Last updated 2026-02-27
Hotels in Paris
This is a personal reference post I keep updated to share with friends visiting me in Paris. No guarantees on accuracy or completeness, just my own observations and experiences.
One universal Paris warning: hotel rooms are small. Whatever you’re imagining, they are smaller. Barely-open-the-door-without-hitting-the-bed small. They are also generally old.
Places I’ve heard good things about
Hotel Motel One Paris-Porte Dorée (295 Av. Daumesnil, 75012 Paris) good prices, and actually Motel One standard: A new building, small (but for Paris normal-sized) but really new rooms, great (and large) lounge area and bar, plus even outside seating. Also right next to an event space at “Palais de la Porte Dorée”, right next to a huge and beautiful park, close to the Métro 8 and tram. The local area has some restaurants, cafés and boulangeries that seem alright as well. The downside is that it is on the outskirts of Paris, so you will always need to take public transport (which is awesome and easy in Paris, but adds ~20-30 mins travel, very full transport during rush hours and the price of the tickets). But overall, now my default recommendation for Paris.
Hôtel Virginia (66 rue du Père Corentin) quite cheap, really nice looking/spacious entry and right next to a supermarket and line 4 metro. The location is on a more calm side street. The one room I saw was also quite large for Paris with a large bathroom. I assume it was their handicapped room and would be unsure if all of them are this large though.
Hôtel Sophie Germain Paris (12 rue Sophie Germain) apparently good rooms and feels upscale. Weird to me: you have to leave your key at the front desk. On the expensive side.
Best Western Nouvel Orléans Montparnasse (25 Av. du Général Leclerc) small and a little old rooms, but okay.
ibis Paris Maine Montparnasse 14ème (160 rue du Château) had people stay here during COVID so the info is quite old, but heard no complaints.
On my list to try
Hôtel Graphik Montparnasse (131 Av. du Maine) recently renovated, looks great from the outside. Haven’t been inside, but it’s where I’d try next.
Le Lampika Hotel (28 Pl. Denfert-Rochereau, 75014 Paris) recently opened, looks very clean and big from the outside, but reviews mention small rooms as well. 4-Stars but from a quick look surprisingly affordable.
Hotel Montparnasse Alésia (147ter Rue d’Alésia) on my radar, not sure why anymore, but it looked good from outside.
Avoid
ibis budget Paris Porte d’Orléans (15-21 Bd Romain Rolland).
Hôtel Aviatic (10 Rue Brézin).
Further out: Motel One
I really like Motel Ones and there are two Motel One locations in Paris. They’re quite far from me and seem expensive, no personal experience with either.
A note on staying further out
It’s worth considering hotels outside the inner circle. Paris public transit is genuinely excellent, metro lines run every 2–3 minutes, the RER every ~10 minutes, and you’ll be buying a transit pass anyway for sightseeing. You can open Google maps to the public transport overlay and look for hotels close to metros that go through the inner city/where you want to go anyway (e.g. line 4 goes through both train stations, RER-B).