Hotel vs Apartment- an eternal quest!

[justjools]

Hi everyone,

What an ace site and what nice, friendly folk you seem! I particularly love those virtual tours, very inspiring!

Now, on to business if you don't mind, I'm planning a 3 night/4 day trip in late October, a surprise break for my lovely lady, also taking in the overnight train to Venice and a brief stay there.

As a result I have become fiendishly obsessed with my quest and seem to go round in ever decreasing circles searching- am like the Terminator- I absolutely cannot, will not stop until I find my dream place!

So, my budget is around 380 Euros, I want to be reasonably central, and I wnat something cosy with charm and character, not vanilla IKEA-land/conf hotel!

I started looking at hotels, but find the variance of TA reviews and photos maddening and then started to look into apaprtments, but I am now questioning that track, as it's a short stay and we have the business of luggage transfer to Bercy on the last day, esp with confusion over whetehr you can store at Gard du Nord these days. So, in summary the various pros and cons are:

Hotels

Pro:
Poss of luggage storage
Breakfast ( I guess)
Convenience (no deposit, arrangements with keys etc)

Cons:
Rooms seem very small
Can't view actual room before booking
Bfast often extra and not that bothered about it anyway!
Bewildering ammount of choice!
Higher cost

Apartments:
Pros

Lots more space
What you see is WYG
Tea, coffee-making, fridge, etc
More character generally
More privacy
Better value

For hotels, current ones I'm thinking about are Pavillon Nation, Color Design and Lorette Opera.

For aptments, this one really excited me, only 390 Euros

www.waytostay.com/Paris-apartments-en-109-2646.htm

Anyone had any exp of this company (way to stay) or Pariserve? They had soem nice ones too around cite, st germain, marais from 90e per night, but have not got back to my email from a week ago, which doesn't inspire confidence.

Am I being daft and should I just settle for a simple budget hotel in an ultra central locale? Another issue is that my lady would not like the Metro, so proximity to bus/RER would be better.

Sorry for the length of this, and if it should go under hotels instead. Please help, I think I'm losing the plot! I'd be ever so grateful for any views- and anyone vistign Edinburgh some time soon, please just fire away with similarly annoying enquiries and I will gladly field them!

Thanks
Jools

[Shoesy]

Hi there, Jools!

So many of the posters here swear that they would only stay in an apt. so I'm sure you will get responses in favor of that option. I, personally, have never done so, and I still prefer the convenience (for my needs) of a hotel, but I'm sure I'm the minority here.

I had a look at the apt. in your link, and I think it's beautiful if the pictures are accurate. Good luck in making your decision, and more impt...... welcome to the forum !!!

I just had to take a second look at that apt., and I must say that it looks very beautiful. It also has a definite advantage in that you can rent it for the short time period that you want.

[denise]

Hi Jools, welcome to the forum. How nice that you are planning a surprise for your lady, you are my kind of guy!

I am in the apartment camp. After staying in hotels for years we finally took the plunge last year and I cried when I had to go home! I finally felt I had lived Paris rather than just visiting.

Having said that hotels have advantages and given your budget and time frame finding a hotel may be a better option. especially if it is your first time. There will also be no hidden charges of security deposits, cleaning fees and supplements for a short stay.

The apartment you have found is very spacious and looks nice. I am not sure about the area. Depends on your interests. Did you notice a 30 euro fee for early/late checkin/out which solves your problem of left luggage.

The hotel Ellen used recently in Montmatre sounds nice. Check out her trip report.

http://www.ourparisforum.com./index.cgi?board=reports&action=display&thread=2264

Below is a link to a small hotel chain we have used satisfactorily in the past. We rented their apartment in the 5th arrondisement, and the staff at the hotel Sorbonne were wonderful. The Sorbonne has recently been renovated in traditional style which would suit. I was quoted 74 euros per night (winter rates) recently. for the Sorbonne and the Pantheon. Both get good reviews and are very well situated.

www.hotels-paris-rive-gauche.com/-Rent-a-luxury-apartment-in-Paris-.html

This is a link to an apartment in the marais, I was offered for 3 nights in my apartment hunt for 400 euros all in for 3 nights. Jo has used this agency and liked them.

www.parisbestlodge.com/bourg.html

I use centreparis and have just booked their Francs Bourgeois in the Marais apartment for December but they may be too "Ikea" for you.

www.centreparis.com/location-paris/accueil/index.html

Finally look at the section "Paris guest apartments" you may get some ideas there.

Good luck.

Denise
love from England

[Happygoin]

Hi Jools, and welcome to the forum . I love the apt you're looking at. Only thing to remember is that, if this is your first trip to Paris, you might want to stay closer to the center of the city. Montmartre has its own charms and, on subsequent trips a lot of people on this forum would recommend staying there. But it's not particularly central.

[Anne]

Welcome from me too !

I don't know about waytostay.com, but here is an agency which got quite a few recommandations on this forum and which offers several appartments with only a 3 nights minimum stay at 125 or 135 euros/night :
perfectlyparis.com/

You can also check our member Luckyluc's appartment, I see that he still has a few days left in late October and it is very much in your price range too :
www.vrbo.com/103254

[sistereurope]

Hi Jools,

Given the amount of thought you've given to planning your surprise trip I'd day that you have a very lucky lady there I just wanted to chime in to say welcome, and to say that in my opinion, an apartment can be much cheaper than a hotel. We always stay in apartments, and the knowledgeable posters above recommended some great sites for you to start. Plus, I love to wake up in the morning, put on a pot of coffee, and walk to the nearest boulangerie for some croissants or other breakfast treats, then take them back to MY Paris apartment...in any event, good luck and happy planning.

[justjools]

Sept 24, 2008 6:03:10 GMT -5 denise said:

Hi Jools, welcome to the forum. How nice that you are planning a surprise for your lady, you are my kind of guy!

I am in the apartment camp. After staying in hotels for years we finally took the plunge last year and I cried when I had to go home! I finally felt I had lived Paris rather than just visiting.

Having said that hotels have advantages and given your budget and time frame finding a hotel may be a better option. especially if it is your first time. There will also be no hidden charges of security deposits, cleaning fees and supplements for a short stay.

The apartment you have found is very spacious and looks nice. I am not sure about the area. Depends on your interests. Did you notice a 30 euro fee for early/late checkin/out which solves your problem of left luggage.

No, I didn't spot that, thanks! Altho, it's already pushing my limit budgetwise. I also wodnered about the area and how close it is to Pigalle, but other posts on the forum seem to indicate that it's far enough away and is quite pleasant.

The hotel Ellen used recently in Montmatre sounds nice. Check out her trip report.

http://www.ourparisforum.com./index.cgi?board=reports&action=display&thread=2264

Does look quite cosy, I've been disregarding anything below 3* so far, butmaybe I should be less snobby and go for one of their superior rooms. And I loved Montmatre when i first visited in April.

Below is a link to a small hotel chain we have used satisfactorily in the past. We rented their apartment in the 5th arrondisement, and the staff at the hotel Sorbonne were wonderful. The Sorbonne has recently been renovated in traditional style which would suit. I was quoted 74 euros per night (winter rates) recently. for the Sorbonne and the Pantheon. Both get good reviews and are very well situated.

www.hotels-paris-rive-gauche.com/-Rent-a-luxury-apartment-in-Paris-.html

The rates on the site seem quite high, and their bookign system seems quite confusing, no sign of the special offer rate they first advertise. Maybe I'd have better luck calling/emailing direct than relying on online rates?

This is a link to an apartment in the marais, I was offered for 3 nights in my apartment hunt for 400 euros all in for 3 nights. Jo has used this agency and liked them.

www.parisbestlodge.com/bourg.html

I use centreparis and have just booked their Francs Bourgeois in the Marais apartment for December but they may be too "Ikea" for you.

www.centreparis.com/location-paris/accueil/index.html

This is that rare thing- a site I hadn't already found! Worth a look, thanks.

Finally look at the section "Paris guest apartments" you may get some ideas there.

Good luck.

Denise
love from England

[justjools]

Sept 24, 2008 6:20:49 GMT -5 Anne said:

Welcome from me too !

I don't know about waytostay.com, but here is an agency which got quite a few recommandations on this forum and which offers several appartments with only a 3 nights minimum stay at 125 or 135 euros/night :
perfectlyparis.com/

You can also check our member Luckyluc's appartment, I see that he still has a few days left in late October and it is very much in your price range too :
www.vrbo.com/103254

Thank you, think I tried them, but will delve again! Had assumed that Luckyluc's would be for 1 week minimum, so that's a possibility, I do like the look of the garden, should weather permit its use then!

[justjools]

Sept 24, 2008 6:19:25 GMT -5 Happygoin said:

Hi Jools, and welcome to the forum . I love the apt you're looking at. Only thing to remember is that, if this is your first trip to Paris, you might want to stay closer to the center of the city. Montmartre has its own charms and, on subsequent trips a lot of people on this forum would recommend staying there. But it's not particularly central.

Hi happygoin, and thank you for this. This is my second trip, but my gf's first. I think we are quite up for doing lots of walking and bussing, so not that worried about being slap bang in the centre of things, and I loved Montmatre last time around, though less so Pigalle. How about Bastille/Nation area, what sort of an area is it, does it feel more 'suburban' and out of the way?

[justjools]

Sept 24, 2008 8:07:01 GMT -5 sistereurope said:

Hi Jools,

Given the amount of thought you've given to planning your surprise trip I'd day that you have a very lucky lady there I just wanted to chime in to say welcome, and to say that in my opinion, an apartment can be much cheaper than a hotel. We always stay in apartments, and the knowledgeable posters above recommended some great sites for you to start. Plus, I love to wake up in the morning, put on a pot of coffee, and walk to the nearest boulangerie for some croissants or other breakfast treats, then take them back to MY Paris apartment...in any event, good luck and happy planning.

Thanks sister, yes inndeed, I do aim to please! And in my head I'm already putting that pot on!

[sheilas]

By now you will have had what I hope was a wonderful stay in Paris. I wonder if the apartment pleased you.For the last few years on our annual month in Paris we have booked with a company - www.homelidays.com where one can read the comments of previous renters and see lots of photos. Alternatively a company here in Australia - www.yourparisaddress.com.au has listed some excellent apartments from modest to luxurious and all very central.