Booking Hotels in France

I use booking.com. I've never had any problems and it's easy to compare hotels. I would book 8-9 months before your trip.

Over the years I have used Booking.com, Venere.com and Hotels.com all with success. All seem to cover the same general representation of hotels and to pick among them I would check out all their web sites, play with them a bit and see which sites you find easiest to work with. All of them have some degree of customer reviews. One thing about the reviews is to go with the majority rating. as opposed to the extremes. For example we stayed a a B&B in York that had all good/great reviews except one that said it was terrible. Turns out the folks who dumped on it came back from a night of partying drunker than lords and the owner had too call the police. Once you have picked a place, check out the property's own web site. They often have direct rates that are better than the booking agencies if yo are staying 3 or more days, after-all they don't have to pay themselves a hefty commission.

Although Rick likes the Rue Cler area in Paris we like the fifth arr. It is a nice area close to Notre Dame, Luxembourg Gardens, the Pantheon and St Etienne-du-Mont if you are a Midnight In Paris fan. The last hotel we stayed at was the Home Latin, it is on a side street so it is quiet and it is reasonably priced for what it is being in Paris.

I usually start looking about 6-9 months early. You do run the risk that some small places don't take reservations more than 6 months out and some that do have pretty stiff cancellation fees, but that is listed in the fine print on the sites. If you are looking a places in Rick's books go more for the 9 month target because most of the places are not too big and there a whole lot of people reading Rick's books.

I use booking.com mostly, but sometimes book directly with the hotel. For a somewhat romantic,, modestly priced hotel, I recommend the Hotel Jeanne D'Arc in the Marais. I've stayed there many times. It retains Parisian charm and has an elevator. Rooms tend to be small. It's in a great neighborhood for food, transportation, Starbucks, etc.

I use Booking.com for availability, reviews, and rates, but often call the hotel directly if I have any questions, especially about accessibility, etc. Sometimes the hotel's rate will be better, then I book direct. I always make sure the booking can be cancelled with no penalty and Booking.com does not require advance payment.

What 's your budget?

Booking.com does not require advance payment but some of the hotels listed do, I've had charges 9 months in advance of a stay. This practice is usually noted in the hotel page. I think the other booking sites are similar; in the end, it's up to the hotel to charge in advance or not.

Susan, around 200 to 325 a night. I'm willing to spend more in Paris than in the countryside. Thanks everyone for the feedback, looks like booking.com is the way to go.

You asked for recs... My top 3 favorite hotels, in my all-time favorite neighborhood (Ile St Louis). Are: Hotel St Louis en l'Isle, Hotel de Lutece and Hotel des Deux Iles.

Others I like are: Hotel St Jacques, Hotel des Grandes Ecole, Hotel du Pantheon and Hotel des Grands Hommes.

I check the hotel website to get an idea of the prices then e-mail them directly to see if they have availability. My favorite places to stay are the Londres Eiffel (near the Eiffel Tower), Hôtel Empereur (near Napoleon's Tomb), and the Hotel Castex (near Place du Vosges, walking distance to Notre Dame Cathedral). Check Trip Advisor for comments on these or other recommended hotels.