PARIS-ST. GERMAIN DES PRES Holiday Inn: Any comments?
 

I just found great rate for this hotel (approx 100 Euros, INCLUDING taxes). Is this hotel in a safe location and convenient for the everyday tourist?

Holiday Inn
PARIS-ST. GERMAIN DES PRES
92 RUE DE VAUGIRARD
PARIS, 75006
FRANCE
Tel: 33-1-49548700




Thanks in advance...

Good rate, great location, very safe. I'm sorry the Search function is not working as there have been quite a few threads discussing various hotels including this property. I personally know three FlyerTalkers who have stayed at the property and enjoyed it - I'm sure they will chime in here.

P.S. Not sure why your thread title reads Paris-Republique ... ? There is a Holiday Inn there, too, but it's not the same neighborhood.

I had initially asked for feedback on the Holiday Inn at Paris Republique, but found tis other Holiday Inn later, and then edited the title. I guess the edit doesn't show up in the title.

Thanks for the feedback on this Holiday Inn.

I'll chime. The HI St Germain property is a terrific value. The location is wonderful (walk to Montparnasse, St Germain and the Quartier Latin, St Sulpice, Luxembourg Gardens; 2 steps from St Placide metro station), and the rooms are adequate.

The rooms at the ends of the hallways tend to be larger (typically assigned to return guests or Prio Club elites). The Stendhal Rm on the top floor is my favorite -- you can see the Eiffel Tower from the window.

The Republique HI is very different. I stayed there some years ago when it had changed from an old hotel (the Moderne) to the current HI branding: the property itself is exceptionally nice for an HI, but the location leaves a great deal to be desired.

OK, that's what I suspected.

The St Germain location is much, much better than Republique.

You are joking?! Convenient for what? Montparnasse Station?

St Germain Holiday Inn is NOT in St Germain area but in Montparnasse - a grimey and comparatively seedy area full of cheap shops. It's a 30 minute walk to St Sulpice and St Germain and you'd have to have very large legs to get to St Placide in two paces!

Republique is far more central and is closer to a station than St Germain. I suggest you look at a metro map and look at Republique location and metro connections before you consider St Germain hi. The rate may be good value but if you want to be in central Paris then Republique is the logical choice and although a bit more is worth every cent.

John

check my threads - i have 2 going right now about these 2 specific hotels - the reviews seem to favor the republique over the st. germain...

No, of course I'm not joking, and I beg to differ. I've lived in Paris for almost 18 years now, in the Saint-Germain neighborhood as a matter of fact, and I disagree with everything you have posted.

P.S. It's about a 12-14 minute walk from the hotel to Saint-Sulpice, though I suppose you are right about the Saint-Placide métro station being more than "two paces" from the hotel: it is, in fact, just under 100 yards away. :rolleyes:

Hello Rolleyes,

Well as a matter of fact I've lived in Montparnasse for the last 19 years (in the basement of Coupole) and the hotel is in Montparnasse not St Germain. Just look at the map!? If youdon't know where you live well........ You'd know that if you lived there. If you have a step that 50 yards then I guess you're 12 - 14 minute walk doesn't account for crossing roads and waiting for traffic etc.

By the way the rooms in the HI St Germain are between a third and half the size of those at Republique. So if you enjoy resting your feet on the TV whilst in bed ...........

ok both of you - fermer la bouche!

(ok my prof used to say that to me in high school all the time, good to see the education coming in use)

:)

Have you been in every room? Are you a Platinum member? I always get an upgrade to a large room at the St. Germain hotel. The corner rooms facing towards Vaugirard are quite large for a Paris 3-star.

Yes you could say the HI St. Germain is close to Montparnasse, however it is officially in the 6th. I think it is in a nice area and obviously just a few minutes away by Metro or taxi to the always trendy left bank cafes.

I don't know details about the 2 hotels but as to location, I'm with Blairvanhorn on this one. Place de la Republique is on the edge of what most tourists come to Paris to see, and it is also on the edge of the immigrant-laden eastern 10th arrondissement, in which I wouldn't walk around after dark. You'll take long bus or Metro rides to vitually everything you want to see from Republique.

I stayed at the HI Republique a few years ago, and never again. I found the area unpleasant and, as Wideman says, leaves much to be desired.
The 6th is a great location; we rent an apt near Luxembourg Gardens now, and this area is just about our favorite.

Holy cow, I thought this thread was dead and gone...! Thanks for the opinions and replies. I looked up the location of HI St. Germain on the map, and as MDSD and others suggested, it's near the Luxemborg Gardens and St.Placide metro station. Seems convenient enough to us, and we made our reservations.

Again, thanks for the opinions and suggestions.

One can only wonder if FT newcomer (or possibly FT recycled user) johnlewis has ever stayed at either property. Or, for that matter, has ever been to Paris.

S/he certainly hasn't been to the HI St-G. The streets around the HI are full of lovely shops - I bought a set of Leonardo glasses at a housewares shop and had the shipped to the US on a recent trip. The rue de Cherche-Midi is chock full of antique shops, book shops, and charming tea houses. The shops around the Croix-Rouge are terrific (best slection of Camper shoes anywhere), along with designer couture and pret-a-porter shops such as Lacroix. It's a 5- or 10-minute walk to the Bon Marche food shop, one of the best in Paris.

HI Republique does have excellent access to a metro, which is a good thing because you would want to get away from from that area rather than stroll around it.

And by the way, the expression "2 steps" is a common idiomatic expression. Too bad that johnlewis did not (or elected to not) understand it.