Any Comments on -->Idéal Hotel in Paris?

[asian77]

Hi!

Any ideas about this hotel?http://www.parisby.com/idealhotelparis/pages/profile.htm

Read some comments about some hotels being in sketchy areas,..
Safety and Ease in commuting is quite a concern (since we're 2 girls travelling) ..

Hope you could share your views about this place and/or places to stay in Paris under a budget..

Thanks!

[WillTravel]

I also stayed in the 14th, but didn't go to the area of this hotel. I don't think this hotel is particularly convenient, as it's almost at the periphery of Paris. There are many options for cheapish hotels in Paris. What is your budget? What are your interests?

[madamtrashheap]

As per WT, it is on the edge of Paris (but still inside the Peripherique - just) and whilst it looks to be about a 10min walk from a Metro stop, and near to the Catacombes, there are plenty of other accommodation choices that would be better located.

[asian77]

willtravel said:

What is your budget? What are your interests?

Budget -economy, perhaps 80Euro a day would be the maximum.
As for the interests . . . this is my 1st time to Paris,
we basically just wanna see the usual sights and monuments.

we were also hoping we could find good areas to eat ;D

we were really opting to stay in a b&b thinking it would be more affordable, but we can't seem to find one (yet)

[WillTravel]

B&Bs are not a very common concept in Paris, for some reason, but there are a few. However, they aren't any cheaper than budget hotels, from what I've seen. CuriousToronto and dustoffmom and some other posters have mentioned some budget Paris hotels on other threads, so maybe take a look.

I've seen this place highly recommended on another forum:
www.cosmos-hotel-paris.com
It's not terribly central, but with metro and buses you can be to the various attractions quickly, and it's supposed to be a "hip" neighborhood.

Take a look here:
www.france.com/hotels/contact_us.cfm
www.hrs.de
www.eurocheapo.com/Paris
www.bookings.org
www.jack-travel.com/

Sometimes you can get good rates at the Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express:
www.holidayinn.com

Also, Accor brand hotels:
www.accorhotels.com

[asian77]

Thanks! I'm checking the links right now...maybe you also know some budget places to stay in Athens and Rome?

Thanks a lot!

[WillTravel]

Rome - what is your budget? I'd allot more than Paris if you could. The standard recommendation is the Beehive. You can get a double room there for about 70 Euros. But that's hard to get. I preferred staying more in the center of Rome in any event, but the Beehive has had many rave reviews here and elsewhere.

[madamtrashheap]

Yep, Cosmos is in a "hip" area (Republic), so all good. You could look for accom in the Montmatre are if you really want "hipness" but WT's suggestion is a good one, I'd look into it if you can. Otherwise the internet deals with Accor and Holiday Inn can be good if they are available, just check the area the hotel is located in, in relation to where you want to be. You could also try the TimHotel site www.timhotel.com/ as they also have good deals and cool locations.

As for places to eat, you can find fab bistros in the Latin Quarter (down a little street that is off to the right of the St-Michel statue, can't remember the name, just know how to get there) or wander through the Montmartre district to the left of Sacre-Coeur and see what takes your fancy. You can choose a set menu (3 or 4 courses) fairly cheaply, rather than a la carte. Oh, and far be it from me to recommend fast food joints (eeeewww), but the French version of McDonald's is called Quick - it's not bad, but the French all joke that it doesn't live up to it's name! And it doesn't! ;D

Let us know about your Rome plans too.

[asian77]

Ah..a Parisian version of McDonalds ;D...i remember my sister mentioned that there's one McDonalds in the Switz that was in a "fine-dining type setting"

As for our plans in Rome...

We're actually planning to stay in Rome for just 2 days, hope that's enough to see all what needs to be seen ;D

there seems to be a lot of b&b's in Rome compared to Paris, though most reviews often say that the breakfasts were often inadequate..but all in all despite our "challenged budget" think i've got a number of places to choose from..

but still hope you can recommend some b&bs and nice places to eat in Rome...

thanks again!you're all very helpful!

[asian77]

hi, it's me again..checked out the hotel cosmos and it seems ok..
with my limited budget i was able to easily slim down the number of places i'd probably be staying in...

it boiled down to www.cosmos-hotel-paris.com and

paris-hotel-lavallee.com their offers are almost very similar in terms of price..maybe you could help me again and tell me w/c is better

[WillTravel]

Maybe someone else can confirm, but I think rue Saint Denis, where the Vallee is, is the streetwalker and sex shop street.

Edit: Yes, it is. The plus side is that the location is extremely central.

[madamtrashheap]

Really?! I always thought that the seeder side of Paris was either up in Pigalle between Place Blanche and Anvers Metro station (and the streets leading away from Anvers) or around the east of Paris, just outside the Peripherique. Shame as la Vallee is in a fab location (Les Halles/Marais) and I believed that this area was more the gay-friendly area of Paris.

Either way, both the new hotels you're proposing are fine and better located than the first one at least.

As for Rome, you'll find that 2 days will not really give you the chance to explore Rome properly - half of one of those days will be spent standing in line at the Vatican Museum! What were you planning on seeing? IF you can allow at least 3 full days (ie 4 nights) you'll be off to a good start, but the more full days the better.

As WT wrote, The Beehive is a great hostel, but there are others. Did you look at the links on this site? www.guideforeurope.com/bookeurohostels.html Otherwise there's the Rome page on Eurocheapo.com www.eurocheapo.com/rome/.

[asian77]

Thanks again for the links..

Your info regarding the hotel de la vallee is very helpful, price is usually my main category in searching for places since i have very little knowlede of the areas ..anyway in light of this new info i'll probably stay at the cosmo unless i found something else closer to the center that fits my budget ..still have a lot of time before my trip.. alot of time to research..

Again..back to the Rome trip..

yep..2 nyts seems like a short time to cram every activity into..

i can already imagine me and my sister struggling through our guidebooks and maps trying to find the shortest and quickest possible path to all the sites and museums..

plus we heard that lines to the colosseum are really,really long..(long like 2 hours???)

We probably might consider staying for another day..depending on the budget (in our case..the lack of it ..haha)

Still have no idea where to stay,found some places that fits my budget though..
www.vaticano68.com/

www.iltrasteverino.it
www.domusanna.net/



maybe you know some of these places..i would really appreciate it if
you could help me choose one..

[asian77]

by the way, what do you think of

Saphir Grenelle in Paris?

[WillTravel]

The location looks pretty good. It's a bit out of the center, but close to several metro stops. I think that's a residential area.

Reviews on TripAdvisor and Venere are good.