Best Value Hotels in Paris

The 63-room Home Moderne is a lovely, peaceful budget hotel in the 15th arrondissement, and offers a lot of value for the money. Located south of the city's center, the neighborhood is very Parisian, and the major tourist attractions are easily reached by metro, which is a pleasant 12-minute walk from the hotel. There's a park nearby, and rooms are charming and European-size (meaning not large), and offer flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi. Larger "family" rooms (suites) are available.

In a city of overpriced and often rundown budget hotels, the Hotel du Printemps is a breath of fresh air -- it's tasteful, clean, and has great transport links close by. Don't expect spacious rooms or much in the way of facilities, but the basics such as free Wi-Fi and organic toiletries are a nice touch. It's a bit of a trip into the center, so the location won't appeal to everyone, but such low rates within city limits are hard to find.

The romantic, intimate, 26-room Le Relais Montmartre sits at the foot of artistic Montmartre, but manages to remain quiet and peaceful despite the neighborhood's active nightlife and bar scene. Inside and out, the hotel has a traditional vibe, as if guests could walk out the lobby doors and run into Picasso on the prowl, or Audrey Tatou riding past on her bike. (The movie "Amelie" was filmed a block away.)

The Hôtel du Prince Eugene is a mid-range, boutique-style property located on a pleasant though busy boulevard in eastern Paris. While the locale can be considered more authentic than most, there are few tourist attractions within walking distance -- though nearby transport links are good. With few facilities here, the emphasis is on the particularly helpful and informative staff that is on hand around the clock.

The 43-room Hotel de la Porte Doree is an elegant, homey mid-range hotel located outside of the Paris city center in the 12th arrondissement. The hotel is quiet and charming, with a true Parisian feeling. Loft-like rooms have plush bedding and wood floors, and blend modern amenities (Blu-ray DVD players, iPod docks, free Wi-Fi) with vintage details (gilded mirrors, crown molding). Because this is a boutique, there's not much in the way of property features, but there is a DVD lending library and breakfast buffet (for a fee) served in a cute cafe-style room. The metro, bus, high speed rail, and new tram all stop near the hotel entrance.

Just a short walk from the Gare Montparnasse train station, the Lenox Montparnasse is a smallish hotel with very few on-site amenities, but multiple guests have raved that staff works hard to help with any needs and to offer suggestions. There are three categories of room: Junior Suites, Club Rooms, and Classic Rooms. All feature fresh, if somewhat bland, decor and flat-screen TVs, but Classic Rooms in particular are tiny and bathrooms are a bit dated. This hotel's proximity to several metro/subway lines makes it a practical starting point for visiting the capital's monuments and main tourist attractions.

Its somewhat removed location and slightly steeper (but still affordable) prices keep the Hotel Joyce from being in our top two, but it's pretty close; the chic rooms -- with free Wi-Fi -- rival even those at the Standard Design Hotel, and most come with French balconies, flat-screen TVs and iPod docks. Quirky would be a good word to describe the hotel -- oddities like car seats (with seatbelts) and funky light fixtures hang from the ceilings. The unique design elements mix well with the historical aspects of the hotel -- like the stone walls and the glass-roofed solarious, where free breakfast and afternoon snacks are served.

This cozy and homey two-and-a-half pearl hotel is situated in the Montparnasse neighborhood, an area known for its wonderful restaurants. With Luxembourg Gardens less than a 10-minute walk down the road, and all of Paris easily accessible by a Metro stop right outside, the 39-room Hotel De La Paix is best-suited to travelers who appreciate living room-style decor and quick access to a great dinner. Guest rooms are air-conditioned and individually decorated with, for example, vintage ski posters and warm wood furnishings. Wi-Fi is free throughout the property, which offers a tasty breakfast for a fee.

The Hotel des 3 Poussins is a mid-range hotel located in the 9th arrondissement, a five-minute walk from the Rue des Martyrs and the Grands Magasins of Opera. While slightly outside of the main tourist area, the hotel is close to a plethora of eateries and is a two-minute walk from the Saint-Georges metro stop. Decor is modern, creative, and delightful, with doodle murals and a chalkboard drawing wall. Forty rooms are fairly small, but they’re stylish and feature free Wi-Fi and coffee-and tea-making facilities. There are few on-site features, other than a breakfast buffet and room service for an added cost.

The 38-room Hotel Palm Opera is a well-run boutique with a fantastic central location. Rooms feature modern Danish-style minimalist decor, flat-screen TVs, and clean bathrooms. Amenities are bare-bones (there's little else other than a small on-site dining room for breakfast), but it does feature freebies such as Wi-Fi and sodas. Its rates are often slightly lower than those at Hotel Joyce, but it does not offer free breakfast.

The 40-room Grand Hotel Français is a solid mid-range property offering good value in eastern Paris. Rooms are small, but feature contemporary decor, clean bathrooms, and up-to-date amenities, such as flat-screen TVs, iPod docks, and free Wi-Fi. The hotel has a small lobby bar and a breakfast room, but there is no full restaurant on-site. Four metro lines located within a five-minute walk of the hotel offer easy access to major attractions.

The 36-room boutique Fred Hotel offers a slice of chic in a true Parisian neighborhood south of Montparnasse. Rooms are small but smartly appointed, with modern furniture and great art on the walls. Free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, and ample toiletries are nice touches. The hotel is located on a quiet street in a neighborhood of the 14th arrondissement that has retained its village personality, and is studded with restaurants, bars, and shops. It's a three- to five-minute walk to a metro station (Plaisance, Line 13) that connects to the more touristy Paris.

The six-floor, 29-room Hotel du College de France is a quiet gem in a quintessentially Parisian location, halfway between the Pantheon and Notre Dame in the bohemian Latin Quarter. The hotel is welcoming and wonderfully French. This clean, comfortable hotel is a great value for such an ideal location, and has plenty of character (particularly for a budget property).Rooms are basic, with carpets and comforters, but they're perfectly adequate for the price.

Transformed from an office building, the Generator Paris is a chic and funky hostel located in Paris's hip 10th Arrondissement. The characterful property houses a whopping 916 beds arranged around small dormitories and private rooms, all clean and contemporary -- though with sparse amenities. With a cafe, Moroccan-themed chill-out lounge, and bars in both the basement and on the rooftop terrace, there's no shortage of space to relax and mingle, though non-guests will find it hard to get past security. While the location is a little far from most tourist attractions, for stylish and funky lodgings close to Metro and Eurostar transport links, this place is a budget-category winner.