My son and his wife are going to Paris in Oct. with a 3 mo. old and a 3 yr. old. He has tons of Hilton points but those properties look too far out. They will be there for around 6 days. I have looked here on the forum for some suggestions, but does anything stand out for any of you? They want to be close walking distance to sights since they will have a stroller, and need a place that they can close off sleeping quarters for the kids. Looked at some hotels that say they are adjoining rooms - does that mean they open in to one another or are just side by side? They are looking at the 7th, 8th, 6th mostly but will consider other places if close in. Budget would probably be $500 a night. (less is better!) They considered Airbnb but I talked them out of that because of fears of last minute cancellation then they are stuck.
Posted by
Central Indiana
272 posts
I would look at Hotel Malte’s two bedroom apartment in the 2nd arrondissement if it’s available.
Posted by
Florida (previously California)
3983 posts
" does that mean they open in to one another or are just side by side?"
Adjoining rooms are side by side meaning that they share a wall. For rooms that open to each other you need connecting rooms or "chambres communicantes" which may have a doorway in the wall between the rooms or in the more variation that I have seen more often in Paris, the two rooms open off a small entryway from the main hallway. That small entryway has a door with a lock and so do the two family rooms. When the rooms are used as a family room, the two room doors are kept unlocked and the family has the key to the door off the main hallway. When the rooms are used separately, the door to the hallway is held open by a hook from the wall and the two rooms are keyed separately.
I know that you mentioned that the Hilton properties look too far out but there is a Hilton property near Gare St Lazare which is not far out at all and there is another Hilton property in the 8th arrondissement and you mention that your family is looking in the 8th. We stayed with our children at the Hotel Odeon Saint Germain on Rue St Sulpice in the 6th a couple of times over the years but not since 2018. They have family rooms with the door configuration that I mentioned above.
Posted by
OP
Gulf Coast, usa
1191 posts
Thanks for clearing up the room configurations. With a 3-month-old and a toddler, they have to have access to the kids. I will take a look at the hotels suggested. Thanks!
Posted by
Washington
25 posts
I think you should reconsider an Air BnB. You can get a great apartment for about $250 a night with space for kids to play, maybe near a park. Just make sure they read reviews and choose places that don’t show cancellations.
Posted by
Florida (previously California)
3983 posts
I am a big fan of apartments for families. You can feed the children on their schedule and put them to bed and then relax in the apartment with a glass of wine and you do not have to subject them to restaurants for every meal. I stayed in apartments or aparthotels in Paris until my son was old enough (9 years old in his case -- it was 7 years old for my daughter) to function well at dinner in a French restaurant. However, lately I have become disenchanted with AirBnb for a number of reasons, including what a disaster it can be if there is a cancellation. This weekend, my SIL suffered through a cancellation during the morning of May 24th for a reservation from May 24 to May 27 to attend a child's graduation from college. No replacement could be refund. AirBnb promised a refund within 15 days. Eventually after much pressure from my SIL, AirBnb found and supposedly paid for a hotel 30-minutes away by car to replace an apartment with parking that is a 5-minute walk from campus. AirBnB promised the rooms would be paid for. Guess what? The reservation was there but my brother and SIL had to pay and AirBnb nows says that they will reimburse them for that in 15 days. Last week my husband's best friend called me for help finding a place in Paris during the Olympics. His AirBnb host had cancelled and our friend could not find a replacement in his budget. He got lucky because I have a place that another friend was supposed to stay in but had just backed out of staying in during the Olympics because she now has to be in the US during the Olympics for work. Most people will not be that lucky. Do cancellations happen all the time? Of course not, but you have to consider the complete disaster that a cancellation can cause and the limited things that AirBnb can do to fix the problem.
If you want to go with an apartment, my suggestion is an agency that controls the apartments that it rents. Now, those apartments are probably not properly registered with the city of Paris but that is whole other story.
Posted by
Chicago
8550 posts
Look at apartment hotels. A one bedroom apartment in an apartment hotel will give you the two rooms you need although the adults probably end up on a pull out couch. But it will have a kitchenette and more importantly is run like a hotel with a desk, the ability to leave luggage early or late and often some common space. The last one we stayed in in Montpellier for example had coffee, tea and hot chocolate available in the breakfast room 24/7 and the possibility of buying breakfast in. (always a bad choice but still an amenity). They also sometimes have outdoor space and laundry facilities. They are less risky than private apartments that are hard to replace when they cancel last minute.