Talk to me about hostels in Paris...

If it will be you and your mother and your 3 children, that makes 5, not 4. What is your per night budget for accommodation? Seems to me you will need 2 rooms, not one.

Someone on this helpline recently recommended this hostel (they even have private rooms) which looks so good I bookmarked it:

http://www.mije.com/index_individuels_uk.asp

For an inexpensive hotel, I highly recommend Hotel de L'Avre at: hoteldelavre.com

Norma, I meant that I am the Mom. My mother has no desire to go to Paris with us- she went once at 16, and figures she is fine, but thanks for the attempt at correcting my math. ; ) I also would rather keep it to one room, as I don't want my girls on their own. I don't know my budget, yet. I would like to start playing around with numbers and start figuring out what is reasonable for a safe clean place in Paris. It will not be our only stop, but I am guessing our most expensive stop, so I will need to budget accordingly.

Susan, thank you!

Cate, have a look at www.oops-paris.com. It is a very cool looking, modern hostel/hotel, full of colour and fun decor. Bet your girls would like it.

Cate if you are comfortable using metro to get around,, a girl at work stayed at St Christophers Hostel in Paris. She said it was new, very clean, and she thought it was great. I saw the her photos, place did look very clean. She stayed in a dorm room, so I do not know it they have a private room.
There is also a Hotel called the Perfect Hotel, but it seems alot more like a hostel. YOu could google that too. The area it is in is good.

I don't know i f you are going to London, but my nephew stayed in a great hostel there, that did have rooms for four. It was Aster Hyde Park,, and the area was GREAT( I visited him there).. I did not see the room, but he said it was fine.

How long are you staying. Renting a hotel room in France, the charge by the person a lot. Be careful when looking/booking. The quoted price may be for one and when you book and pay, it might be for 4!! Pay attention to PP and PR.

With 4, it might be cheaper to rent an apt. That way, you get more room, nicer bath and ability to cook or save leftovers to be reheated for a snack. There are several threads on this and other web chat lines concerning apt. and suggested apt. rentals.

In a pinch, you might be able to fit 4 in an Etap or Hotelformule1. We stayed at the one on Rue Dr. Babinski and it worked for us. They are set up for 3, but you could put the two smallest on the top bunk and you and the 13 yr. old on the bottom. The Etap is ensuite and costs around 58-65 Euro per night, per room. The hotelformule1 is beside the Etap and is about 10 Euro cheaper and the bath and toilet are down the hall. You might call the hotel and ask if you could put the 3 children in the room with you. If they agree, get the managers name that did, just in case. An email would be better.

Thank you! I am starting my comparison tracking spreadsheet- I have noticed that some of the hostels have lower age limits (no-one under 6), and I am also now including apartments. I think I would like to stick to around 120/130 Euro a night as my approximate max, subject to change, if that is not realistic. If so, an apartment might be the better deal- I saw one that had a washer/dryer and unlimited long distance included. : ) That might make it more cost-effective (although I think a hostel is fun for the kids and might be less lonely since I am leaving husband and son at home.)

Consider how much socializing with other people you want. In hostels there are usually lots of other people to talk to. My experience of staying in an apartment was that I felt isolated. I suppose it might be ideal if you could stay somewhere that has other adults and children.