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Lodging in Paris: Summer of 2023, Family of 5

Posted by (Minnesota, U.S.A.) on

Hello,

This will be Stop #2 on our family of five's (2 adults, three teens who are small adult size) trip to Europe this summer. We will be in Paris late July for 5-6 nights (working out a few more itinerary decisions). We will be coming in on the Eurostar from London. We will all have a backpack and a small/medium suitcase (large carryon size). My husband and I were in Paris in 2004; my kids have never travelled to Europe.

We are hoping to find two hotel rooms for around 300-400 Euros a night total. I believe that budget will be tight, so I think we'll have to look for budget hotels. We are not luxury hotel people and just need a comfortable, clean, and safe place to sleep each evening.

Must Haves:
Two Bathrooms (I think this will be easy with two rooms); Air Conditioning; Flexible Cancellation Policy; Walking access to transit and ideally some food/markets

Questions:

  1. Should we stay near the Gare du Nord so we can walk to our hotel and avoid the Metro (or two taxis) with luggage? (We'll also be leaving Paris on train to head to Switzerland for our last leg, but that appears to be the Gare de Lyon station, although I only did a quick search on this.)
  2. I've researched some budget hotel chains so far. Right now, only the Accor Hotel chain (Ibis, maybe Novotel) appears to be in our price range. Any thoughts/suggestions on those? Any other budget hotel chains that any of you would recommend or specific hotels? Marriott Courtyard and Best Westerns look out of our desired price range, if my quick searches were accurate.
  3. Any other suggestions or recommendations about Paris lodging that would be helpful for me to know? Locations you'd suggest, for example?
Posted by
571 posts

I've stayed in Ibis hotels and have always been satisfied, though I'd always read specific reviews as the properties can vary. The key is to keep your expectations reasonable, in particular about room size, as the rooms will almost certainly be smaller than most North American hotel rooms you may have stayed in.

The only other to keep in mind is that under the Ibis brand there's also Ibis Styles (slightly more expensive, slightly nicer, and my preference of the Inis family when it falls in my budget) and Ibis Budget (which is the basic "economy" brand of Ibis hotels, although I don't think there are any in central Paris).

I only prioritize staying close to a train station if I'm in town for 1 night, so it makes sense to optimize for luggage. With 5 or 6 nights in Paris, you'd be best staying in a neighborhood that you actually want to be in (assuming it fits in your budget) and then budgeting for a cab each way if luggage is a concern.

Posted by
2703 posts

  1. Absolutely not. Gare du Nord is not the more picturesque part of Paris, nor is it particularly central to where you will be. You only arrive once and depart once, but you will be going to/from your hotel often during 5 to 6 days. There are better locations to stay.

  2. Chain hotels? Certainly, you can do better than that. Here are a few suggestions:

  1. I always deal directly with the hotel and avoid 3rd party sites. Check their website for special offers. Any number of locations can work very well. If you want to be close to the Gare du Nord, check hotels in the Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissements).
Posted by
3989 posts

For a 1-night stay, lodging near a train station can be a good idea but I don't think that you need to that for a 5-night stay, especially if you plan to do the more typical tourist things during your stay. I second the suggestion of the Cosmos and suggest the following places that might be bit more expensive but may still be within your €400 per night budget for two rooms: Hotel de Suez, Hotel des 3 Colleges, and Hotel des Nations Saint Germain (i just helped a work colleague book a cancelable-until-July 23rd triple room there for €175 for July 24th).

Posted by
27 posts

Wonderful. Thanks for the above information. I will definitely not prioritize being near train transport and now have some ideas about where to start. I started looking into the recommended hotels, and at least two are possibilities.

Posted by
28074 posts

I find the hotel reviews on booking.com to be generally reliable, because you can leave a review only if you've actually stayed at the hotel.

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