Hostels have been around for ever and the meaning  of 'hostel' varies somewhat.  However, if you're a student looking for an inexpensive place to stay while traveling abroad, you need to be aware to search for 'Youth Hostel' rather than just 'hostel'.  You'll find 'Hostels or Hostelleries' online, but they normally or more of a lodge type accommodation, or similar to a motel and they are not youth hostels.  Also, their prices are not as inexpensive as the youth hostels.  Youth hostels would probably accept older folks for limited reasons, but the age for 'Youth rates" in hostels, trains or whatever are based on the ages of older teens to the ripe old age of twenty-six, in other words the 'Student'.

Hostels take on a couple of different meanings.  A France hostel, it's original meaning was supply housing for youth, and the room prices - very reasonable.  Today many establishments call their place of business a Hostel or Hostellerie although they are not a 'youth hostel' as noted above.  If it is actually called a 'Youth Hostel' then the rates are much more reasonable, and cater to the person from their teens to mid-twenties.

English: I would like a hostel in Paris please
French: j'aimerais réserver une hôtellerie à Paris s'il vous plaît

Hotels in Paris, around France or the other French speaking countries are called Hôtels. However, it is isn't pronounced the same at all.  So when you ask for a hotel, it would be 'l'hotel de" whatever and an example would be the Hotel Splendid in Paris [or Nice]. In French the word hotel, the letter 'H' is mute, so Hotel in French becomes 'O-tel'.  You would ask for the "l'hotel splendid si vous plait" and that would be pronounced 'lah oh-tel splan-deed see vooh play".  The 'h' is mueted in hotel, but the word is spelled the same, it just isn't pronounced the same.

English: I would like to book a hotel in Paris please
French:  j'aimerais réserver un hôtel à Paris s'il vous plaît

Hotels in France are rated by stars by government regulation. The French government hotel rating system is by the number of stars. There are ratings from one star through five stars.  The one start rating being the simplest and the five star being the most luxurious.  The ratings are derived from the size of the room, the hotels facilities, room with or without a bath, renovations to the facility, including elevators and other updated features.

Hotel Star Ratings: A France hotel [and all European hotels] are rated by one *star to five stars***** rating for the that particular hotel's rooms, that includes the many amenities that the hotel offers.  A *star hotel will be a very basic accommodation, with very few amenities. And as each star is added, so are the amenities overall.  However, the ambience and amenities are not equal, so you need to note what amenities you would like included in your hotel room.  Many hotels fall into the category of a *** star or **** star rating [probably the majority fall into this category].  But once you get into the ***** star rating, you are at the upper end hotel, a premium deluxe room or suite price range. 

You'll find that many of the Residence Hotels will fall into the *** star or **** star range, but they do not compare to that of a *** or **** star hotel in ambience, decor and amenities.  Again, this is the French government rating system for a hotel,  or other type lodging, and the hotel has to meet certain criteria to get it's stars whether it is a Hotel or Residence Hotel.  The reason probably for the higher rating of the Residence Hotel is due to the fact that it is a totally furnished apartment, whereas the Hotel Room or Suite is just that.  It doesn't have the kitchen and other additional amenities.

Other factors included in the France star hotel rating system would be if the hotel has a restaurant or dining options possibly with breakfast included.  Additional amenities such as health facilities, pool or spa are also part of the rating system.  It is also known that some hotels do opt for lower star ratings due to the taxes levied on them in France.  A good guide to use for hotel ratings is the Michelin Red Guide.  It somewhat sets the standard in France and Europe as well.  There are plenty of cheap hotels in Paris and cheap hotels around France that have three and four star ratings.  So just do your homework, check the hotel out as much as possible, and view what they have to offer and make your decision. 

Another thing to keep in mind, the hotels in Europe overall may be several hundred years old.  They can be extraordinarily beautiful, but the updating over the years may or may not be lacking.  In towns that were bombed out, hotels will have that early fifties modern look, but don't expect the new that is so common in the states.  Unless you're in a four to five start accommodation, just enjoy the antiquity of your hotel or other accommodation.

Other Type Accommodations available would be to rent a home for at least a week or longer, or other unique type of accommodations such as renovated but water mill, abbey, and other really unique lodgings. Or check out a France timeshare.

Residence Hotels / Apart Hotels are apartments, condos or hotels designed for long term stays of more than two weeks.  Residence Hotels are fully furnished to the extent that they normally will have complete
kitchen [cuisine complet] set-up of dishes, cooking pots, coffee maker, toasters, microwave ovens etc., you'll
just have to shop for the groceries if you want to cook in.  The bath will normally have a shower [not  necessarily a bathtub] and is set-up with a hair dryer, towels, soaps, tissue and kleenex.  A residence hotel is very reasonably  priced compared to a regular hotel.  As noted above, many residence hotels carry a ****star rating. Bathtubs are becoming the standard as properties update.

Most resident or apart hotels have ratings of at least three to four star ratings, and they are not the same type accommodations as that of a four star hotel,  when it comes to interiors, furnishings and amenities.  They are however, much more reasonably priced, normally quite comfortable and have fully equipped kitchens.  Many will have a washer/dryer combination [very much a standard in Europe] and of course a refrigerator [most likely not a full sized one but an under counter one] cook top, microwave and dishwasher.  But you must ask specifically what the apartment or hotel includes in the kitchen [cuisine] to make sure it has the necessities that you'll need.  The same with the bath, normally you'll find a shower rather than a tub, and most will at least have a hairdryer, paper products and towels, but you need to check on these items.

I would like to book a residence hotel [also called an apart hotel]
j'aimerais réserver un à part hôtel à Paris s'il vous plaît OR
j'aimerais réserver un hôtel de résidence à Paris s'il vous plaît