This is a FANTASTIC apartment. It is located in the middle of Paris, in the Marais. For my money, this is the best neighboorhood: sunny, outdoor brasseries to the latest shopping on Rue des Francs Bourgeois to romantic walks along the Seine. You get to be in Paris without all the tourists. The apartment is top notch and QUIET. Worth every penny, but it will take a lot of pennies to stay there.

I am an experienced traveller (especially SE Asia & Europe) and have written to you because I believe that the Internet should give more balanced views on accommodations in Paris. Duration of stay: three nights from 280803 to 310803 Good points are location & Staff (very friendly). Bad points: Rooms are very small and unclean. Shower is dirty and has pubic hairs from former guests stuck on the walls. Shower has very low water pressure and the temperature of the water keeps changing from hot to very cold. Toilet in the room does not flush. television has a remote control that does not correspond to the set and does not work. Sheets are changed daily, but the clean sheets smell of stale cigarette smoke and less defineable odors. The upper sheet stinks and looks like it has been used to whipe a dirty kitchenfloor. Matrass is lousy. Bad for people with back problems. About the bed frame. One our beds lost two legs when we lifted it to look for something. Rooms on the front of the hotel are extremely noisy because of the accoustics. On Thursday and Friday night people congregate on the lovely romantic square to scream and drink till 4 in the morning. If you want some sleep: take a room without a view. Breakfast low quality croissants, jam and beverages. With low quality I mean old, dry cold, not up to french standards. Go to any small backery in Paris and you will say the same thing. We paid 72 and 86 € for these rooms and they weren't worth it at all. Will never come back. Choose this hotel because of lack of time, its location and positive stories and pictures on Internet.

Dear sirs, here is my truthfull review on this hotel. I am an experienced traveller (especially SE Asia) and have written to you because I believe that the Internet should give more balanced views on accommodations in Paris. Hotel Pratic Duration of stay three nights from 280803 to 310803 Good points: Location Staff: friendly. Bad points: Rooms: very small and unclean. Shower has very low pressure and the temperature of the water keeps changing from hot to very cold. Toilet in the room does not flush. television has a remote control that does not correspond to the set and does not work. Sheets are changed daily, but the clean sheets smell of stale cigarette smoke and less defineable odors. The upper sheet stinks and looks like it has been used to whipe a dirty kitchenfloor. Matrass:lousy. Bead for people with back problems. Bed frame: One our beds lost two legs when we lifted it to look for something. Rooms on the front of the hotel are extremely noisy because of the accoustics. on Thursday and Friday night people congregate on the lovely romantic square to scream and drink till 4 in the morning. If you want some sleep: take a room without a view. Breakfast lowquality croissants, jam and beverages. paid 72 and 86 for these rooms and they weren't worth it. Will never come back. Choose this hotel because of lack of time, its location and positive stories and pictures on Internet. Regards, M Stokhof

We also stayed at the Pratic -- for four days in April. We had booked in January and then re-booked when a better rate became available. Having read the previous review we were apprehensive that perhaps we had made a bad choice. However, happy to report that the review by "posh ralph" needs tempering by our more recent perspective. We were in room 15 and found it clean and quite comfortable. Could not agree more regarding the TV, but we were not there for TV. Our only other complaint was the rather kinky system for lighting the stairs -- there are timed switches at each level which we feel sacrifice safety to economy. Yes, our towels were also on their last legs, but they worked fine. We had just arrived from London where we stayed two days in a 4-star hotel (Gresham Hyde Park) that had "SOUR" coffee. We also stayed one night in a 0-star hotel (Savers) that had do-it-yourself instant coffee and NO HOT WATER for bathing in the morning. That WILL get your attention. Kudos to the Pratic: Pleasant and efficient staff. Tasteful decor including chandeliers in the rooms and original posts and beams showing in dining room. Comfortable and clean bed, blissfully quiet -- we had a no-view inner courtyard window. Breakfast was excellent with very good coffee (yes, the little pitchers are tricky but handy), attentive service, clean, never had to wait for seating, and yes, the location on Marche St. Catherine was very romantic and convenient. By the way, we opted for schlepping to the shared showers -- nice and clean -- but watch your head when you enter under that stairway. As to the bug report. Several possibilities, including: an isolated infestation or something left by a recent guest. From the previous review one could only guess as to its source -- even a recent guest. However, we found no vermin, or any conditions which would support any continuing problem. But, "posh ralph's" unkindest cut: "The croissants were ok." In the Marais, even "OK" French croissants have to be damn good -- seemed almost a back-handed compliment. Was the diner in a grumpy mood -- pissed at the French foreign minister? As to the decorative red paper placemats...they do very nicely and economically for continental breakfast items which are not dripping sauce or needing to be cut with a knife. Enjoy the Pratic. We know of no perfect hotel -- at any price. We would definitely consider the Pratic for a return visit.

This completely renovated apartment is located on charming Rue Elzévir in the historic Marais district of Paris, France. This neighborhood provides the perfect Parisian experience from sunny, outdoor brasseries to the latest shopping on Rue des Francs Bourgeois to romantic walks along the Seine. Our quiet, light-filled one bedroom apartment (62 sq. m., 667 sq. ft.) is located on the US third (French second) floor of a 17th century building. You can find reviews of our apartment at: http://www.elzevir.net/review.htm

The location is great - ay the heart of the Marais. Unfortunately, the quality of the establishment is not so good. The hotel has no elevator/lift. This we knew before we arrived. You will need to be fit if you are on the sixth floor. The linen was old and well worn - some of the towels has tears in them. We took the bedspread off the bed immediately as it was so grubby. The bed was old and uncomfortable with no headboard. The TV had one viewable channel and six snowy/foggy channels. The safe was on the floor screwed to the skirting board.The breakfast room has 14 seats for a hotel of over 20 rooms. If your timing is poor you will have to wait in reception until a table is available. The croissants were ok. Such a shame they felt we could manage without plates at breakfast and had to make do with making a crumbly mess on the paper tablecloth. The horrible coffee is served in jugs that are impossible to pour from without making a mess. And finally - how could I forget - I had over 30 bug bite marks on me when I returned to the UK. Be warned.

when I first discovered their website nyhabitat.com I could hardly believe my eyes! you can actually visit furnished apartments with many photos and the descriptions are very detailed. They found me a superb apartment in the heart of Paris in no time... fast, easy, classy! I had a great time in Paris and much preferred that than staying in an impersonal hotel.

I stayed in Leo Lagrange last time I was in Paris, because I saw tersan's critique *after* I made my reservations. I was a bit weary of what I was going to get, but it was tolerable, after all. The breakfast was horrible, but then all European youth hostels had the same (as I found out later): bread that's way too white, with small containers of jams and butter. Artificial orange juice and coffee or wierd hot chocolate. The showers were awful on the 5th floor (if I remember well), but the 4th were tolerable. Also, the bathrooms are mixed, so you have to not be bothered by that. There's a vending machine on the 1st floor that sell standard toiletteries. The beds are bunk beds, like in most hostels. Not better, not worst. Some rooms are mixed too. The thing I really did not like about it was that it was so far from downtown! About 2 hours of walking... The subway was partially on strike when we were there. It's OK to walk on side streets, but taking the most direct route by walking through the slums of an Arabic-looking neighborhood was not a trilling experience. My friend and I both looked qute butch, with large t-shirts and kaki pants and we still got taunts like "I want to make love to you" from bystanders on street corners. And it was not an isolated phenomena. It kind of reminded me of Amsterdam's red light district, expect with gender roles reversed and no monetary transactions. That was the most unpleasant feature of my stay. Next time, I think I will look in the Marais for accomodation, as I found some places even cheaper than the hostel. And it's right by the Louvre!

Hôtel Beaunier is a nice, small 2-star hotel with a friendly staff and nice, clean rooms, private showers and satellite TV. It is located in the Montparnasse area, near Metro stops Alesía and Porte d'Orléans. Rooms range from 400 to 450 F with breakfast included.

People will tell you that hotels in Paris are expensive. This may be true if you simply must have a room overlooking l'Arc de Triomphe, but if you want perfectly adequate, modern and clean accomodation, the Hotel Ibis Bastille is (and you will excuse the obvious pun) a steal. With prices around FF500 (USD 70) per night, the hotel offers a great location away from the crowds of the Champs Elysses, but with all the culinary delights of the Bastille area. When I stayed here in 1997, I was totally pleased with the location, the staff, and the value for money.