Leiden and Noordwijk, Holland hotels

More functional/basic than charming is the Hotel Nieuw Minerva in Leiden which we stayed at a couple of years ago. Great central location.

Thank you for your suggestion.

We are staying in a B&B in Leiden, Huys van Leyden, in mid April. You can also find them on Booking.com. The reviews are very good. We are going for the Flower Parade and to visit Keukenhof. I looked in Noordwijk first, but preferred Leiden. We will get our dose of the North Sea when we stay in Zandvoort the first week of April. Those seaside locations seem to be highrise dense. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Booking.com is turning into my favorite place to look for hotels, b&bs and apartments.

Thanks. Any suggestions for Bruges, Belgium?

When did you see our itinerary? We will be in Bruges just before Leiden. Again I used Booking.com, but opted for an apartment for a week instead of a hotel. I found it through HomeAway.com when I realized we wanted to be there that long. But I'm sure you could find something suitable using Booking.com.

Thanks again - our paths may cross. We've used VRBO and Homes Away in the past with good luck. Any suggestions for Paris?

You are on the right path, in my opinion. We stayed 8 nights in Paris last June. We rented an apartment in the Marais. We found it through HomeAway. Anyway, it was large, reasonably priced and convenient. There are many other options for finding apartments in Paris that concentrate just on the city. We prefer the apartments because I'm an early riser and my husband sleeps late. We make sure to get one that has a separate bedroom with a door that closes and prefer to have the bathroom access outside the bedroom. I can recommend the place we stayed, but there are so many others in different locations that might be more suitable to your needs.

Great info - thanks!