Hotels in Paris Tour?

HI AinVA:

I have been to three tours that stopped in Paris . The hotels were all nice and very clean and comfortable. I am taking my 9th tour this year and all the hotels that I have stayed in have been clean and comfortable. However, some did require carrying my suitcase up 5 flights of stairs. So pack light. Also be aware that the rooms can be much smaller than you are used to.

RS uses multiple hotels for their tours. Which one you will get is a mystery, but the tour office could probably tell you before they mail the hotel info packet out.

The one I stayed at, Hotel Beausejour Montmartre 6 rue Lecluse, was very nice. Recently redone and super clean, air conditioned, elevator, quiet rooms (if you were not on the street side!) excellent French breakfast, and some of the nicest staff you would ever find in a hotel. Hated to have to leave. :-)

We've been on two tours with Paris as the starting point and the previous comments are accurate for us, too. We had a very tiny room and bathroom on the first trip, and on the second the room was on the smaller side but we had a nice roomy bathroom. All the facilities I've been in on our tours have been great locations and clean, though. No worries there. But sometimes they are nicer and sometimes they are showing their age.

AinVA,

My wife and I took this tour in 2015 and it was WONDERFUL! The hotel we stayed at was in the 7th and very close to Rue Cler. It wasn't huge -- really, the bed took up almost the entire room -- but it was modern, had WiFi, the bathroom was a delight and it was very quiet.

We loved the Best of Paris tour and look forward to Rick-Steves'ing our way through Belgium this May.

-- Mike Beebe

We were on the RS 14 day BOE in 2015 and stayed at the Hotel Tilsitt Etoile (may not have the spelling correct, but it should be close) near the Arc de Triomphe. It was very nice. We also have been to Paris on our own and stayed at the Hotel de Londres Eiffel (between Rue Cler and the Eiffel Tower), which is one of our favorite hotels, and twice (once in March, 2014 and again in March, 2016) there was a RS Best of Paris Tour staying at the same hotel at the same time, so I know they use that hotel as well. And it is awesome :)

We went on the RS Paris tour and stayed at the Londres Eiffel. We stayed there for a couple of nights before the tour started. The hotel is very nice, and it was good to be able to get used to the neighborhood before the beginning of the tour. After the tour, we stayed at the Hotel du Champs du Mars. This. hotel was a bit more modest, but it was a lot less expensive than the Londres Eiffel.

We stayed at the Duquesne Eiffel Hotel in 2013 on the RS Paris and the Heart of France tour (beginning and end) and liked it so much we are staying there again next week. The rooms were comfortable, the breakfast was good, and the location is great.

On our Best of Paris Tour in 2015, we stayed at the Hotel de Londres Eiffel, a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower and convenient to the Eccole Militaire Metro stop. Our room, No. 1, I believe, was a triple right next to the breakfast room. It was cozy, but very comfortable, nicely decorated and spotless (no eating allowed in the rooms!). Great staff, including Samba, the hotel mascot.

Hi, AinVA:

I think you need to remember two words: Cozy, and Charming. Most European hotels, especially the older ones, are in converted apartments or other buildings. They are not "purpose built," so most of the rooms are small, in many hotels the en suite bathrooms were added within the last few years (stealing space from already small rooms), and you can be reasonably confident that no two rooms in the hotel will be alike.

They will be clean, and comfortable if you don't require much room. We've stayed at 2 Paris hotels on RS tours: Hotel Beaugency on Rue Cler, and the Londres Eiffel. Both were fine, clean, and pleasant. At the Londres, if we leaned out of our window and squinted, we had a view of the Eiffel Tower.

We were well pleased with both hotels; neither was perfect, of course, but both were ummm, cozy and charming. Do not expect lots of room, closets, elevators, or air conditioning. Do expect ambiance, charm, and a new life experience.

Have a great time; that's a wonderful tour.

We are signed up for the Best of Paris tour that starts September 10. After you sign up for a tour the office sends you the name of your first and last hotel. That gives you the opportunity to arrive early or stay later. Our hotel for this tour in Paris is "Hotel de Londres Eiffel". We have made arrangements to stay before the tour and after it is over. I have talked to friends who have stayed there and have said it is nice. Rooms are small, but clean and the location is good.

I am also on the Paris city tour and it will be my second time. Both times we are at the Hotel De Londres Eiffel. it is a wonderful hotel also a wonderful tour. The rooms are small but very elegant and the hotel staff is wonderful. The only suggestion I have is if you are traveling alone, pop for the single supplement. The rooms are really to small for two people who do not know each other.

Janet - did Hotel de Londres Eiffel offer you a discount since you were also staying there for the RS tour? Did you email or call?
We are going on that RS tour in Oct. and they are using the same hotel. We were thinking of trying to book hotel for pre-tour.

Thanks
Sheiliea

We spent one extra night at Hotel de Londres Eiffel and I don't think we got any discount. Originally, were going to have to get two connecting rooms because the triple room we had for the tour wasn't going to be available. So we were quoted 480 euro, which we were going to suck up and pay because it just wasn't going to be feasible to switch hotels. A day or two before the tour ended, though, were told we'd be able to stay in our triple room after all. I don't recall the price, but it was still high, more than 250 euro. So my impression is that they're not quick to offer discounts.

EDIT: I looked back through the emails. The original quote for two connecting rooms was 520 euro, which they lowered to 480 when I asked if they had any cheaper alternatives.

On our 2015 BOE in 21 day tour we stayed at the Hotel Beaugency, one block off the Rue Cler. It was very clean and the bathroom! It was perfect for sink washing as the bathroom had a little heater thing you could turn on and close the door. Our clothes dried in record time!

It is really helpful to use the RS guidebooks and this forum to check out hotels and other aspects of European travel as you plan your trip! I can also vouch for Duquesne Eiffel Hotel. We flew to Paris for a couple of days after an Italian RS tour. As we planned our trip extension we found this hotel in a RS guidebook. We found it to be a great place to stay. It was clean, offered a wonderful breakfast, and the location was great. We loved walking out the door and gazing at the Eiffel Tower especially with its lights on at night.

Dreamsparis, you asked if I got a discount at Hotel de Londres Eiffel. I originally emailed the hotel and informed them that I was part of the RS tour. The price I was quoted was €190.00 per night. Their website quoted the same room at €205 - 235 for the same room (best rate / smart rate / flexible rate). So, I guess I did get a better rate. Hopefully we get a larger room, but we won't know until September!

Janet - Thanks

Thank you everyone for all of your informative replies. We so appreciate it! We are booking the tour and are really looking forward to it. Thanks again!