Please help me choose between 2 hotels!

Hi,

I just planned my first trip to Paris in May 2009 (May 18-May25th)! I am very excited and after weeks of research, I%26#39;ve narrowed down my hotel choices to the following 2 hotels with good reviews on TripAdvisor:

1) Hotel Beaubourg (in the 4th district next to the Pompidou)

2) Au Grand Hotel Francais (in the 11th district by Place de la Nations)

I was able to find similar prices for both hotels online (in the $130-$150 Euro range)

I am aware of the obvious difference in distance to central tourist attractions like the Lourve and the Notre Dame, Beaubourg is within walking distance to both while Grand Francais is a train ride away.

Besides the distance, I have a hard time making a decision (I know May is a long way off but I%26#39;d prefer to lock in the rate soon so I don%26#39;t have to worry about increases for 2009).

Can someone who%26#39;s familiar with the city or has been to either one of the hotels give me some pointers (pros and cons) to help me decide please?

Thank you very much!

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If the hotels are similar and the price is similar, you will NOT regret choosing to stay in the more central location. From the Beaubourg, you can walk to so many interesting sights and museums, and reduce your time spent on transportation (from Nation, you will basically ALWAYS be using metro or bus to get anywhere you want to go. OK, maybe you could walk to Pere Lachaise..)

I choose to stay in a less-central location but it is no longer my first time in Paris. And even though I stay further out on purpose, I can still acknowledge that it takes a little time to go back and forth every day, espec. if you need to return to the hotel during the day more than once.

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Thanks for your reply! I was leaning towards Beaubourg as well but did not know how I%26#39;d feel about staying in a very touristy location, as I%26#39;m a jaded NYer and would not want to stay near Times Sq. if I am new to NYC.

P.S. the ComboPass is a good deal for a week I assume?

Thanks again!

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I visited NYC the first time and stayed right on Times Square! It was great, very convenient. Just like NYC, you will be hard-pressed to escape the tourists unless you stay well outside the center of Paris.

Hotel Beaubourg website photos look very nice, perhaps they have recently renovated...?It looks like the front-facing rooms (if not all of them) would be rather quiet, since the street is very small one-lane. Don%26#39;t recall how busy the corner/busy street is (running behind Pompidou)....

Be sure to ask for a %26#39;higher-up%26#39; room to avoid the semi-basement one that is described in one of the TA reviews...

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I would equate staying in the Marais more to staying in the Village, if the Village were closer to midtown ;-). It%26#39;s touristy, yes, but it%26#39;s very much a neighborhood as well, with lots of great historical buildings and little shops and other places to discover.

What%26#39;s the Combo Pass?

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Thanks for the advise! I will try to ask for the higher rooms and hope to get it, I was weary because multiple TA reviews (and travelers from other sites) did mention that the grumpy French lady at the reception was unaccommodating vs. the really nice manager who responds to posts at the Grand Francais.

The Paris ComboPass includes 3 zone mass transit and unlimited entrance ~ 60 museums, I think it has a free Seines cruise and map too. I thought that was a good deal?

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I have never heard of the %26quot;Combo Pass%26quot;, is that its real name?? Where did you see this, on a website??

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…conciergerie.com/pass/paris_combo_pass_prem…

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Oh, is that the pass you have to go to the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up? This one:

viator.com/tours/…

One of my friends who came with me on my recent trip was considering that and we ran the numbers but decided it was too expensive to be worthwhile for the things we were likely to use. We got 4 day Museum Passes and just bought carnets for the Metro and buses as needed (we were there for 6 nights). We rarely took more than 2 trips a day on public transport--Paris is such a great city for walking.

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Oops, our posts crossed. Ok, that%26#39;s a different pass than the one my friend was looking at. I still think you%26#39;d be better off buying buying a museum pass and maybe 2-3 carnets for both of you over the course of your trip, but run the math and see if the pass works out to be a better deal for the elements you are likely to use. For comparison purposes, the museum pass is 45E for 4 days, 60E for 6, and a carnet is 11,4 or so euros for ten Metro tickets (each of you will need 1 ticket per trip so a RT from the Marais to, say, the Arc de Triumph would take 4 tickets for both of you).

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Whether you are in the center of Paris or out a little bit, it still looks basically the same. Just like NYC has buildings connected to each other rather than individuals homes with grass and yards, the same is true for Paris. The main difference is if you stay in the Marais, you will be able to walk most places whereas if you stay in the 11th, you will most likely need to take public transportation more often.