Senor Hamachi and I are embarking on our IF Concorde deal in January which will take us to Paris. I've been researching hotels, and am having trouble deciding (or even really narrowing down the choices). Here are the finalists:

Millesime Hotel (175 euros standard, 190 superior)

Pavillon de Paris (165 euros)

Hotel Madison (I've gotten 2 different price quotes from them, which worries me a bit)

I've also gotten price quotes and am considering Hotel Verneuil and Hotel Therese (sister hotels in the Left and Right Banks, respectively), Caron de Beaumarchais (I've seen some very mixed reviews on this one, so it makes me a little nervous), Hotel de L'Arcade, Hotel Relais Bosquet, Hotel Lenox St. Germain, Hotel Littre, and Hotel Villa Opera Drouot.

As you can tell, I'm having a really hard time picking! We're not terribly attached to staying in any one particular area, or even Left vs. Right Bank. We'd mostly like a quiet, relatively spacious (for Paris) room in a good area. We're big into walking and taking subways on our vacations generally, so if a hotel isn't exactly near something, I don't think that's fatal. I've always loved the look of the rooms of the Verneuil on their website, but the reviews I've read have all universally mentioned how small (even by Parisian standards) the rooms are.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'll preface this with an opinion that just about any location where you'd find a 3*-and-up hotel in Paris is a good location, but there are some locations that I find to be 'way better than others. The best location will also vary a lot depending on your interests and mindset at the time. That said...

Of your top finalists, my clear preference for location is the Millésime. Rue Jacob is a great place to be: everything in the neighborhood is interesting, and the street itself is relatively quiet. The Madison is just as well located for being in an interesting place, but it's on a much noisier/busier street than the Millésime. (The Hotel d'Isly on the rue Jacob was a perfect place to stay, mais malheureusement il n'existe plus.)

The location of the Pavillon de Paris, between the grands magasins and Pigalle, doesn't appeal to me very much -- more office-oriented feeling than the St-Germain area. The Pavillion would be more convenient if you were planning to do lots of shopping at the big department stores or if you wanted to hike up to Montmarte, but it's not my cup of tea.

I travel to Paris 2-3 times a year and I prefer the left bank Saint Germain area. I have not stayed at the Millesime but I am a regular at their sister hotel the d'Aubusson nearby on Rue Dauphine. The Millesime looks very nice and a friend of mine stayed there and liked it. I agree with the above post about the neighborhood around Rue Jacob being great ! There is always a lot to do there and it has a nice residential feel. You might also check out La Villa Saint Germain also on Rue Jacob. Very nice looking newly renovated hotel. I am staying there this Thanksgiving. Thought I would try a new place. Will post a report after I return. Have fun in Paris !

I have stayed at the Millesime several times and I agree that the location is perfect. I always found the staff helpful and the rooms nice for the price; however the prices are rising rapidly, December 2002 a single or double is now 185 Euros. Its sister hotel, the D'Abusson is also lovely, but pricier and of course more amentities.