Renaissance L'defense
 

I stayed there with my family and Sister -in Law - total of 6 people. A call to the hotel and they upgraded my reservation to a Suite and arranged for a rollaway bed to accomodate everyone. It was tight but very satisfactory. Overall we were very pleased, the hotel is very close to the Metro (though at the end of the line) and the service was great.

Dear TxLobo - Thanks so much..........you have saved me much angst about this upcoming trip which is already giving me an ulcer (first trip to Europe and I don't like to FLY!!!!!!!!)
:)

If they say MAX, they mean it. Best method is to contact hotel directly via email or phone and see what arrangements they can work out. It's a shame the Vacation Club at Ile de France isn't closer to town. The villas there are very nice and great for a family. Just like having your own townhome. As a family of four, finding the right hotel room was the biggest challenge when we went last December. The European hoteliers are very succinct about how many people you can put in a room. In the US, they restrict the number of towels and pillows to the max number of people!

BTW, the early nightfall in December is actually a good thing as you really get to see the City of Light in its spendor!

in Europe, confirm ahead of time
 

I agree 100% with George..... My experience is that European hotels are not very flexible as a general rule. Status at Marriott, plus advance communications will make things go much smoother. That is what I did and so was my experience..... :rolleyes:

I's appreciate your advice on the options for getting from Charles De gaulle airport to the Paris Marriott.

To Marriott-Champs d' E....
 

The easiest, we've found is the Air France bus...its about $12-15, I think, now with the euro exchange. You get it outside your terminal at CDG, its about 25-40 minute ride,depending on time of day, and takes you to the Arc d'Triompe, (sorry if I missplled)...then less than a 5 minute walk down the sidewalk on the Champs to the Marriott...that is if you can get by by the patisserrie's on the way without stopping! :p

Will I need to pay in Euros or will a credit card do?

Cab ride from Marriott to CDG on Sunday was 42 euro plus tip.

Hi all;

I just returned from a 1-week award stay here, and had a wonderful stay in Paris (first time). Some notes:

1) Though the web site says a max of two people, we were never questioned when we asked for a roll-away for our daughter. So I do not think it is an issue for more than two.
2) There have been previous comments about the small room size. Well, our room was as large as any standard USA Marriott room I have ever stayed at. I have no status (pts from AMEX), so I assume it was a standard award rate room. Even with the roll-away, there was plenty of room to walk around the king-sized bed. We overlooked the center court area - terrible view, but probably a lot quieter than overlooking the Champs-Elysees.
3) We used the grocery store that BILLMORROW (thanks Bill!!!!) spoke about. Let's see: a coke in the mini-bar is 5 Euro. A six-pack at the store is 2.5 Euro. You do the math!!!!! Turn left out of the hotel and go to the first street. Go left down the street for 1.5 blocks. The store is on the right side of the street. You can't miss it.
4) We pre-arranged with one of the shuttle companies to get from the airport to the hotel. What a mistake!!! We waited for 30 minutes and it never showed. Tryed calling the number listed - no answer. So I walked over to a van that was sitting waiting for customers the whole time we were waiting (we had 4 people and all our luggage - so needed a van rather than a regular taxi (the fourth person was in a separate room)), and he took us for the same rate as the shuttle service quoted (55 Euro). So my advise would be to not worry about pre-arranging transportation - just grab something when you arrive.
5) We used the Metro (subway) everywhere, and found it pretty easy to get around. We bought a 'carnet' of tickets (10 tickets for 10 Euro), and went everywhere on it. There is a metro station 1.5 blocks left out of the hotel.
6) The main restaurant was mediocre at best - and very expensive. 29 Euros for a mediocre breakfast buffet!!!! We had dinner there one time - again expensive and mediocre food. But we did enjoy the 'sidewalk cafe' associated with Marriott a couple of times. Great people-watching on the Champs-Elysees.
7) There is a business center with internet access. Used it a couple of times to catch-up on e-mails, etc. 12 Euros for 1 hour of access, or 24 Euros for 24 hrs (this is actual use time, not a 'day', so the 12 Euros lasted me all week).

All in all, a wonderful stay. I probably would not stay here on my own dime, due to the price, but this has got to be one of the best value for a rewards stay there is!!!!!!!!!
:)

the Air France bus is a flat 10€ rate, no credit cards accepted.
(station is in 15 minutes walking distance at the l'Arc de Triomphe, Rue Carnot)

Paris Marriott - No rewards stays avail. !
 

Dear all,

I'm looking for a rewards stay from 2 - 5 September but it looks like nothing at all is available at the Marriott Paris Champs Elysees (I don't consider the other Paris properties like the Renaissance La Defense as an option).

Is it possible to waitlist for a reward to become available ? (I'm Plt-level)

Alternatively, does someone have a corporate/discount code for this hotel ? The rack rate is extortionally high -> over 400 EUR's per night !


Thanks for your help

John69

Marriott Champs Elysees rewards are very difficult to get. You need to book very eary lot get one, so it does not suprise me that none are available for the first part of Sept.

That being said, sometime ago there was a thread that listed various discount codes that were available for Marriott. The following is a link to that thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139732

It contains the discount codes for everything from weekend rates to Marriott Rewards discounts to Corp. discount codes (which should not be used unless you are entitled to use it).

Hope this helps.

Unfortunately, none of these codes is giving me a nice discount...any other thoughts ?

I'm a platinum and just got back from a three night award at the Renaissance La Defense and was pleasantly surprised with it. Excellent hotel and great staff. The Metro stop is right there and takes you right to the Champs Elysees stops. Managers receptions every night with tons of free drinks for two+ hours each night.

To the point though, when I booked the award back in March, the woman on the platinum line laughed when I asked for an award at the Marriott Champs Elysees with such "short notice". She said they go almost instantly when they appear in the system during tourist seasons and with less than six months notice, you will almost never get one. So I settled for the Renaissance.

Good Luck and please post what you end up finding!

I believe there are some rather large trade fairs taking place around that time in Paris:

PRÊT À PORTER PARIS (1200 exhibitors, 43000 attendees)
TISSU PREMIER (100 exhibitors, 4000 attendees)
LE NOUVEAU SEHM (500 exhibitors, 30000 attendees)

I think availability at 5 star hotels might be tight at that time.