Starwood Preferred Guest - Which is better, Sheraton Paris Airport Charles de Gaulle OR Trianon Palace, A Westin

I will be staying in Paris for 4-5 days in November, just looking for a nice place with good facilities (gym, pool if availbable). Given a choice between "Trianon Palace, A Westin Hotel" and "Sheraton Paris Airport Hotel Charles de Gaulle", does anyone recommend one over the other? I assume the Metro can be used from either one to move around Paris. Thanks.

BTW, I am SPG Platinum, if this effects anyone's advice as to which property is better.

No question in my mind between these 2...Trianon.

Do you know that there is also a third Starwood property right in the heart of Paris?

Where?

By the way, CDG Airport is not connected to the Paris Metro.. only to the suburban RER trains.. if you are to spend all that time in Paris, do not stay at the airport.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by knobs5:
I will be staying in Paris for 4-5 days in November, just looking for a nice place with good facilities (gym, pool if availbable). Given a choice between "Trianon Palace, A Westin Hotel" and "Sheraton Paris Airport Hotel Charles de Gaulle", does anyone recommend one over the other? I assume the Metro can be used from either one to move around Paris. Thanks.</font>

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by PremEx:
No question in my mind between these 2...Trianon.

Do you know that there is also a third Starwood property right in the heart of Paris?</font>

I got a feeling that like me, the original poster was looking to use Cash & Points award in November. Prince de Galles does not participate in this round of Cash and Points. With the exchange rate between EURO and USD, cash and points is very attractive.

correct guess. my hotel choices were limited to cash&points options. thanks all!

Understand.

But for SteveinA2, the third Starwood Paris property is:

http://www.starwood.com/preferredguest/starpoints/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=250

The Sheraton is a very nice modern airport hotel, while the Trianon is an upscale hotel with character in a classical building. No contest for a longer stay.

I would chose the Trianon Palace, Versailles being a much nicer town than CDG. Also, most of the RER trains to CDG stop in the dodgy northern suburbs of Paris, certainly unpleasant and sometimes
unsafe at night.

Make sure to buy a day pass or Paris Visite pass, as single RER tickets are fairly costly.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by knobs5:
correct guess. my hotel choices were limited to cash&points options. thanks all!</font>

I will be in Paris during Nov. 20-30. If you want to arrange a meet-up. E-mail me from my profile.

Be sure to check out Taste of Luxury Promo. The 4th night is free after paying for 3. I got a much better rate than the SPG rate.

[This message has been edited by TraveltheWorld (edited 10-10-2003).]

ok, I booked 4 nights at Trianon with cash & points. Seemed like a great deal. Question- how easy is it to get there from de gaulle airport, and how easy is it to get from the hotel to downtown paris. I called the hotel and they said best bet from the airport is a taxi, but spending 80 each way ruins this whole "budget" long weekend http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif My airfare was 350 RT from miami, and the hotel, as far as I'm concerned, almost free. Thanks all.

Hope it's ok if I jump in here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I'm taking Mrs Cattle to Paris December 28 & 29 and am looking to book at the Prince de Galles (great location). Since we will only have two days in Paris before taking the chunnel to London for 5 days I was wondering should we consider this location as well? How would you get into downtown Paris and what would it cost in Euros (we are Canadian so I can do the conversion myself http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif )

I just don't want to rule anything out and with the Château de Versailles - 500 Meters away from the hotel is it worth it to stay here or should we consider commuting their for a visit instead? (leaning towards this option myself)

Finally, are there any affordable restaurants in the area. We are the type of folk who wouldn't normally be able to pay to stay here. Cheap get aways become very expensive if you can't find reasonable food http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

knobs5 be careful of food costs. I see you are new here and there are many stories of people not realizing what it can cost to eat at some of these hotels. Your cheap weekend might get very expensive if you have options. The PdeG in Paris is very pricey for "average folk" like most of us but not out of line for those who pay to stay there. I have researched that there is affordable food to be found about 2 blocks away. Just don't want you to get the shock of a lifetime either if you aren't able to get away for a bite to eat.

Thanks to all for suggestions.

hi cattle. Thanks for the advice re expenses. Fortunately I have been to Paris a bunch of times, and I have actually been to the castle at versaille. I was not planning on eating in the Trianon hotel... I travel a lot, but the only way I can do that is by keeping expenses low. I can't afford to pay the regular rates and therefore can't afford to eat there http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Hence my cheapo airfare (hopefully with an upgrade to bus class) and I saw those hotels in Paris offered for cash&points.

The time I went to the castle ( or whatever they called it) I was staying in an apt. in downtown Paris and took a day trip - it was quite lovely and a good option for you. I forgot that the starwood property I already booked was actually out in the subburbs, but the attraction besides a price of $60/night is what seems like a decent fitness center. That's about the only amenity I'll pay for, but my understanding is that SPG platinums are exempt from gym charges (at least they have been for me so far). Essentially I'm going to Paris for a 4-day "weekend" because I had a voucher that will expire, AA indicated they can upgrade me, and cash&points. IOW - virtually all of the major expenses are free for me.

The only think is, I have not yet paid for my air ticket, and I have to by end of tomorrow. This is why I am asking those "in the know" how painful it is to a) get to/from the CDG to the hotel without paying 80 euros for a taxi, and b) to get to/from downtown Paris. It's been many years since I've done that.

[This message has been edited by knobs5 (edited 10-11-2003).]

[This message has been edited by knobs5 (edited 10-11-2003).]

knobs5, here is a little primer on public transportation to Versailles.

The best way from CDG airport to Versailles is by RER suburban train:
1. from CDG, take the RER B3 and get off at St.Michel. Trip time ~33 minutes
2. walk over to the RER C platform, St.Quentin-en-Yvelines/ Versailles Rive Droite direction.
3. Wait for a RER C5 train to Versailles Rive Droite. Trip time ~35 minutes.

Pricing is a little complex, RER pricing being on a zone system (Versailles is in zone 4), and airports being on a different (premium) price scale:
- single ticket from CDG to Paris is, IIRC, €7.70. Covers connection to any metro, but probably not all the way to Versailles.
- Paris-Versailles RER ticket should be ~€3.
- one should be able to buy a CDG-Versailles RER ticket at a manned ticket booth in CDG.
- best bet during stay: Mobilis (http://www.citefutee.com/informer/forfait1j.php) one day pass, €8.75 for zones 1-4. Not valid on airport bus/trains.
- Paris Visite (http://www.citefutee.com/informer/visiteurs.php) pass. €16.75/26.65/37.35/45.70 for respectively 1/2/3/5 days for zones 1-5. Valid on airport bus/trains + Montmartre cog train too.

Unlike say Japanese trains, one cannot pay the difference when getting off the train. If the arrival station is unmanned, the recommended solution is to jump the gates http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Printable PDF maps of RER and metro lines in Paris can be found here (http://www.citefutee.com/orienter/tous_plans_pdf.php).

Links are in French, for lack of English versions.


There are a number of normally priced restaurants in Versailles. A few on the right side of the château, some more on the main road leading to it, and more in the town center. Keep in mind Versailles is an upscale residential area, not just a tourist town.



[This message has been edited by monahos (edited 10-11-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by knobs5:
The time I went to the castle ( or whatever they called it) I was staying in an apt. in downtown Paris and took a day trip - it was quite lovely and a good option for you. </font>

knobs5 sounds like you have it all figured out http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif We too are traveling on the cheap as well http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

About the quote above. Do you recall "ballpark" what it cost to do the day trip? I think it's only about 20km (12 miles) away? Is that correct?

Mrs Cattle LOVES french history for some reason (not that it is bad, but it really caught her interest) and she doesn't even care if we see Paris compared with the castle. WOW, a woman who wants to see the palace over Paris - LOL.

I am thinking about stretching our time to 3 days in Paris and doing the points and $60 for one night at the Trianon as well.

So the question now becomes: Did you book your tickets yesterday with the deadline looming? Hope so http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I just got back from the Westin Trianon Palace and can strongly recommend it.

The positives:
--Excellent platinum recognition. Upgraded to a junior suite that was very nice and comfortable. Rates were terrific for what you get compared to Paris.
--Good food, prompt room service.
--Good concierge help. We used them several times. Once we obtained a reservation at a terrific nearby restaurant (called Valmont, try to be served by Gilles if possible).
--Literally next door to Versaille gardens and palace. Easy walk over there.
--Huge, nice spa and gym.
--The area of Versailles is very pleasant.

Negatives:
--Room service staff did not speak any english. Had to order through concierge. They could not understand my limited French.
--No platinum amenity or mention of such.

Overall, thumbs up.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by JNelson113:
--No platinum amenity or mention of such.
</font>

Usually, it is a grey box, with a ribbon, and "caramels" inside. It isn't one of my favorites http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.

Just stayed at CDG and have posted a report here

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum74/HTML/008512.html