Priceline Hotel: Need help with hotels in Paris

[Melissa]

Hi,

I recently posted some winning bids for London, but now I'm looking for a hotel in Paris. The advice I've gotten from friends so far is to stay north of the Seine and kind of in the Eiffel Tower/Hotel des Invalides area (which I notice are both south of the Seine). From the winning bids posted here, it seems that most hotels that are on Priceline for Paris are kind of further out. Is this correct? If so, does anyone know of good places to find hotels for this general area of Paris?

My dates there will be: 9/12-9/15--2 people, prefer 2 twin beds if possible, something that isn't below a Motel 6 level and maybe closer to Holiday Inn (or better, but I doubt that is in our range). I'm hoping that we can find something in the $100-140 a night range. Is this a reasonable range? Any other suggestions? Any help is much appreciated!

Thank you!!

[WillTravel]

I was happy with the location of the 4* Le Meridien Montparnasse in the St. Germain - Latin Quarter - Montparnasse zone.

I would not bid for the Eiffel Tower- Grenelle - Montparnasse zone, because you risk getting the Sofitel Porte de Sevres, which is actually slightly outside Paris and not in an attractive area.

I wouldn't bid for a 3* in Paris, both because of the possible bad locations and also because you could get something below Motel 6 in quality.

It's very unlikely you will get a hotel at your exact preferred location with Priceline. I'd take a look at Fodors.com and read their numerous threads about Paris hotels. Two common recommendations: Hotel Muguet (in the 7th arrondisement) and about 105 Euros per night total for a twin room, and Hotel Bonaparte (in the 6th arrondisement) for about 125 Euros per night total for a twin room. Of the two, I'd prefer the Bonaparte location. But there are dozens and dozens of favorites discussed there.

So far, the only known 4* in the Opera Quarter East square is very central and convenient, but it's not in the area you mentioned. And from some reports, the nighttime ambience is not the best.

[lwitchel]

I second WillTravel's advice and would also recommend considering OQE - My preferred neighborhood in Paris is the Marais, the Novotel Les Halles is not far from there. However, I haven't stayed there so I'm not utterly sure of the exact neighborhood.

On Priceline in Paris I would not bid below 4*. The 3* hotels in Paris vary wildly in quality. The one I got in '03 in the OQE district (the Hotel des Victoires) was barely tourist quality and not much less than I could have found on my own. The two Meridien Hotels (Etoile and Montparnasse) are of good quality but not central. If I were bidding I'd probably try for OQE first or via an alternate booking method. See what's available on www.bookings.nl or www.octopustravel.com as well as Hotwire to get an idea of alternatives.

London and Paris! No matter what, you should have a marvelous time.

[Chris26WI]

You'll usually get the best deals for 4stars in La Defense (that's where I am currently working :) ), but its more a business region and slightly out of city center. However, it's very easy and conveniant to get there with the RER or the Metro. But if you're going for nightlife, you should better take a hotel in the city centre as Metro/RER stops service around 1am every night.

The Novotel Les Halles is in a very nice area, very central and anyway quite quiet.