There's a simple rule of thumb you need to bear in mind when looking for a hotel in Paris - what is it you actually require from the place you're going to be staying in? This may seem extremely obvious, but my experience is that people often forget this basic principle.

There's a simple rule of thumb you need to bear in mind when looking for a Paris hotel - what is it you actually require from the place you're going to be staying in? This sounds very obvious, but my experience is that people often forget this basic principle.

So let's examine the question in more detail, so we can develop a set of criteria to use when sifting through the list of Paris hotels we can find online. Once we've done this, we are in a much better position to choose the ideal hotel for our particular purposes.

The basis for all hotel stays is obviously the reason why you're going to be there in the first place. This will most likely be either for a holiday or city break, or for work. There are, of course, other possibilities (such as visiting relatives, attending a party etc.), but we find these are the 2 most common reasons for wanting to stay in a hotel.

Once we have in mind why it is we're going, we then need to determine where in Paris will be the best place for us to be based. This will take into account factors such as whether you want to be near the town centre, near to any sightseeing opportunities, or near to where you'll be working.

Now you know this, you'll want to decide on the kind of facilities that the hotel should have. It's almost certain that every modern hotel will come with an en suite bathroom, though you can potentially save some cash if this isn't necessary for you. And you should think whether you want the place to have a bar or somewhere you can get dinner.

Back in the day, it was unusual for holiday accommodation to include a gym or swimming pool on site, but this is much more common now. And if you feel the need to go online while you're away, you should check if the hotel has wifi internet access, which is increasingly the norm.

Having mentioned money, this is a very obvious issue that you'll want to address. No point looking for 5 star luxury if you simply can't afford to pay the amount it would cost per night. Paris certainly has its fair share of hotels to choose from in all price brackets, so you should easily find something suitable with just a few minute's investigation.

So, knowing whereabouts you want to be, and the kind of facilities you want from your hotel, you'll want to check out all the hotels in Paris that match your criteria. You can compare them all against the list of features you've decided upon, and home in on the best match.

Finally, of course, you'll need to include the dates of your stay. Many hotels will not be available for all the days you want, so you'll want to check against each of them to ensure you can get the hotel you want when it comes to booking online.