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)
Jun 7, 2015, 8:44 am
#2566
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Jun 7, 2015, 9:00 am
#2567
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Mountain Time Zone
Programs: AS Million Miler/Marriott Lifetime Titanium/ IGH Ambassador
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Folks, with all due respect, this is a hotel we are talking about, a hotel in a very busy part of Paris, so the vast majority of the rooms are subject to noise. This is not Schloss Elmau after all. 
Putting the comment by scented into context; ironically, the original Hyatt Place set up has very quiet rooms, top floor at the end of each corridor right next to the stairway (hardly anyone uses a stairway in the US anyway...)
But there is one problem, quite often the rooms closest to the elevator are larger, so what should a hotel employee do in case a Diamond guest requests a large room and a quiet room in his profile or in advance?
They upgraded Hammy to a larger room, they even offered a free bottle of Champagne and probably did everything they could during a very busy week...
BTW, 3M has very inexpensive 'noise-cancelling options' in various colours.@:-)
Putting the comment by scented into context; ironically, the original Hyatt Place set up has very quiet rooms, top floor at the end of each corridor right next to the stairway (hardly anyone uses a stairway in the US anyway...)
But there is one problem, quite often the rooms closest to the elevator are larger, so what should a hotel employee do in case a Diamond guest requests a large room and a quiet room in his profile or in advance?
They upgraded Hammy to a larger room, they even offered a free bottle of Champagne and probably did everything they could during a very busy week...
BTW, 3M has very inexpensive 'noise-cancelling options' in various colours.@:-)
I agree and add we need to realize that this is Europe not America and stop whining especially if your on points, I mean come on folks let's not be the Ugly American's. And I think that the front desk staff has a firm grasp on what rooms are good and what ones are marginal, they just don't think as we do and obsess with room location. It's Paris get outside and enjoy it. An extra glass of wine works wonders on sleep!
Jun 7, 2015, 10:16 am
#2568
Join Date: May 2002
Location: West Coast
Programs: AA, WN, Hyatt, Club Carlson, HHonors, MRewards, CET, M Life
Posts: 1,959
I truly appreciate the manager's patience to find us a quieter room. The last one we moved to, although facing the street, had no noise at all. Street noises I have ear plugs for, but not even a Bose headset could mask the movements of the staff carts and the docking door closing and opening.
Despite the initial hiccups, we had a pleasant and restful stay. I'm baffled at the need to rush to defend a hotel or to minimize what others perceive as an issue. Obviously I liked this property enough to return for the 3rd time. I had no reason to believe that we were put in the noisy rooms deliberately, but thought the level of attention to detail would be higher for a hotel of this caliber.
Do I dare to bring up that the service received was not up to par? I asked the Concierge to reconfirm a dinner reservation for me, and the woman never called back as she said she would. Some staff members had neither a smile nor a greeting, even after we gave both. Anyway, it is just one stay experience and people can believe what they want.
Despite the initial hiccups, we had a pleasant and restful stay. I'm baffled at the need to rush to defend a hotel or to minimize what others perceive as an issue. Obviously I liked this property enough to return for the 3rd time. I had no reason to believe that we were put in the noisy rooms deliberately, but thought the level of attention to detail would be higher for a hotel of this caliber.
Do I dare to bring up that the service received was not up to par? I asked the Concierge to reconfirm a dinner reservation for me, and the woman never called back as she said she would. Some staff members had neither a smile nor a greeting, even after we gave both. Anyway, it is just one stay experience and people can believe what they want.
Jun 7, 2015, 10:24 am
#2569
Join Date: May 2002
Location: West Coast
Programs: AA, WN, Hyatt, Club Carlson, HHonors, MRewards, CET, M Life
Posts: 1,959
I agree and add we need to realize that this is Europe not America and stop whining especially if your on points, I mean come on folks let's not be the Ugly American's. And I think that the front desk staff has a firm grasp on what rooms are good and what ones are marginal, they just don't think as we do and obsess with room location. It's Paris get outside and enjoy it. An extra glass of wine works wonders on sleep!
Love truly is blind. If this is whining then I leave the thread to all those cheerleaders who just want to praise to each other what fantastic treatment they get each and every time.
Jun 7, 2015, 10:46 am
#2570
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Midwest
Programs: Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 757
You are entitled to your opinions, however, I agree with you that many may object since the service at PHV has frequently been regarded as one of the main highlights of PHV.
Speculation here, but with all the complaints, I wondered if you many be labeled a difficult guest in the system.
Jun 7, 2015, 11:26 am
#2571
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: BKK
Posts: 6,741
Sounds like this poster has unrealistic exectations of this hotel. $500~$600/night (corporate rate?) is not high for Paris. Booking a standard room at this hotel, especially at a discounted rate, and requesting a quiet room does not by any means guarantee VIP treatment or that the hotel will pre-block the best room.
Irritatingly, the poster seems oblivious to the fact that he was actually treated well and moved twice in order to get a room to his liking. Sounds like a V8. This "incident" probably does not merit further discussion.
Irritatingly, the poster seems oblivious to the fact that he was actually treated well and moved twice in order to get a room to his liking. Sounds like a V8. This "incident" probably does not merit further discussion.
Last edited by MikeFromTokyo; Jun 7, 2015 at 11:35 am
Jun 7, 2015, 11:39 am
#2572
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Planet Earth
Programs: | *G | STE | HGP ♦ | SPG Au | MR Au
Posts: 3,772
Checked in last night as our final stop of our 10th wedding anniversary trip. Currently very irritated as we've lost sleep and time and switched rooms twice... Just thought it was a bad prank on us. Don't understand how a request for a quiet room led to two noisy ones!
All I asked for was a quiet room. It would be common sense that it's noisy above the delivery door and across the housekeeping room. I value time and sleep more than the half bottle of champagne and some extra space, which was a nice gesture but unasked for. Certainly such a simple request could be handled even at a Hilton on a regular day, not to mention on a special celebration.
If they didn't move you or acknowledge that they made a mistake, I would have an entirely different view of the whole situation.
Last edited by DHalltheway; Jun 7, 2015 at 11:45 am
Jun 7, 2015, 4:14 pm
#2573
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Mountain Time Zone
Programs: AS Million Miler/Marriott Lifetime Titanium/ IGH Ambassador
Posts: 5,992
Sounds like this poster has unrealistic exectations of this hotel. $500~$600/night (corporate rate?) is not high for Paris. Booking a standard room at this hotel, especially at a discounted rate, and requesting a quiet room does not by any means guarantee VIP treatment or that the hotel will pre-block the best room.
Irritatingly, the poster seems oblivious to the fact that he was actually treated well and moved twice in order to get a room to his liking. Sounds like a V8. This "incident" probably does not merit further discussion.
Irritatingly, the poster seems oblivious to the fact that he was actually treated well and moved twice in order to get a room to his liking. Sounds like a V8. This "incident" probably does not merit further discussion.
Jun 8, 2015, 1:53 am
#2574
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Some of the quietest rooms at this property have very little natural sunlight reaching the bed/living area as the "view" is into a nearby wall where you can look into the windows of some offices that are less than fifty feet away. Those may be great rooms if you want quiet, dark rooms, but not so great if you want a view of street life on the move and a decent dose of natural light entering the room. The trade-offs are there.
Jun 8, 2015, 3:06 am
#2575
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: Everything is refundable
Posts: 3,727
Some of the quietest rooms at this property have very little natural sunlight reaching the bed/living area as the "view" is into a nearby wall where you can look into the windows of some offices that are less than fifty feet away. Those may be great rooms if you want quiet, dark rooms, but not so great if you want a view of street life on the move and a decent dose of natural light entering the room. The trade-offs are there.
Jun 8, 2015, 4:05 am
#2576
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The quietest, limited natural light rooms about which I was referring have no view of Rue Volney and don't face Rue Volney. Rather, the referred rooms are amongst some of the property's furthest rooms from Rue Volney and are much closer to Rue de la Paix than any other through street even as they don't have a wall/window to Rue de la Paix either.
Last edited by GUWonder; Jun 8, 2015 at 4:23 am
Jun 8, 2015, 4:29 am
#2577
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You may want to revisit that claim.
The quietest, limited natural light rooms about which I was referring have no view of Rue Volney and don't face Rue Volney. Rather, the referred rooms are amongst some of the property's furthest rooms from Rue Volney and are much closer to Rue de la Paix than any other through street even as they don't have a wall/window to Rue de la Paix either.
The quietest, limited natural light rooms about which I was referring have no view of Rue Volney and don't face Rue Volney. Rather, the referred rooms are amongst some of the property's furthest rooms from Rue Volney and are much closer to Rue de la Paix than any other through street even as they don't have a wall/window to Rue de la Paix either.
do you mean the rooms next to the elevators?
Jun 8, 2015, 4:51 am
#2578
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Rooms next to the elevators are considered by me as not being amongst some of the quietest rooms for this property. I also consider some of the rooms furthest from the guest elevators to not be amongst some of the quietest rooms for the property.
There are trade-offs amongst view/light, noise, type of noise, accessibility to guest elevators, and other things, at least when it comes to which kind of rooms are considered satisfactory by some at this property and which kind of room types are not.
There are trade-offs amongst view/light, noise, type of noise, accessibility to guest elevators, and other things, at least when it comes to which kind of rooms are considered satisfactory by some at this property and which kind of room types are not.
Jun 8, 2015, 1:19 pm
#2579
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Minnesota
Programs: Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,101
You assume too many things because:
1) Not all guest provide feedback, it is more often guest just never returns after a terrible experience with no feedback at all.
2) A room near a docking door maybe noisy on at certain times of the day and most hotel guest are typically out of the room by a certain time.
3) To develop a system to capture all of this information if it is not in the software would cost time and money.
4) Even if the system is free, how much more money can it make for the hotel?
In a world of cost cutting to eek out higher yeilds, you are asking a company to add additional responsibilities and cost that does not affect the bottom line.
This idea goes against what I deem as logical business sense.
You are right to suggest that higher end luxury hotels should follow this model, and it appeals to my ideals of how a luxury hotel should be managed.
However, the returns on investment of such a practice isn't the most practical from a business perspective.
1) Not all guest provide feedback, it is more often guest just never returns after a terrible experience with no feedback at all.
2) A room near a docking door maybe noisy on at certain times of the day and most hotel guest are typically out of the room by a certain time.
3) To develop a system to capture all of this information if it is not in the software would cost time and money.
4) Even if the system is free, how much more money can it make for the hotel?
In a world of cost cutting to eek out higher yeilds, you are asking a company to add additional responsibilities and cost that does not affect the bottom line.
This idea goes against what I deem as logical business sense.
You are right to suggest that higher end luxury hotels should follow this model, and it appeals to my ideals of how a luxury hotel should be managed.
However, the returns on investment of such a practice isn't the most practical from a business perspective.
Jun 8, 2015, 2:02 pm
#2580
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Planet Earth
Programs: | *G | STE | HGP ♦ | SPG Au | MR Au
Posts: 3,772
Care to share the basis of your comments on luxury hotels IT systems?
Last edited by DHalltheway; Jun 8, 2015 at 2:10 pm