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I never prepay, and prefer to pay more to have an easy cancellation option. If something happens and my plans have to be changed, I am not out the money. A few prepays will refund your money if you cancel far enough ahead, but that is rare. My rec is to opt for the higher price and pay at check-in, and make sure they're is a good cancellation policy. Consider it "insurance" cost. (I do the same if I am booking through Booking.com or with the actual hotel.)

As to the room, when your reserve, confirm the specific room or room type at that time. Get it in the confirmation email. Last room available goes to the last reserver, unless you have an unscrupulous host. You will get the room you arranged to get when you reserved it, so pay attention to room type, etc., when you reserve. Discuss amenities, room size, bed type, etc. with the host or booking site. You should be fine. Paying on arrival or having your credit card charged 2-3 days before is typical.

I only prepay if it's a significant savings and I'm pretty sure of my plans. I also use a credit card that offers trip cancellation/Interruption insurance.

For my spring trip this year to London and Paris I booked in December and prepaid both hotels. My savings was about $500 USD for 2 one week stays.

And I've always been given the exact room type I've booked. In Paris I even requested and received a specific room.

I use Booking.com instead of hotel sites because I move locations often, and it’s much easier to have one site with everything listed. But, the reason I am mentioning it is because I prepay for about half of my lodging and get an extra discount. If I cancel within the refundable time period, I’ve never had an issue having Booking refund my money automatically. More places are letting you choose the exact room if they’re a small hotel or a B&B.

It does not affect which room you are assigned.

It's more about your arrival time or what is available with your room type.

If you book a standard room, but the only standard room available when you arrive is in the annex, then you will be assigned that room. It really doesn't matter when you pay.

Just make sure you read the fine print about cancellation on prepaid rooms. No refunds means no refunds.

I never prepay no matter how good the savings. 99% of the time, prepayment means no cancelation under any circumstances. And they are very strict about this policy. So the relatively little money you will save upon prepayment will be 100% gone if you need to cancel. Not worth the risk for me. And the room you are assigned has nothing to do with whether you prepaid or not.

am I more/less likely to end up in the dreaded annex or last room
available?

And

It's more about your arrival time or what is available with your room
type.

And

99% of the time, prepayment means no cancelation under any
circumstances. And they are very strict about this policy.

Obviously these are all generalizations which might hold true for the majority of hotels (i dont know), but not necessarily the one you are booking in France.

Request a room in the main building, ot on a particular floor or street or whatever with your booking. Sometimes, often, they will send you a note saying yes. Sometimes, no.

The cancelation policies are almost always clearly stated so what tgey say will happen is what will happen. I got real sideways with a hotel in Mostar this year. Prepaid, no cancelation. As ruffled as they were, before I could ask, they gave me a full refund. So, nothing is etched in stone.

Only you can decide on prepayment and cancelation policies. We all have different tolerances. But isn't it nice having choices.

I only prepay if it's a significant savings and I'm pretty sure of my plans. I also use a credit card that offers trip cancellation/Interruption insurance.

This is what I do as well. My credit card has great travel insurance, and I generally use that to pay for non-refundable rooms, but like Jean, I only prepay if it is a considerable savings. That said, right now all my hotel bookings for an upcoming July 2026 trip to Iceland, Sweden and Norway are fully refundable. For most of them, it was not a large extra expense. But because I'm traveling with my daughter on this trip, I don't have as much control over what goes on with her and her family. So I just wanted to make sure I'm covered. Plus she has a son with severe special needs who is in hospice care, so you just never know. And I do know that anything health-related or otherwise would be covered by my credit card. But just because of the lack of control over what's going on, I figured I would play it safe.

Bottom line, I would do what you feel comfortable with. Keep in mind that credit card travel insurance is not a "cancel for any reason" policy. You have to have a valid reason for canceling or losing value from a trip before you can get reimbursed.

My credit card has great travel insurance,

Mardee, which card is it?

I have found that cancellation times are all over the date map…from 24 hours their time to several weeks. Be sure to note the rules when booking. We normally use Booking.com. We use the free cancellation price, usually just a few euros more.