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Reasonable hotel in Paris?

My daughter & I will be visiting Paris for 5-6 nights in mid-June & would like to stay in a hotel which is conveniently located, preferably close to a bus/Metro stop.

Paris will be our last destination before returning home from CDG Airport.

I've been searching hotels listed on RS France book & most of them are over €200/night.

We would like to stay in the Latin Quarter or nearby on the left bank (4th, 5th, 6th, 13th, 14th, 15th) & our budget is €150 or less.

  • Have any of you stayed at Hôtel de L'Esperance or Hôtel des Grandes
    Ecoles? If so, what was your experience like?

  • I'm also wondering...Is it a good idea to spend our last night at a
    hotel in the airport? We'll need to get to the airport by 10AM on a weekday.

I'm open to all suggestions & appreciate your help, thank you!

Priscilla

Posted by
7027 posts

I would suggest you do a search on this forum for those two hotels. I found several threads (less than 1 year old) with recommendations for both hotels.

Posted by
101 posts

I can't comment directly on inexpensive hotels in the areas you mentioned. One thing you might consider is how important air conditioning is to you. Normally the nights aren't too oppressive that time of year, although last June there was record heat in Paris with daytime highs in the high 90s. I'd probably look for one with air-con, but that will almost certainly push you above 150 euro per night.

We've tried it both ways on where we spend our last night. If our flight is after noon, we stay in the city. If it's much before noon, we spend the night at the airport. We aren't morning people, so a 10:00 a.m. departure would definitely push us to stay at the airport. Your wake up call will come early enough even if you do. In the past, we've stayed at the Airport Hilton, but that's always been because of loyalty program points. It's a little pricey otherwise, and the reviews on Tripadvisor are definitely mixed. There are several other alternatives within five minutes of the terminal including Ibis and Novotel. Can't vouch for either, but, of course, it's easy to check them out.

Bruce

Posted by
9 posts

You may want to look at apartment rentals, I have stayed in the 6th on several occasions and found many rentals for less than your budget. Regarding hotel by airport, the RER starts early, 6:00AM, and takes approximately 45-minutes (Luxembourg) to reach CDG. You should have no problem getting to the airport by 10, enjoy a last night in Paris.

Posted by
383 posts

Stay at a hotel near the airport on the last night for your peace of mind. Looks like you've got plenty of other nights staying in the city.

Posted by
2349 posts

Does your flight leave at 10:00, or do you need to be at CDG then? I haven't had any problems getting to the airport for a 10:30 flight, either by RER or taxi. You have to get up early, but it's doable. If the flight leaves in the early afternoon, I'd definitely stay in the city.

Posted by
6501 posts

We enjoyed the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles very much a dozen years ago, and from all accounts it's still an excellent choice. Charming, comfortable, beautiful quiet courtyard, well-located for transportation and food. Rooms are 135-165 euros, and they start taking June reservations on January 15. If you decide to get one, act quiclkly because they sell out fast. I don't remember air conditioning, but they may have it (we were there in September). AC may be less needed in June than later in the summer. Our room didn't have a TV, and we didn't miss it, but that might have changed by now. Send me a private message if you want more.

We're conservative about allowing time to make flights, so my advice would be to spend the last night at the airport. The Ibis there was clean and comfortable, though simple, and ideally located. There are other options, mostly higher priced. You could probably get to the airport by 10:00 on the RER if nothing goes wrong, but I wouldn't take a chance on missing the flight. And I'd value a little more sleep time in the morning, knowing that I'm minutes away from the terminal.

Posted by
8049 posts

The Hotel des Grandes Ecoles is not air conditioned and some of the rooms have virtually no ventilation. Ours measured over 100F in the afternoons and didn't get much cooler at night in June. I would not risk that one although its location and lovely garden make it a great choice in cooler weather. If you do get a room there make sure it is on the ground floor and not one of the sweltering top floor rooms.

Posted by
4684 posts

I stayed last year at the Hotel Home Moderne, which is one of the very few cheapish Paris hotels with air conditioning in all rooms. If you book well in advance you can get under 100 euros per night. The reason why it's relatively cheap is that it's in a neighbourhood close to the outer edge of the 15th arrondisement that is a long way from any major tourist sights, although fine in terms of environment.

Posted by
796 posts

I stayed at the Hotel Muguet, near the Eiffel Tower a few years ago and enjoyed it. It was a very small room and near the Ecole Militaire metro and near Rue Cler. It was 135 Euro per night at the time for a single room (had a double bed). I did not take breakfast there but it was extra. I preferred to go out to different cafes for breakfast. I cannot remember if there was a mini fridge; I do not believe there was.

The hotel was clean and quiet; the street is small, so has very little traffic. I travelled on my own and felt very safe walking around after dark; mind you I was not out very late!

Enjoy Paris, my favourite city. If you stay near Rue Cler, I recommend La Terrasse, a cafe near the Ecole Militaire metro. It is not expensive and has great meals and good for a get off your feet stop. Locals and tourists stop there; I love watching everyone get off the Metro heading home from work with their bread tucked under their arm.

Posted by
5210 posts

Thanks for all the recommendations!

Thanks for pointing out the fact regarding A/C or lack thereof, in the hotels I've been searching.

I will consider all the hotels you've suggested.

I've reconsidered our budget & may be able to increase our budget to €200/night.

Thanks again!

Priscilla

Edit: Our flight is at 1PM & would like to be at the airport 3 hours before, thus the 10AM time.

Posted by
784 posts

Take a look at Hotel Henri IV Rive Gauche on Rue St. Jacques. It is a block from Notre Dame with good transportation options. And, yes, you should stay at the airport the night before your flight. There are an Ibis and Novotel at terminal 2 and both are reasonably priced, with the former being a budget hotel. You can book at the Accor Hotel website, but be sure you book one that is at the terminal as there are several of these hotels in the viscenity. Both are steps away from the underground shuttle that connects the terminals.

Posted by
1626 posts

Last month we stayed we stayed at Hotel Victoria chatelet. On the right bank but only a block from the bridge to the island note dame is on. Very close to metro lines and buses. To take the RER train, you have about a 5-10 minute walk through the metro tunnel to catch RER B train from LeHalles chatelet
Small rooms were 135€ and larger rooms were 163€.

Posted by
1994 posts

Hotel Jeanne d'Arc should meet your budget, and it's in a great location in the Marais. Very near the metro and lots of small shops and restaurants. Also, an easy walk to Notre Dame and a number of other sites. I'm not sure whether they have air conditioning, so you need to check on that. Make sure you find the hotel in the Marais – there's another hotel with the same name that gets really awful reviews.

Posted by
15582 posts

The Rive Gauche is great but so is the Marais quarter. AC is tricky in Paris. There are laws about running it at night. My understanding is that this is because of the noise nuisance to neighbors, which would affect the small hotels but not the big chain ones. So even if the hotel says it has AC, it may not be operating, especially in June, when Paris is not generally sweltering.

You should have no trouble getting to CDG at 10 a.m. using the RER. Also check LesCars (AirFrance) which has a very comfortable bus service if one of its stops is convenient to your hotel. It's more expensive than the train, but really nice - no stairs, and a porter loads and unloads your bags. Most of the morning traffic is into the city, so it shouldn't be a problem in the opposite direction. Honestly, it's crazy to contemplate spending your last night in Paris at CDG.

Posted by
15807 posts

Just agreeing with Chani here: there shouldn't be any problem getting to the airport by 10:00 so I certainly wouldn't pack up and relocate for your last night.

Posted by
319 posts

We stayed at L'Esperance last summer, during the first week of June. We had no need for air conditioning, although I know temperatures can fluctuate. I was quite cool each evening. We loved the hotel and found it to be charming, clean, comfortable, in a neighborhood full of character, and easy to access the Metro. And for the price it was a steal! However, since it is pretty far from CDG, and we had a heck of a time navigating the Metro/RER from the airport to the hotel on our way in, I would definitely recommend an early morning taxi. I'm told their around $60-$70. Stay in this quaint neighborhood one more night and leave it to the professionals!

Posted by
5210 posts

Thanks Carolyn, Karen & Sherry for the hotel recommendations!
I will definitely look into them.

Chani & Kathi, Thanks for your suggestion to stay in the city & enjoy our last night there instead of CDG! It makes sense to me!

AmandaR, thanks for your personal review of Hotel de l'Esperance!

Posted by
4392 posts

As usual I'm going to come down in favor of spending the last night at an airport hotel, esp. if you need to be in the mix inside CDG at 10 AM. You'll just hop on the shuttle tram after a short walk and be there.

We also stayed at the Hilton to get points, I thought it was a very nice hotel. From the looks of it many airlines put their crews up there. The breakfast is the morning is quite bountiful, and dinner the night before was fine. I can't comment on the price since we had come from Switzerland and our fillings were still buzzing from the cost!

Posted by
368 posts

I just got back from a week in Paris. I had a 10:10 am flight and we arrived at the airport at 6:30. Because we were in the city we took a shuttle. I would also recommend staying at the airport the night before. You don't know what might happen, unexpected slowdowns etc. That way you can sleep a little later and be relaxed in the morning.

Additionally, the security getting to the plane took longer than the last time I was in Paris in 2014. Lots more questions, a bar code on your boarding pass that was swiped everywhere you went, and more detailed security to get to the gate. If there are several plan loads of people also checking in you might want to leave a little more time.

Posted by
41 posts

We LOVED our Paris hotel. It was right between 2 stations (Nationale and Picpus). Reasonable, clean and spacious room for our family of 3. In a quiet, lovely mid-upper income neighborhood. Hotel du Printemps. Excellent ratings on TripAdvisor. We stayed there June of 2014.

Posted by
11507 posts

I have never bothered with staying at the airport the night before a flight! We have had flights leave at 10 and just taken a taxi to airport in morning, no way would I want to give up my last night in Paris to stay at a soulless airport hotel, and with your later flight, I do not see why it would be too difficult to leave your paris hotel at 9 am,,,it's not even early!

I always get ac in my hotels, and I rarely have ever paid more then 150 euros a night, and we always stay in centrally located hotels , but trade off is usually tiny rooms ( we only sleep there).

Hotel Eugenie..is have stayed here a few times,,,rooms are clean, staff nice, rooms have good actually, and mini fridges, deluxe rooms are obviously a big bigger then standard rooms, but still small.
Location is EXCELLANT. Close to many sites, walk to Notre Dame ,Louvre, etc . Rer station from airport is 3 minute walk, metro stations and bus stations all around you, etc

Hotel St . Pierre .. cheaper. Same excellent location, good actually, but no mini fridge, rooms are even smaller though. Clean and comfy, however to me , having stayed there solo, and with my hubby, this hotel is best for a couple only for a short stay, but for a solo rooms were fine for a week.

Posted by
9420 posts

I agree with Chani, Kathy and Pat.. there is absolutely no reason to spend your last night in Paris at an airport hotel when you don't have to be there until 10 am. 5-6 nights is very short already, I wouldn't waste one at the airport.

Posted by
5210 posts

I appreciate all of your responses, thank you!

I will look into the hotels that you've recommended.

And.... I've decided to stay in Paris on our last night instead of at the airport!

Thanks again!

Priscilla

Posted by
482 posts

One last thing, not about hotels but about getting to the airport. There are many ways to do that so pick the one that seems best for you in terms of cost, convenience, etc. We've used the AirFrance bus, a limo service and a taxi on different trips.
The bus is comfortable, but only goes to prearranged stops. That may or may not be convenient to your location.
Limo services are badmouthed in some of these forums as being unreliable (The rap is that they'll take your money, then leave you in the lurch, saying you weren't where you were supposed to be at the scheduled pickup time). That has not been our experience either time. In their favor they come right to your door and have been on time for us. Limos are not as comfortable as the bus and you have to accommodate to their pickup route. Depends on your frame of mind, but I found the pre-dawn wandering through Paris to be interesting.
This last trip I waited until the day before we were leaving and found the limo services unable to fit me in their schedules. I walked 1/2 block to a hotel with a taxi stand and arranged for a ride to airport. It was the fastest of the 3 modes of transportation, between the bus and limo in terms of comfort and wasn't unreasonable expensive.
I hope you have a wonderful stay and enjoy your last night in Paris.

Posted by
11 posts

I highly recommend staying in a flat/apartment through AirBnB. I rented an apartment on Rue Cler this past May and only paid $680 for the whole week. You can pick the area that you want to stay in and go from there. I spent 2 more weeks traveling to Colmar, France, Vernazza, Italy, and Bruges and Brussels, Belgium. All my stays were through AirBnB, except for the B&B in Bruges. I doubt that I will ever stay in another hotel.