margarita girl

Very disappointed in the CL. Beer and wine only available between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. and they hide the wine in the back so the concierge has to serve you. Food was meagre, and kept disappearing as fast as they put it out (i.e. very little at a time). Lounge open on Fridays and Saturdays, but no food or liquor.

By comparison, we had just spent a night at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe where the food in the executive lounge flowed continuously from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Breakfast to lunch to afternoon sweets to evening appetizers (substantial enough to be a meal) to evening sweets. Fully stocked bar (beer, wine, liquor, cassis & champagne to make kirs!) available all day long. It was like night and day. Hilton ADT gets my business from now on.

CL at Marriott Rive Gauche definitely not worth 50 euros/day. Plus I hated the bright red decor.

holocker

Has anyone stayed here recently. I have an award stay booked for this summer. Also does anyone know transportation options from the Eurostar train station.

KFinTX

The hotel is across the street from the Glaciere Metro station (Ligne 6), & one stop from the RER stop at Denfert-Rochereau (RER B). You can get on RER B at Gare du Nord (iirc, that's where the Chunnel train lets you off in Paris).

On edit: here's a link to the Metro Map. Ligne 6 is the light green line. RER B is the medium blue line.
http://www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/cv_en/carteparis.php

I stayed at this hotel 2 years ago & liked it. Enjoy your stay!

flyerwife

I'll be able to give you a report in about 2 weeks.

CarolDisney1

I have stayed here several times.

So far I have yet to get to use the lounge... every time I go it's "being refurbished" They did give me free breakfast and drink coupons.

I like the hotel. Front desk is very nice. Rooms are small by American standards but very nice.

The metro stop is close so it's easy to get anywhere from there. It's not "centrally located" in the tourist district, but I like the area. Just booked a two night award stay for late May.

crazyhorse

Completely agree with everyone else. Its not in the most touristy areas of Paris and the neighbourhood has a very Parisian feel to it. Lots of eating options around if you walk for 10 mins to Rue Da Guerre.

Enjoy your stay! Brings back many fond memories.

b1513

Stayed there in the fall and really did like it. We were there after the Concierge Lounge had been refurbished. It was a decent lounge but VERY crowded. Staff was exemplary. It is a bit out of the way but I'd definitely stay there again.



Bobette

gardener

I just checked out this morning. Stayed 4 nights on a 199 euro rate and as a Plat got upgraded to a huge suite with two baths on the 17th floor. Restaurant is quite good also the concierge recommended Alouette near Glaciere station which was also excellent.

PS it is an easy walk to RER, Glaciere or St Jacques stations. And the Executive lounge is open for breakfast and canapes/drinks/desserts. Also two PC's in the lounge. HSIA is 20 euros a day but they comped me as a Plat.

stevens397

Strange question perhaps but I need some guidance. I have lots of Marriott points but they are pretty much all from timeshare purchase. Mostly a Starwood guy and the two times in Paris in the last few years, we stayed at the Prince de Galles - as a Platinum, got suite upgrades each time.

I could use some additional British Air miles so I was thinking of taking a travel package this time and staying at a Marriott and the Rive Gauche sounds excellent. When you go to book on rewards, you are offered a suite upgrade for 130 Euros addl per day and it includes Club access.

My question is has anyone tried to negotiate the suite upgrade upon arrival and, if so, have they gotten a better rate? Is the club access worth it - to me it would pretty much only mean getting free breakfast. At the Prince de Galles, breakfast is so expensive we usually eat outdoors at a cafe for a "continental" breakfast.

Finally, any idea how long it takes for transferred miles to make it to British Air?

Many thanks!

b1513

We used a reward stay and paid 50 Euros for an upgrade to the Club Lounge. We didn't get a suite. AFA the lounge upgrade is concerned, I think it's worth it because of the breakfast. It isn't a special breakfast, by any means, but it's adequate and there aren't a lot of cafes right outside the door like in other parts of Paris where you have a big selection. The lounge is very crowded at night but it did have decent offerings. It was a nice place to hang out.


BTW, The Prince de Galles hasn't been part of Marriott for many years. I think it's a Starwood now.

Bobette

stevens397

It is definitely a Starwood - as I wrote, we stayed there twice as a Starwood Platinum and were exceptionally well treated. Just thinking of passing it up to use some Marriott points but just want to know if I should sign up for the suite or try to do better at check-in.

SFOTerry

We have gotten a 2-room suite with Lounge access twice now on reward stays as Plat. I don't think I'd pay an extra 130 euros for it though. They do have many (52?) suites, so if you have some status you might get lucky.

We have stayed many times at the PdG, but we love the RG, and +1 to all the positive comments. We enjoy the Reveil Samaritain next door - great place for a drink or a bite to eat.

allset2travel

As prior posts suggested, you take RER from Gare du Nord to Denfert-Rochereau. If you travel light (roller-board and backpack), then I suggest walk from DR to the hotel along Bd St Jacques (or take a taxi in case you have too much luggage). Only 7 minutes and slightly downlhill grade. Avoid the transfer to Metro Line 6 due to too much in-station walking, and up-and-down stairs.

Meant to write a mini report on MR R.G.

Just returned from a one-week stay. Had stayed at all MR properties in and near Paris. This was my first time at the R.G. I found my place in Paris, period.

About transportation to/from airports:
· ORY and hotel: I took the Orlybus (6.30 eur & 18 minutes from ORY to Denfert-Rochereau; Walk downhill for 7 minutes to hotel; or take Metro Line 6 two stations and walk 3 minutes)
· CDG and hotel: took RER-B3 (not B5). From hotel to CDG takes about 55 minutes, plus 15 minutes walk to check-in at AA. (8.40 eur, not 100% sure about cost).
· Read many posts discussing safety concerns on RER. I traveled during day time, safety on either trip did not appear to be a concern. Use the normal caution and common sense and you will be fine.
· If you have luggage, even just a roller-board and backpack, I would recommend not to transfer from RER at Denfert-R to Metro Line 6. It involves long walks and up-and-down steps. Simply walk from Denfert-R to the hotel (slight downhill and a quick 7 minutes). If you transfer to Metro Line 6, you would alight 2 stops later at Glaciere. Walk backward for 4 minutes.
· In and out of the hotel: Get on Line 6 at Glaciere and use the Metro system to almost anywhere in the city. Buy a pass, if it works for you. I was there 1 week, arriving on Monday. The so called Pas-Navigo-Descouverte (for 7 days) works great for me. Pre-print a small photo and stick it on the pass, and off you go. Next time I return to Paris, I top it up and do it all over again.

About the hotel neighborhood: This is arr 14th. Love the non-touristy aspect of the neighborhood. As said by many posts, there are plenty restaurants and café around. I have stayed at all Metro Paris MR properties (first time for R. G.), I love R.G. and Ren at Le Parc Troc the most.
Transportation, as mentioned above, it is real easy and convenient from this hotel to anywhere in the city. I used mostly the Metro, and rarely the bus and RER. My pass is for Zones 1 & 2. That’s quite enough to cover everywhere I needed to go. Should you want to wander further afield, just add supplement.

About the hotel:
Pros:
- Early check-in at 11:15am, no problem
- Elite Plat status recognized and offered an upgraded room on 18th floor. A north facing room (facing Blvd St Jacques and Line 6, which is above ground at this section) with the Pantheon at a distance. Good view despite the window is not as big as I think it ought to be. The train never bothers me.
- I was offered FREE internet access from my room (wired). They gave me a new code every 24 hours. I asked if this was system-wide new policy. “No, just this hotel. We want to take care of our Plats”. Cool.
- At check-in, I was offered comp breakfast for Sat & Sun in the restaurant on 2nd level. The Exec Lounge was closed for the weekend (from 5pm Friday to 5pm Sun). Will comment more about the Exec Lounge later.
- Breakfast at the restaurant was buffet style with practically everything you want was available. Good service. Omelette station.
- Free in-room mini bar (4 bottles of water (2 with gas; 2 w/o) and 4 cans of soda.
- In-room coffee maker.
- Flat panel LCD. Never turned on.
- Exec Lounge on 3rd level. Key entry, even on weekend when it was not staffed. I think there are 2 shifts; each with a staff of 2 females. EL is large and well stocked. Breakfast/snacks/canapés/deserts/evening drinks. Wine and beer are served at your table. A day-staff is an American lady (who speaks fluent French), who is very friendly and talks with everyone. She asks, “if you need more water or soda for your mini bar, just let me know”. You don’t need the mini bar when the lounge is open 24/7 with your room key. I gave her an “A” for service. There are 3 computers with one printer in the lounge. One computer with an American style keyboard.
- Did not use the gym. Being out almost 12 hours daily, I did not need the gym. Otherwise it is big and located next door.

Con:
- No elite check-in line. I showed up early when the lobby was crowded. The check-in check-out line was long. Stood in line for about 12 minutes. No biggie, but I did mention it in my evaluation.
- One day, house keeping did not provide coffee and tea in room. Again, no big deal to me.
- At check-out, I found breakfast charges for Sat & Sun on my invoice. When I questioned it and mentioned the agent’s name (one who checked me in) who comp’d the breakfast, the charges were immediately deleted.

Overall, the hotel and its surrounding (including transportation) work for me. Among MR properties in Paris, this ranks #1 with me, barring none. Why? Hotel comps internet; great Exec lounge experience with unmatched service; weekend breakfast of high quality food and service; room rates are generally cheaper than others (except CY) in town.

SFOTerry

Question for Plats who've stayed on points:

Did the RG offer/give you free in-room internet during your stay? For our second stay I brought my laptop, since I thought they had free WiFi in the lounge (they don't), but was never offered the comped in-room connection. Perhaps the offer is only for paid stays. I got most of what I wanted to do done with the free PCs in the lounge anyway.

allset2travel

I was on a paid stay.
Given you are plat, I think they would offer free in-room internet access. Points = $$$.
I did not use my notebook inside the lounge, but saw some guests were making (what seemed to be) video-phone calls late at night. At that time, my thoughts were they had WiFi in the lounge. My conclusion could be wrong.