Paris booking through hotel vs booking.com

If the room type (quad) is only available through the hotel website, then book on the hotel website. You may be overthinking this. You don't need extra insurance with a refundable hotel room because there is no risk involved to insure against.

There is no reason to book with a third party unless you're getting the same exact room under the same exact conditions (e.g. refundable, non-refundable, same number of beds, etc.) for a lower price. Just make sure that the room(s) you book can genuinely hold 4 (or is it 5?) people. I have used booking.com more than 50 times and never had a problem with it, but in your case, it doesn't seem to have availability for the room type you need. Hotels do not put their entire inventory of rooms on third party sites, that's why you may not see it available on booking.com.

Hotels often farm out only a portion of their rooms to sites like booking.com. Thus, booking.com may say the hotel has no availability when in fact the hotel has a room.

Limited quantity rooms such as quad rooms, adjoining rooms, some suites, etc will sometimes not be released by the hotel to third party booking agents. I would not hesitate to book with the hotel directly. That should not be a problem. Just make sure you get a confirmation from the hotel for the specific room you need, not just for 'a' room.

Thank you for your confirmations. I was overlooking the booking issue and I will book through the hotel today. Would you all purchase the extra 20 euro cancellation insurance that is offered? I am assuming this may be a good idea in case after the free cancellation is up (4 days before my stay) that I will still be covered in case of emergency. trip is the 13th through 17th and cancellation is free up until the 10th

No, I would definitely not buy insurance just for 4 days...the chance of an emergency happening just in that 4-day timeframe is very low. I think you would know if you need to cancel well within the free-cancellation period.

You can get trip cancellation insurance for your entire trip for not a lot more than the 20 Euros. If interested, insuremytrip.com is a good resource.

I don't think a third-party booking site has a monopoly on customer service. If a reputable hotel (whether small or large) ended up double-booked, and you had documentation of your confirmed reservation, then they should make a reasonable effort to help you with an alternate plan. Occasionally, "confirmed reservation" is the issue, if communications get garbled.

When considering a worst-case scenario, you can also trust yourself to figure something out, whether turning at that moment to hotel staff, web resources, the tourist information office, guidebook listings, a walk through the neighborhood, a cab driver, etc. Fewer people have more rooming options and a flexible budget helps, but an "emergency" solution might be only for one night before finding another.

If you book through a third party, you simply have to get in writing from the hotel that you have a confirmation. Once it's in writing, there's really not much to worry about. I've never had an instance of a double booked hotel. If the hotel gives you their word that they received your confirmation, then it will be on them to make it right if something (unlikely) happens. As soon as I book with say booking.com or hotels.com or hotwire.com or whatever, I shortly thereafter send an e-mail to the hotel to confirm my reservation, as well as room type, payment policy, and amount owed. I keep that hotel confirmation e-mail handy on my trip, although I've never had to use it yet.

I can confirm that Hotel des Marronniers is a very nice hotel, though I'm not certain about adjoining rooms.
You might call the hotel directly, just to be certain about that.

Thank you all! I booked the hotel. It appears that the free cancellation does NOT include the first night, so I bought the insurance to be safe though it is very unlikely I will need it. Anyways, thank you all so much for your responses. It says that our room is an "apartment" with two bedded rooms. I assume it is just 2 adjoining rooms. One is looking over the courtyard and the other the garden.

I much prefer booking with the individual hotel directly (by phone), not even the hotel website, especially if I have something other than one or two adults in one room. I stay in tiny, family-run, hotels and I know they pay a good commission for anything booked onlin. If they quoted me a higher price on the phone than I can get online, I'd probably book online, but I don't think that's ever happened.

I'm with Brad - I prefer, if possible, to book directly with the property. Of course sometimes it's not possible, but I'd rather deal with the owners/managers rather than a travel center.

I must have booked at least 20 different hotels in Paris by now.. and some I do direct.. and some I go through booking.com. I could care less about all the hoopla.. I am always going for the best price..period.. lol
I have never had an issue with booking.com or booking directly with hotel.

Just an FYI -- a block to the left as you exit the hotel, at the intersection of Rue des Saints-Peres with Rue de l' Universite, which the hotel is on, is the Galette Cafe. They have a website. Best galettes we've found. Go early, there are only maybe 12 tables.