Paris on $50 a Night

Luxury room at the Hotel de Crillon

A recent story over on the Consumer Traveller site got me thinking about travel accommodations. The story by Janice Hough headlined One person’s $1,000 dream hotel room can be another person’s nightmare, describes a clients dissatisfaction with a hotel room booking. Apparently the room didn’t meet her expectations.

Janice writes:

"...their entry level room was €700 a night (about US$1,000), with rooms going up, way up, from there."

The client, who was travelling to Paris for her honeymoon, was so unhappy with her room at the Hotel de Crillon (which may or may not be the one pictured above) , she made a tentative booking with another hotel "...at €200-€300 more a night."

Assuming this client eventually paid US$1250 per night for their room, one can only hope she and her partner found the new room to their satisfaction. I have no idea how long the newlyweds spent in Paris, but it is fair to say they probably spent more on their room for one nights accommodations than I spent in the whole ten nights and nine days I stayed in the city.

Palace Hotel, Paris, France

Clearly their room would have put my €35/night (US$50) room at the Palace Hotel to shame, but I still think I got the better deal.

Although my room didn’t have a television (I didn’t travel to Paris to watch TV!), bar fridge, hairdryer, complementary shampoo and conditioner, room service or chocolates on the pillows, it did have everything I needed to make my stay in Paris comfortable, warm and safe. I even had access to free WiFi during my stay.

Not only that but the hotel – located in Montmartre and close to the Gare du Nord railway station – was within walking distance of the Pompidou Centre, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Left Bank/Latin Quarter, the Louvre, and many other major attractions.

Ok, I have limited finances available to me, so I am forced to travel on a budget, or to at least spend my money carefully and wisely. But even if I could afford $1250 a night for accommodations I don’t think I would do it. What’s the point? At that price, I would be reluctant to leave my room. I’d want to get full value for my dollars and so spend hours each day doing – what? Watching television? Sleeping? Admiring the décor? Somehow I don’t think so.

Why spend that sort of money if all you are going to do is sleep there at night? (Yes, I know, they are newlyweds – so they may not be planning to get much sleep, but I’m sure you get my drift).

To be fair, I have to admit that if I was going to Paris for my honeymoon, I would not stay in a $50 a night hotel, but nor would I want to spend $1200+ per night either.

Maybe it’s just me. What about you? How do you like to travel, and what types of accommodations do you seek out? If you could spend one night in Paris at $1200+ or ten days in the city for the same amount – what would you choose? I’d love to hear your opinions.

The Bitter End - Money

This is the second in a series of videos recorded at The Bitter End All Star Jam during August 2010.

The Bitter End (at 147, Bleecker Street, New York, New York) is one of the few Greenwich Village venues that have survived from the heyday of the exciting music scene that characterized 1960s New York City. Especially among those venues that promoted folk musicians in particular.

The song featured here is the old classic Money. The singer is Don Cazio, a Bitter End regular, and a musician and singer in his own right. Mark Greenberg (drums), Brett Bass (bass), Danny Thompson (wearing the hat) and Benny Landa both swap lead breaks on electric guitars.

I have been to The Bitter End numerous times on both my visits to New York City, and each time I have been amazed by the lineup of talent that is presented there. As you might imagine, New York has musicians and singers to spare, and many of the best of these are on show at the All Star Jam.

The Bitter End All Star Jam Band performs from 10pm until late, on the second and fourth Sunday of every month). There is also a regular Monday night jam with Richie Cannata.

 

Visit The Bitter End Jam website…
And since you are online anyway, check out their MySpace page…

 

Street View Comes to The High Line

I have no idea how they did it, but Google Street View has now mapped New York City’s High Line park. I’ve written before about the High Line, but to make it brief, the High Line is an elevated park that meanders above the streets along portions of some of Manhattan’s west side neighbourhoods.

Currently the High Line is about a mile long, but over time it will be extended at least another half mile or so to provide yet another unique New York experience to the millions of visitors and New Yorkers who had enjoyed promenading along its length. Last year Google donated $1 million to the High Line, so I guess it is only fitting that the company give the elevated park the Street View treatment.

The following video gives you a brief taste of the project and only adds to my desire to visit the park again on my next visit to New York City.

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You can see another video (narrated by the actor Ethan Hawke) outlining the history of the High Line here…