Apr 5, 2014, 7:57 pm
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)
Dec 10, 2013, 3:03 pm
#1876
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: PHX
Posts: 4,787
Outside the center, there are some hotels that can booked with points that allow 4 in a room, but not many I don't think. I think Hilton La Defense has rooms for 4 that can sometimes be had in the premium category for Hilton points.
Otherwise, your main option is reserve with points and then pay a supplement to upgrade to a room that can accommodate 4. Marriott has a few of these properties, and they actually can be booked on line, which is nice. You just do a search for 4 and it shows you the points cost, plus the per night supplement to upgrade to a four person room.
The PHV apparently also will do this for you, but you need to call and it depends on availability. It's quite expensive, though, because the only rooms there that can handle 4 people are the highest level suites -- the Diplomatic and above. The rates on these rooms are 3x the basic room, so this is probably only a viable option if it's close to your stay and they have availability that they are willing to give you a good deal on.
We are holding a booking at the PHV using points for two rooms for a family of 4 for next summer, but I've been actively looking for better options. Marriott using points plus paying the supplement seems to be the best second choice.
Dec 10, 2013, 8:18 pm
#1877
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: EWR/JFK
Programs: AA GLD 1.xMM, MAR SLV, HH DMND, IHG PLT
Posts: 839
Dec 11, 2013, 1:57 pm
#1879
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: CVG
Programs: Hyatt Giraffe
Posts: 1,665
I don't think a single room is possible. I did manage after a lot of persistence and through a back channel to get a suite reservation for a family of 4 (2 adults 2 kids) for 33K a night - and not the diplomatic+ just a regular suite.
Dec 15, 2013, 12:43 pm
#1880
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: Marriott titanium; Hyatt Globalist; Hilton Diamond; AA Gold
Posts: 44
Diamond breakfast for 3 people?
Sorry to bring up breakfast again at this property, but was told at check-in today that the Diamond breakfast amenity was for two people only, even though there are three of us staying in a deluxe room that accommodates three.
Looking at the Diamond Membership terms and conditions which seem ambiguous to me:
3 Daily complimentary full breakfast inclusive of one entrée (or standard breakfast buffet), juice and coffee (tax, gratuity and service charges included) will be provided to the member and each registered guest in the room, maximum four (4) people when staying at Hyatt Place properties, Hyatt House properties, or Hyatt Residence Club resorts.
Does this mean it's only a maximum of 4 at Hyatt Place, Hyatt House and Hyatt Residence Club properties? If so, what's the maximum at other brands such as Park Hyatt?
Looking at the Diamond Membership terms and conditions which seem ambiguous to me:
3 Daily complimentary full breakfast inclusive of one entrée (or standard breakfast buffet), juice and coffee (tax, gratuity and service charges included) will be provided to the member and each registered guest in the room, maximum four (4) people when staying at Hyatt Place properties, Hyatt House properties, or Hyatt Residence Club resorts.
Does this mean it's only a maximum of 4 at Hyatt Place, Hyatt House and Hyatt Residence Club properties? If so, what's the maximum at other brands such as Park Hyatt?
Dec 15, 2013, 1:49 pm
#1881
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Sacramento, CA
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hyatt,Marriott,BA,AS
Posts: 4,428
My experience has been that as long as I specified when making the reservation that there were 3 adults/children in the room that I received Diamond breakfast for all of them. I have had less luck using AAA Breakfast rates where many times it is breakfast only for 2.
Dec 15, 2013, 7:07 pm
#1882
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Osaka
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, UA
Posts: 3,158
Sorry to bring up breakfast again at this property, but was told at check-in today that the Diamond breakfast amenity was for two people only, even though there are three of us staying in a deluxe room that accommodates three.
Looking at the Diamond Membership terms and conditions which seem ambiguous to me:
3 Daily complimentary full breakfast inclusive of one entrée (or standard breakfast buffet), juice and coffee (tax, gratuity and service charges included) will be provided to the member and each registered guest in the room, maximum four (4) people when staying at Hyatt Place properties, Hyatt House properties, or Hyatt Residence Club resorts.
Does this mean it's only a maximum of 4 at Hyatt Place, Hyatt House and Hyatt Residence Club properties? If so, what's the maximum at other brands such as Park Hyatt?
Looking at the Diamond Membership terms and conditions which seem ambiguous to me:
3 Daily complimentary full breakfast inclusive of one entrée (or standard breakfast buffet), juice and coffee (tax, gratuity and service charges included) will be provided to the member and each registered guest in the room, maximum four (4) people when staying at Hyatt Place properties, Hyatt House properties, or Hyatt Residence Club resorts.
Does this mean it's only a maximum of 4 at Hyatt Place, Hyatt House and Hyatt Residence Club properties? If so, what's the maximum at other brands such as Park Hyatt?
Dec 15, 2013, 7:29 pm
#1883
Moderator: GLBT Travelers & Hyatt Gold Passport
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: CVG
Posts: 15,300
Sorry to bring up breakfast again at this property, but was told at check-in today that the Diamond breakfast amenity was for two people only, even though there are three of us staying in a deluxe room that accommodates three.
Looking at the Diamond Membership terms and conditions which seem ambiguous to me:
3 Daily complimentary full breakfast inclusive of one entrée (or standard breakfast buffet), juice and coffee (tax, gratuity and service charges included) will be provided to the member and each registered guest in the room, maximum four (4) people when staying at Hyatt Place properties, Hyatt House properties, or Hyatt Residence Club resorts.
Does this mean it's only a maximum of 4 at Hyatt Place, Hyatt House and Hyatt Residence Club properties? If so, what's the maximum at other brands such as Park Hyatt?
Looking at the Diamond Membership terms and conditions which seem ambiguous to me:
3 Daily complimentary full breakfast inclusive of one entrée (or standard breakfast buffet), juice and coffee (tax, gratuity and service charges included) will be provided to the member and each registered guest in the room, maximum four (4) people when staying at Hyatt Place properties, Hyatt House properties, or Hyatt Residence Club resorts.
Does this mean it's only a maximum of 4 at Hyatt Place, Hyatt House and Hyatt Residence Club properties? If so, what's the maximum at other brands such as Park Hyatt?
Dec 15, 2013, 10:48 pm
#1884
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Mountain Time Zone
Programs: AS Million Miler/Marriott Lifetime Titanium/ IGH Ambassador
Posts: 5,992
We checked in yesterday evening and was given an executive suite with balcony! Nice touch. We are on points, and in their computer as a frequent guest. The hotel is decked out for the holidays, the local stores were ALL open yesterday (Sunday) which made it quite festive to say the least. Highly recommend it.
It does appear the hotel has put in new carpeting, needed it. Same perfume though but that's ok, it PHV!
Dec 17, 2013, 9:03 am
#1885
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Osaka
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, UA
Posts: 3,158
I agree if there are three legally registered guest then three it should be.
We checked in yesterday evening and was given an executive suite with balcony! Nice touch. We are on points, and in their computer as a frequent guest. The hotel is decked out for the holidays, the local stores were ALL open yesterday (Sunday) which made it quite festive to say the least. Highly recommend it.
It does appear the hotel has put in new carpeting, needed it. Same perfume though but that's ok, it PHV!
We checked in yesterday evening and was given an executive suite with balcony! Nice touch. We are on points, and in their computer as a frequent guest. The hotel is decked out for the holidays, the local stores were ALL open yesterday (Sunday) which made it quite festive to say the least. Highly recommend it.
It does appear the hotel has put in new carpeting, needed it. Same perfume though but that's ok, it PHV!
Dec 17, 2013, 12:09 pm
#1886
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Mountain Time Zone
Programs: AS Million Miler/Marriott Lifetime Titanium/ IGH Ambassador
Posts: 5,992
Dec 17, 2013, 6:54 pm
#1887
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Osaka
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, UA
Posts: 3,158
We've booked a suite on points for next May, even though it is a bit extravagant for us, since I had just enough pts for the standard award for 6 nights and had to purchase the difference to get the suite, but could not pass up the 'bargain' of getting the suite for 33K pts/night when it will go up to 48K/night very shortly. from reviews, the size, layout, and overall quality of the suites received on awards sure seems to vary, so hope we get lucky.
Dec 17, 2013, 10:35 pm
#1888
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Mountain Time Zone
Programs: AS Million Miler/Marriott Lifetime Titanium/ IGH Ambassador
Posts: 5,992
Do you find the traffic noisy? We had a courtyard room this past May and are planing to ask for a street facing room if one is available this coming May. I found the courtyard to be a bit noisy at times with people talking (although to be fair, my wife thought it quiet enough).
We've booked a suite on points for next May, even though it is a bit extravagant for us, since I had just enough pts for the standard award for 6 nights and had to purchase the difference to get the suite, but could not pass up the 'bargain' of getting the suite for 33K pts/night when it will go up to 48K/night very shortly. from reviews, the size, layout, and overall quality of the suites received on awards sure seems to vary, so hope we get lucky.
We've booked a suite on points for next May, even though it is a bit extravagant for us, since I had just enough pts for the standard award for 6 nights and had to purchase the difference to get the suite, but could not pass up the 'bargain' of getting the suite for 33K pts/night when it will go up to 48K/night very shortly. from reviews, the size, layout, and overall quality of the suites received on awards sure seems to vary, so hope we get lucky.
Dec 18, 2013, 6:04 am
#1889
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: Alaska 100K - MM, defender of shoes on the carpeted bulkhead 4ever, AA LT PLT, Hyatt Glob, HH Dia
Posts: 7,447
Paris - Park Vendome - REVIEWS - MASTER THREAD - 8/2011 Forwards
Traffic noise on rue de la paix is bad early in the morning. Courtyard was much quieter this past week.
Dec 18, 2013, 6:17 am
#1890
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Do you find the traffic noisy? We had a courtyard room this past May and are planing to ask for a street facing room if one is available this coming May. I found the courtyard to be a bit noisy at times with people talking (although to be fair, my wife thought it quiet enough).
We've booked a suite on points for next May, even though it is a bit extravagant for us, since I had just enough pts for the standard award for 6 nights and had to purchase the difference to get the suite, but could not pass up the 'bargain' of getting the suite for 33K pts/night when it will go up to 48K/night very shortly. from reviews, the size, layout, and overall quality of the suites received on awards sure seems to vary, so hope we get lucky.
We've booked a suite on points for next May, even though it is a bit extravagant for us, since I had just enough pts for the standard award for 6 nights and had to purchase the difference to get the suite, but could not pass up the 'bargain' of getting the suite for 33K pts/night when it will go up to 48K/night very shortly. from reviews, the size, layout, and overall quality of the suites received on awards sure seems to vary, so hope we get lucky.