aussieinsf

No - unless you are really tired of Paris - the rates at the hotel are usually 60-70 euros a night above a comparable room in central Paris. The Le Meridien Montparnasse is right next to the Air France CDG bus stop. Even after the 25 euro RT ticket, you'll still be ahead and have a much more interesting stop over. Beyond SPG - a hotel near the Chatelet or Saint Michel RER stations would be a better bet, just give yourself an early start in the morning.

MSPeconomist

I did it last summer when I had a layover of about 23 hours. I had thought that I would take the RER into the city for dinner, but a very good AF business class lunch (light but late) and the generous and good evening lounge offerings convinced me not to bother. If you have time to kill, you can explore the landside areas of the airport or watch the planes from your room. It's generally expensive for a Sheraton, although the rates seem to vary due to yield management. I don't like to get up and out early for a morning flight, so staying at CDG worked very well for me. I would do it this way again, especially as SPG Plat (upgrade only to regualr king club room) so that I'm guaranteed lounge access.

My only complaint was that the AC didn't do very much. There was no AC on in my room (top floor) when I arrived and it only very gradually got cooler. Hallways (atrium design) were hot too. This was a warm but not exceptionally hot or sunny day, so that I would expect the place to be truly unbearable on a genuinely hot day.

MSPeconomist

In my case, I go to Paris regularly and had just spent a week there earlier on my trip. If I were to stay in the city for one night, I would make an advanced reservation in a small hotel (but one that I could trust for a wakeup call) in the 6th near the RER St Michel or Luxembourg stations. To me, the hotel at Montparnasse is just a big ugly plastic chain skyscraper, also overpriced, and it's not in my favorite neighborhood. I would not try to return to the airport via bus because they can be very late due to traffic.

There's a Starwood property (Westin???) on the right bank, probably a subway stop or two from Chatelet, but some colleagues of mine who stayed there on points last summer didn't like it very much. Also, anything decent in that area will be expensive and over-run with tourists.

stimpy

The bathrooms on the 4th floor seem to have been slightly improved. The shower head is certainly new.

This is the first time that I can recall using the Club Lounge in the evening. Nice eats and decent wine too. ^ And Free Wifi.

Decent rates these days too.

Cupart

Well, the hotel is fine enough but what aggravates me is that a bill of EUR 199 for one night jumps to EUR 203 after an involuntary charity payment have been added to my bill AND tax? TAX!!!! We're in Europe!!!!

I was late for my departure, so I didn't make a fuss about it, but it irritates me that Sheraton @ CDG do this. If I have had the time I would have asked to have this removed from my invoice as I NEVER asked for it OR even was made aware of it when checking in.

Some people may find it very difficult to tell them that you don't want the donation on the invoice either as some people might find it difficult to do so as others around them may have a lesser thought of that person (?) what do I know...

Also, only once before have I paid extra tax for a night in downtown Paris but this was a small luxury boutique style hotel. Why can't Sheraton have this included like ell other chains have?

SHAME ON YOU SHERATON.

Not going to stay there anymore that's for sure!

NDDomer86

I'm confused, are you talking about taxing the donation or taxing the room rate? If you are talking about the room rate, then please tell which hotels you are staying at that include the tax in the rate. I have stayed at numerous hotels across a wide variety of brands and all of them quote a room rate exclusive of tax.

Cupart

Hi bulldoggolfer05,

In Europe, tax is (or should) already be included in the advertised price!

The hotel in question is, as the topic of the thread, Sheraton at CDG (Paris, France). Two different additions to the bill:

1. Nightly tax AND
2. An "involuntary donation"

I have only once before out of around 10 stays in Paris last year been subjected to the "extra" rip off tax and the hotels were:

1. Sheraton, CDG, and
2. The Meliá Colbert Boutique Hotel, Paris 75005

stimpy

You may not be aware, but all Starwoods have the Unicef charity thing (at least in Europe they do) and it is NOT involuntary. You can ask to have it removed.

JOUY31

I agree, although I haven't seen this being the case in the UK.

JOUY31

I don't stay very often at this property, given my home location and the price. When I do take a room at CDG, it is usually the Hilton for a night or the Ibis in the wintertime for a few hours. I do use the lobby bar very often after landing, and it is always nice to be able to use the Wireless network or the PCs with the printers for free with my SPG membership number. I haven't figured out whether it is linked to status, but I haven't really tried to ask the hotel staff .

paulmoscow

All hotels in France pay a local tax (taxe de séjour.) It is charged per person per night and is rarely included in the published rate. Fortunately, these sums are tiny.

Cupart

.

Yes, all hotels in France have this tax, BUT out of 30+ stays last year 2 hotels (as said before) added this on afterwards which almost brings us to US standards

I was under the impression that the final price quoted when buying a good or service within the EU, that it was the final price, taxes or no taxes...

Cupart

I'm very well aware of it, but it's added without my consent from the start. It's a little like you have to tick a box if you don't want to receive advertisement and other spam which is very misleading as you usually tick a box if you agree to something you specifically have asked for

slidergirl

As for the free WiFi, yes, it's still here (I'm typing on one of their free terminals now). All you need is either your Spg number, your name & room #, or a guest login ID from the front desk. If you're transiting CDG, it makes for a nice quiet (except when a crying baby appears...) spot to login from. I've been sitting here for 2 hours and no one has checked on me yet. I AM going to check-in, but my room won't be ready until 1pm. I got here early this morning to see 2 good friends off on their trips back to the US and to Kenya. You can use one of their termnals or plug in your own laptop/netbook/iPhone/iTouch/etc on their WiFi.

GVA

Actually adding taxes on top is only done in or around London. The rest of the UK is generally inclusive of taxes.