Paris

Hi Martha,, well I popped over to tripadvisor.com and read a bit about it,, just go on the paris forums,, I didn't read the reader reviews, but you should.. read several pages of them to get an average idea( never take one review as gospel). It looks young fun and hip,, but it is not central. so you will be on the metro every day getting to and from the tourist sites.. not a huge deal, but something to think about. I took my 14 yr old son to Paris five years ago,, and from that perspective I would add this,, where we stayed in tourist central so to speak, it was fine for me to give my son some money and send him out on his own when he felt he wanted a snack or something, didn't worry about him wandering into a less savoury area. Also, does your you son look older then his age? Drinking age in Paris is 18,, although younger teens are often served if with their parents, my point being, if you son looks 18 then perhaps the young hip bar in the lobby may be a distraction, lol,, not that your son would be interested , but some teens would be ! What surprised me is yes, the rates are ok, but not that cheap really, seems like for about same price you could easily get a room in central area ... the stuff I read did say the rooms were "cozy" but that is totally normal for Paris, and what you can expect in that price range in any area of town. It looks interesting though, I wouldn't dismiss it till I read more, so suggest you go to tripadvisor and do some more reading.

If looking for a great central area and a great price, then look at Hotel Saint Pierre ( the one in the Latin Quarter,,there are two with similar names, this one is by the Sorbonne). It had some dates in June still open for a twin room( you do not want a double unless you want to share a bed with son) for as low as 89 -99 euros. I have stayed there, very central, clean, small rooms, but nice staff. steps to many many things. on a quiet side street off the busy streets. Stores and cafes all around you, the river is about a block or two walk away, metro close by etc. I would confirm i was getting a renovated room. i had an older room, and I thought it was fine, but obviously a renovated room would be nicer.

Thank you for the information.

My husband and I have stayed twice at the same hotel in Paris (2009 and 2010). It is the Le Littre Hotel, in the 6th arron. We really enjoyed staying there. It is close to the metro also. In 2010 we specifically asked for one the rooms with a balcony and a supberb view of the EIffel Tower. Both times we booked diretly with the hotel.

Stay as central as possible. you can walk to different sights, or just walk the streets to "experience' paris. Saves an awful lot of time (and money) not having to Metro to and from the suburbs each day. And as stated above, your son (or you ) will be able to go off for short walks or shopping on his own I have been surprised (pleasantly) in the last two weeks, the RS travel TV show has at least twice commented on the advantage of being Central even if it costs a lttle extra

Thank you all for the great advice. Much appreciated!

Check the airbnb website. Allows you to search in a price range. I think you and your son would enjoy the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th arrondissements. Being more centralized will allow you to see more and spend less on transportation.