, but others did. All I want for breakfast is a double cappuccino and a croissant--@6 Euros. Most hotel breakfasts are at least 15 Euros. Good luck to you and your first visit to France!

Posted by
27765 posts

And those breakfast charges are per person, not per room.