Valerie Benigno, Directrice d’Hébergement de Hotel Saint-Paul-Rive Gauche, recalls receiving a large envelope postmarked from the UK. Inside was a huge porte clef to room 12. “It was a heavy, old fashioned key,” Valerie says. “Probably 50 years old.” We are in the sitting room which has a large bay window, Haute Epoque furniture and a crimson bio ethanol-fueled fireplace. The room’s exposed stone walls were a part of the foundation of defense that surrounded Paris at the time of Philippe Auguste. The key, a more recent artifact, was among the effects of an elderly gentleman, and his son was returning it to its rightful home on rue Monsieur le Prince.

In a world of fast-paced hotel one-ups-manship, one establishment won’t try to woo you with brand-name designers, the latest gadgets, or a long list of celebrity clientele. At Hotel Churchill, a three-star 32-room family-friendly retreat located directly in the dead center of Bayeux, fly-by-night trends are out - it all boils down to remembering your roots.

Travelers who love to be in the middle of the action needn’t look further than Hotel Relais du Louvre. Located literally next door to its namesake museum and across the street from the Eglise Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois church, this cozy 21-room hotspot is a perfectly situated paradise for those looking to flit between the sights. Catering to traditional tourists as well as filmmakers shooting outside of the Louvre, Manager Sophie Aulnette says that staying in the City of Light’s most conveniently located stay is always exciting.

In a world of fast-paced hotel one-ups-manship, one establishment won’t try to woo you with brand-name designers, the latest gadgets, or a long list of celebrity clientele. At Hotel Churchill, a three-star 32-room family-friendly retreat located directly in the dead center of Bayeux, fly-by-night trends are out - it all boils down to remembering your roots.

Who says Parisian hotels are outrageously and insanely overpriced thanks to the flyweight value of the U.S. dollar? Just because the meticulously renovated, five-star Hotel Meurice can command $1,200+ a night for a basic room (and another $50 for breakfast) does not mean you can't find a reasonably priced bunkhouse for a business trip.

Walking in Paris is always exciting, especially if you're a nosy investigative reporter. Don't tell me you've never come back from a walk without finding treasure at the end of the path to the left; or crossed the cobblestones, and there you see it. Your treasure. Mine was the Hotel Relais Christine, pure magic in the street of the same name, stumbled on by accident.

You can't get a room during peak season at a resort for $1,500 a night --- the rich took them all long ago. So what can you get for less than $250 a night? You'd be surprised. The editors of Budget Travel challenged themselves to find resort hotels “that don't show up on big online booking engines or get written about in fussy travel magazines.” 

Paris, France:  For many, the dream of owning a vacation home in Paris remains just that.  Perhaps they can't afford it, or maybe they think they wouldn’t use it often enough to justify the expense.  Some don’t feel knowledgeable about the rental market and unsure of how to cover their mortgage and expenses through rental income.  And for many, the hassle of managing property in a foreign country is simply more work than they are willing to take on.