Last edit by: skj
I'm making this thread a wiki since there are issues that keep getting repeated (breakfast and transportation from/to CDG). Feel free to add whatever you feel is important - stick to facts of please and not one off exceptions (eg if you get an upgrade to the Presidential Suite on an award stay without any status - that's definitely a one off that doesn't belong in the WIKI - obviously you can do a regular post on it).
Public transport to the hotel from CDG
The best option is to take the Roissy bus to Opera. From there, the hotel is about a 5 minute walk.
The next best option is to take RER B to Chatelet-Les Halles. All trains from Roissy/CDG head south into Paris so no worries there. Some go express all the way into Paris (Gare du Nord, so Chatelet-Les Halles is the second stop); others are locals, in which case there are a lot of stops; some are half-express, half-local ... but all stop at Chatelet-Les Halles; and there is no point waiting for an express because it is rare if ever that an express will overtake a local. So get on whatever comes first. At Chatelet-Les Halles, transfer to RER A for one stop to Auber (which is joined to Opera station). You will be heading westbound, toward the termini St. Germain-en-Laye/Poissy/Cergny. You have to go up the stairs and back down for the Auber-bound train. Do not race across the platform for the RER B because that will be heading eastbound, to Gare de Lyon, Nation, Vincennes (and, depending on which one you get on, eventually Eurodisney!) The walk from the Auber exit closest to the RER stop takes about 10 minutes.
Public transport to the hotel from Orly
Take the Orlyval train to its end at Antony, then switch to RER B to Chatelet-Les-Halles and continue as above. In this case you can just cross the platform from the RER B to get the RER A headed to Auber.
Breakfast
The breakfast at Cafe Jeanne is free for Globalist members but is 40-50 euros per person otherwise. A modified but still very good version of this buffet breakfast is also available in the room and is also free for Globalists. Tips are not covered but then again the theory in France is that the service charge is in the price.
Museum tickets & pass from the concierge
You can buy "skip the line" tickets to the Louvre or Orsay for 18€ each, which is higher than the regular tickets via the Louvre & Orsay websites. But being able to "skip the line" obviously adds some value. They will also sell you the two day Paris Museum Pass for 55€. That is a 7€ markup.
Phone/data recommendations:
Lebara worked really well for me. What you need to do:
• You must unlock your phone (you can do this for free online with ATT through their website if you are out of contract)
• Order free SIM card at Lebara.fr a few weeks before your trip. I don’t think it took more than 2 weeks for my SIM card to arrive
• Activate SIM card at https://www.lebara.fr/activate-sim-detail?isoCode=en_GB or search “activate SIM” at Lebara.fr
• Load your SIM card with what you need. I paid 10 euro for 3G of data, unlimited SMS and local calls for 10 days (this should be plenty for most tourists)
LeFrench Mobile did not work so well for me: I paid 20-30 euro for local and international calls for my sister but was only able to make local calls and SMS
restaurant recommendations:
Nearby:
(We're here on 1 Oct 2021 and it appears this restaurant is closed permanently ...) Le Cap Bourbon- good, inexpensive, our server was nice and attentive (by French standards), great local crowd, menu has English translation
We ate a local Thai restaurant - Yo - its about a 5 minute walk from the hotel and very busy. I had a guinea fowl green curry - a first for me. Very good food and friendly service.
Other:
L'Avant Comptoir is a wine bar with great,relatively cheap eats and a great atmosphere and friendly, English-speaking staff. Standing room only and tight.
Public transport to the hotel from CDG
The best option is to take the Roissy bus to Opera. From there, the hotel is about a 5 minute walk.
The next best option is to take RER B to Chatelet-Les Halles. All trains from Roissy/CDG head south into Paris so no worries there. Some go express all the way into Paris (Gare du Nord, so Chatelet-Les Halles is the second stop); others are locals, in which case there are a lot of stops; some are half-express, half-local ... but all stop at Chatelet-Les Halles; and there is no point waiting for an express because it is rare if ever that an express will overtake a local. So get on whatever comes first. At Chatelet-Les Halles, transfer to RER A for one stop to Auber (which is joined to Opera station). You will be heading westbound, toward the termini St. Germain-en-Laye/Poissy/Cergny. You have to go up the stairs and back down for the Auber-bound train. Do not race across the platform for the RER B because that will be heading eastbound, to Gare de Lyon, Nation, Vincennes (and, depending on which one you get on, eventually Eurodisney!) The walk from the Auber exit closest to the RER stop takes about 10 minutes.
Public transport to the hotel from Orly
Take the Orlyval train to its end at Antony, then switch to RER B to Chatelet-Les-Halles and continue as above. In this case you can just cross the platform from the RER B to get the RER A headed to Auber.
Breakfast
The breakfast at Cafe Jeanne is free for Globalist members but is 40-50 euros per person otherwise. A modified but still very good version of this buffet breakfast is also available in the room and is also free for Globalists. Tips are not covered but then again the theory in France is that the service charge is in the price.
Museum tickets & pass from the concierge
You can buy "skip the line" tickets to the Louvre or Orsay for 18€ each, which is higher than the regular tickets via the Louvre & Orsay websites. But being able to "skip the line" obviously adds some value. They will also sell you the two day Paris Museum Pass for 55€. That is a 7€ markup.
Phone/data recommendations:
Lebara worked really well for me. What you need to do:
• You must unlock your phone (you can do this for free online with ATT through their website if you are out of contract)
• Order free SIM card at Lebara.fr a few weeks before your trip. I don’t think it took more than 2 weeks for my SIM card to arrive
• Activate SIM card at https://www.lebara.fr/activate-sim-detail?isoCode=en_GB or search “activate SIM” at Lebara.fr
• Load your SIM card with what you need. I paid 10 euro for 3G of data, unlimited SMS and local calls for 10 days (this should be plenty for most tourists)
LeFrench Mobile did not work so well for me: I paid 20-30 euro for local and international calls for my sister but was only able to make local calls and SMS
restaurant recommendations:
Nearby:
(We're here on 1 Oct 2021 and it appears this restaurant is closed permanently ...) Le Cap Bourbon- good, inexpensive, our server was nice and attentive (by French standards), great local crowd, menu has English translation
We ate a local Thai restaurant - Yo - its about a 5 minute walk from the hotel and very busy. I had a guinea fowl green curry - a first for me. Very good food and friendly service.
Other:
L'Avant Comptoir is a wine bar with great,relatively cheap eats and a great atmosphere and friendly, English-speaking staff. Standing room only and tight.
Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme REVIEW - MASTER THREAD (Aug 2011 onward)
#3886
Join Date: Mar 2015
Programs: Hyatt Lifetime Globalist, Marriott Gold, BA Gold
Posts: 660
I did a couple of years ago and happy for it. One issue with constantly staying at the same hotel for any number of times in a year like flying on an airline there are going to be good stays and not so good stays. Having said that the PHV has been in a slow downward spiral for quite sometime now. Claudio whom we all thought would bring the hotel back I think has been hampered by ownership in dollars going out versus dollars coming in. It's just not the same so I agree move on. We did
#3887
#3889
#3890
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: LGA/JFK/EWR
Programs: UA 1K1.75MM, Hyatt Globalist, abandoned Marriott LTT (RIP SPG), Hertz PC
Posts: 21,165
Looking at a 2 day weekend stay in Q1 - Park King available on points, and it's a standard 48 hour cancel (not advance purchase). That should force availability on points, right? It's not showing up.
Am I missing something here? Thx.
EDIT - it's a "Guaranteed Avail" rate which prices higher than the standard 700-800 EUR rate but still is for the base room and has no advance purchase requirement.
Am I missing something here? Thx.
EDIT - it's a "Guaranteed Avail" rate which prices higher than the standard 700-800 EUR rate but still is for the base room and has no advance purchase requirement.
Last edited by UA-NYC; Nov 29, 2019 at 7:23 pm
#3891
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: AUH
Posts: 8,258
Looking at a 2 day weekend stay in Q1 - Park King available on points, and it's a standard 48 hour cancel (not advance purchase). That should force availability on points, right? It's not showing up.
Am I missing something here? Thx.
EDIT - it's a "Guaranteed Avail" rate which prices higher than the standard 700-800 EUR rate but still is for the base room and has no advance purchase requirement.
Am I missing something here? Thx.
EDIT - it's a "Guaranteed Avail" rate which prices higher than the standard 700-800 EUR rate but still is for the base room and has no advance purchase requirement.
#3892
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: LGA/JFK/EWR
Programs: UA 1K1.75MM, Hyatt Globalist, abandoned Marriott LTT (RIP SPG), Hertz PC
Posts: 21,165
#3893
#3894
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: LAX
Posts: 1,206
Just returned from a points stay at PHV last week. This was my 7th time at the hotel. I was Diamond/Globalist on prior stays, but now I'm just Explorist. Upgraded to what, from prior experience, I think must be a deluxe room (the differences are minor, but the room was larger than some I have had). Was also pleased to learn that breakfast is now 50% off for Explorists. We used that benefit all but one morning. To me, the breakfast is definitely worth 25 euros (but certainly not worth 50 euros). My prior visits were not acknowledged at check-in, but the hotel did send a welcome amenity (Bordeaux and root vegetable crisps) with a note welcoming me back to my "Paris Residence." It was an unexpected gesture that I appreciated. Overall, the stay was excellent. The hotel is showing signs of age (and honestly has been for a while), but it's elegant enough that I'm not particularly bothered. I do prefer staying in suites here, but 60 nights in Hyatt brands just doesn't work for me anymore--especially when I could stay 60 nights (75 but 15 from Bonvoy card) in Marriott brands (of which there are many times more) for roughly the same benefits and just use UR points for PH leisure stays.
#3895
Join Date: Dec 2019
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, free agent otherwise
Posts: 4
Does a Globalist need a CSU here in February
Hi all, I haven't been on this forum in years and I don't use my previous e-mail address anymore, so I had to register anew...
Anyway, I am a Hyatt Globalist and I have a stay the this hotel coming up in February. Sun, 2/9-Thurs, 2/13
I want to use my 1-7 cert, but I also want a suite. I figured I would surely get upgraded since my stay is weekdays in the winter, but reading some of this thread it looks like that might not be the case.
So should I risk it, or just suck it up and use all points with the CSU?
TIA! My wife and I have never done Paris, so we are really looking forward to this trip.
Anyway, I am a Hyatt Globalist and I have a stay the this hotel coming up in February. Sun, 2/9-Thurs, 2/13
I want to use my 1-7 cert, but I also want a suite. I figured I would surely get upgraded since my stay is weekdays in the winter, but reading some of this thread it looks like that might not be the case.
So should I risk it, or just suck it up and use all points with the CSU?
TIA! My wife and I have never done Paris, so we are really looking forward to this trip.
#3896
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: IAH
Programs: UA 2MM, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,150
Hi all, I haven't been on this forum in years and I don't use my previous e-mail address anymore, so I had to register anew...
Anyway, I am a Hyatt Globalist and I have a stay the this hotel coming up in February. Sun, 2/9-Thurs, 2/13
I want to use my 1-7 cert, but I also want a suite. I figured I would surely get upgraded since my stay is weekdays in the winter, but reading some of this thread it looks like that might not be the case.
So should I risk it, or just suck it up and use all points with the CSU?
TIA! My wife and I have never done Paris, so we are really looking forward to this trip.
Anyway, I am a Hyatt Globalist and I have a stay the this hotel coming up in February. Sun, 2/9-Thurs, 2/13
I want to use my 1-7 cert, but I also want a suite. I figured I would surely get upgraded since my stay is weekdays in the winter, but reading some of this thread it looks like that might not be the case.
So should I risk it, or just suck it up and use all points with the CSU?
TIA! My wife and I have never done Paris, so we are really looking forward to this trip.
#3897
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,334
IME this property is more generous to repeat guests. If a suite is desired for one's first stay here, confirm it in advance and set your expectations that you will probably get a junior suite or slightly larger room with a sitting area but having an extremely nice huge bathroom.
#3898
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Niwot, CO
Programs: AA XP, BA G, AS 100K, Hyatt G
Posts: 147
I have stayed at the PHV ~10x in the past several years as a a Diamond/Globalist and always received an upgrade at every visit, to at least a Deluxe but a Jr Suite almost every time. It could be just luck.
#3899
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 1,025
Just stayed last week and for the first time I did not get an upgrade since the hotel was fully booked (double checked on the app and it was). The regular room really is tiny lol. Hotel overall is still great though. Got a tour of one of their presidential suites and it was great.
#3900
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: MD, USA
Programs: UA- Pl (2MM), AA-Go, Delta-Silver, Hyatt-Globalist!, MR/SPG comb - Plat, Hilton - nada
Posts: 704
Just about to have my 1st stay here...prev Paris stays always at Louvre or Madeleine. Two nights...1 with cert, 1 with points. As many have said, this is an "aspiration " property like PH Sydney or PH Tokyo. Have always wanted to try it.
Staying as Globalist, no further upgrade tools...guess all depends on hotel once we arrive.
Just to confirm we definitely get full restaurant breakfast, correct? Do they still do room serv breakfast for Globs?
Any evening amenities? Drinks or snacks?
Anything else we can expect or request?
Thanks
Staying as Globalist, no further upgrade tools...guess all depends on hotel once we arrive.
Just to confirm we definitely get full restaurant breakfast, correct? Do they still do room serv breakfast for Globs?
Any evening amenities? Drinks or snacks?
Anything else we can expect or request?
Thanks