Paris is full of small 2- & 3-star hotels but how do you find a good one?

The 3-star Hotel Berne Opera, in a quiet road near the Gare de St Lazare and close to the Rome metro stop, is an example of a good one. The staff are very friendly and helpful, and the breakfast in the cellar is better than average, with cereals, fruit, eggs, pastries and good coffee.

Bedrooms are on the small side, like most traditional Parisian hotels. However, families get a good deal with the larger, family rooms available.

There are some nice, local restaurants, like le 27 Gourmand (try the Cassoulet speciality.

We stayed in 17 hotels in 24 days and this was the worst Hotel that we stayed at. The only thing good was that it was close to the Metro and they had a little outdoor patio to enjoy. The rooms were noisy, dark and very very small. No room to even put your luggage on the ground. We used an adapter for a hairdryer (the one in the bathroom was broken) and all the lights on the 3rd floor went out. Management was angry at us and told us not to plug anything else in. The room was noisy and the beds were terrible. For the price, this Hotel was way too exspensive and not a friendly staff at all.

I got to Paris a day earlier than my friend, whose flat I was staying in (long story, my friend's an idiot...but an idiot with a flat on Ile San Luis!), so she Pricelined me a night in the 8th A and this was the hotel.

This was a same day reservation, which was paid for in advance. I schlepped from the airport with my bags, only to be told -- rather impolitely -- that there was a mistake. They had no rooms. The desk clerk then made a phone call, and acting like he did me a favor, booked me into another hotel a couple of blocks away.

The other hotel only had one room, which was next to the elevator shaft; which ran all night. I won't go into the Spanish couple who was having a fistfight in the next room (there, I think I just did). Suffice to say, this was a memorable night in Paris.

As someone mentioned, this is close to a really seedy area, Pigalle, but its mostly just a Parisian nhood on the outskirts. I didn't feel very safe walking around the neighborhood at dusk, but there doesn't seem to be much going on around there anyway. There's a cafe across the street from the Rome Metro where I ate dinner and breakfast, before I high-tailed it outta there.

Fortunately the trip got better. :)

I just spent a week at this hotel so I had plenty of time to really "experience" the hotel.

Rooms: My boyfriend and I stayed in a double room which had a double bed and large bathroom with a bathtub. My mother had a single which had a double bed and smaller bathroom with just a shower. The rooms are small, comfortable and clean. The picture on the site of the room is a family room, the biggest there is. The others are much smaller. The bathrooms were great, recently remodeled, and mine even had a towel warmer which is nice for those cold days. Both had windows that opened on to a courtyard but there really isn't much of a view to speak of from any of the rooms. The TVs only had 2 english speaking channels (BBC and Skynews) and both channels only functioned part of the time. We watched a LOT of curling on the German station.

Noise: This hotel is close to a major thoroughfare for trains, about 6 tracks. So the noise from the trains is pretty constant throughout the night if you have the windows open. My mother also had a lot of trouble with noise from the upstairs neighbors.

Area: It's about 1/2 mile from Place de Clichy and literally 25 steps from the Rome metro stop which was VERY handy. This is not a touristy area so it's very quiet and empty, especially at night. There are so many cafes in Paris that it's easy to find places to eat nearby and the best was the "Let'sGo-recommended" Bangkok Cafe just up the block from the hotel on Rue de Moscou. Keep in mind, you're not too far from Pigalle here, which is the seedy area of Paris.

Staff: All of them were very courteous, but only one of them went out of his way to help us all the time.

Overall, I think the hotel was fine and reasonably priced. But after learning a little more about Paris I realize that it's a bit removed from the touristy places. I know now that the best area to stay in is the area around Place San Michel, near the San Germain area. It's much more lively, has plenty of cafes and cheap eateries and you can walk to several of the major sites. Hope this helps!