My Husband and I will be in Paris 4 nights in April. This is after 10 days in Italy. I think I have narrowed it down to the 6th or 7th area but I like the Idea of alittle more room after being cramped for 10 days...My husband (he has never been, I have,) feels more comfortable with the hotel.He wonders...what if we get sick, we need directions, a cab, restaurant advice etc.....Thoughts? I think the 6th is a choice with my daughter...the park is close...do you all agree??
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I agree with you, but can understand your husband%26#39;s concerns. That is a major argument with the apt vs hotel debate. You have to be confident enough in your ability to handle a problem on your own, without the help of a concierge or front desk.
It would be wonderful for your family to be near the Luxembourg Gdn, where your daughter can run and play. It would also be great to have the extra room that an apartment can provide.
I can%26#39;t tell you what to do. You%26#39;ll have to convince your husband that you can handle a medical crisis on your own. Find out in advance where the closest hospital to your apartment is. Maybe a local on the board can tell you what to do in a real emergency. As far as directions, if you can read a map and do some research on restaurants etc, most of those %26quot;problems%26quot; can be easily solved by the two of you.
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Hi,
Personally I would go for an apartment, but I can understand your husband feels a bit more %26#39;secure%26#39; with a hotel. However, I think if you plan it you can alleviate any fears.
For what to do in an emergency have a look at
france.usembassy.gov/usc_emergency.html - lists numbers, as you will see the French paramedic service has specialist English operators. If you would like it I can give you the name of a very good bi-lingual paediatrician in the 7th - PM me if you want his name if you have concerns about what to do if your daughter is sick. Highly unlikely that you will need them but just in case.
For directions - any passerby in the street, or in the cafe etc are usually happy to help.
For restaurants - with the help of Tripadvisor you can plan your restaurants - it may be more help than someone in the hotel who may have a vested interest in suggesting somewhere.
Have never stayed in an apartment in Paris but would imagine that any decent one will give you a contact number should you need any help.
Alison
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PS - re hospitals - the accident and emergency dept for children is the Necker hospital - it is one the list on the link I posted. Not far from the 7th - it is just in the 15th. Thankfully I have only had to go once, I didn%26#39;t ask for English speaking staff but there were some there.
Although I really don%26#39;t think you will need it!!
Alison
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COmpromise... the Citadines apart%26#39;hotels are mini apartments with a hotel lobby.
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Perhaps you could try one of the aparthotel chains like Citadines where they have a number of apartments in the same building but also offer some of the services of a hotel eg reception.
If you stayed in a 1 bed apartment you would typically have a bedroom, dining/sitting area with a sofa bed, kitchen, and bathroom as well as access to laundry facilities. You get the advantages of an apartment while still having the option of assistance from the reception staff if you should need it.
citadines.com
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Thank you all for the input....I am going to %26quot;barter%26quot; with my Husband now..He has had his morning coffee..I will let you know the outcome....
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In the summer of 2007 we rented a 1 bedroom apartment on Ile St Louis for a week and had our daughter with us who was 15.
Last summer we stayed a week at the Hilton Eiffel Tower.
The apartment was much better. The Hilton probably has bigger than usual rooms for Paris but a week with our daughter sleeping on a folding bed right at the foot of our bed was cramped. Being in one room meant we all had to go to sleep about the same time. I%26#39;m an early riser and am usually up a couple of hours before my wife and daughter... it was hard just to move around the room let alone avoid waking them up in the hotel.
As for your husband%26#39;s concerns... I think they are pretty minor. If you need a taxi, hail one! Or walk down to the nearest cab rank. Restaurant advice? I%26#39;ve been to Paris 6 times and have never had to ask at a hotel where to eat! LOL
Your only problem will be finding a 4 day apartment rental... I think vacationinparis.com will do them with a surcharge...
Whichever you choose... bon voyage!
Rob
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I usually rent with VIP but, as the previous poster says, VIP and a lot of the agencies have a surcharge for less than five nights or they may not even rent for less than a week minumum. Centreparis.com gets consistently good reviews here and there%26#39;s no surcharge for less than five nights. Citadines is another good options as others have said.
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I have a different view.
Frist of 14 days in hotel wouldn%26#39;t bother me in the least, I like to go to Europe for at least 3 weeks at a time and I like hotels.This past summer I took my 12 yr old for 26 days and I liked spending the time together, instead of her in another room watching t.v.. it may be different for you though, I mean, another room will obviously make %26quot;romance%26quot; easier then sharing a room.
The thing about apartments is I a very lazy,, LOL I like having someone make the bed and bring me clean towels every day.. I do not vacation to have to do these mundane things, I do them all year round at home, LOL I like eating out every meal, although I always get a hotel room with a mini fridge so I can have cold drinks and yogurts on hand for snacking.
I agree you do not need someone to hail cabs or recommend restaurants though. Certianly you can get by without a front desk clerk.
I also like the 6th, my favorite area.
I don%26#39;t think either choice will be wrong though,, whatever you decide you will have a lovely time I am sure. Good luck.
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I can%26#39;t really say about Paris in particular since we are not going until this coming summer. Last year I went to London with my daughter and we stayed in a hotel. We did not use the front desk for anything. We did have breakfast included which was nice, but that was a full English breakfast, and most of the Paris hotels only seem to include croissants, etc. It was nice to be together all the time, and I don%26#39;t think I would get an apartment with just her. (She is 11 now)
Last summer we went to North Carolina with my sister, my daughter, my mother, her husband, and her two kids and rented a house. It was totally worth the house with all those people. We did cook a lot on that trip because that many people in a restaurant are expensive.
I think you need to decide whether you and your husband want a little more privacy than in a hotel room. I don%26#39;t think I%26#39;ve ever used the front desk of a hotel for anything other than checking in and out and getting extra towels.
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