Hey everyone,

A couple days before my first international flight to Japan and i'm already planning my next one I am planning to go to Paris in Feb.. 11th to the 16th I believe are the tentivie dates right now. I am planning to stay at "Courtyard by Marriott Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport" -- does anyone have any experiance at this hotel. I believe I would be staying in the "Deluxe Room"...or so they call it. Is there a shuttle from the airport (Charles de Gaulle) to the airport and back? What is there to do around the airport and of course the most important information -- how crowded will it be this time of year in France and also, how will the Eiffel Tower be on Valentines Day (14th, right?)

Thanks in advance everyone for your help!

Been to Paris many times,once for valentines for our 10th.The weather will be very iffy,suggest you stay in the City of Light instead of outside.I usually stay at the Westin demure la Baltimore on Ave Kleiber in the 16th Ad.
Since Paris is one of the best and most romantic cities to walk thru,you two can explore without fear,the city is very safe and easy to enjoy.Shopping,food,Jazz Clubs,enjoy.

I agree, please don't spend 5 nights by the airport. It would be much better to have a simpler hotel closer in if you have to choose between location and niceness, but you can no doubt find some good deals on a pretty nice place. And if bargain-hunting, be very careful if using Priceline for Paris.

February weather can be anything, but likely gray skies. More important, daylight hours are short, if it's light when you wake up, you know you've overslept! And sundown about 4-ish, so you do not want to spend lots of your daylight hours riding the Air France bus back and forth to CDG.
Lots of good 3 star hotels, you may want to check the Paris site on FlyerTalk.

Why be careful if using Priceline for Paris? I'm using United's vacation planner.

Because almost all of Priceline's zones have one or more hotels that are at best quite inconvenient in terms of transit time to the city center and tourist attractions. These same hotels may be in unattractive areas that you would never choose to visit otherwise.

I don't think it is a Westin any more. In fact, I don't remember seeing it listed as a Westin for the last two years.

I spent last valentine in Paris and had a great time. Though it was hard to find a good place to eat on that evening..

Would there be a better time of the year to visit? How would Christmas/New Years, time of the year be?

Colder. There's nothing wrong with Valentine's Day in Paris, especially if you are planning some romance. But I personally like to visit in March when spring is in the air, hotel rooms and airfares are low, and the city has not yet been innundated with the masses that are certain to come in the summer.

Definitely do not stay at CDG. You will be a 45 minute RER ride away from everything if you do. There are plenty of good options on either Bank in the heart of the city, especially if you book early.

Don't stay there. It will take you at least an hour each way to get into Paris, which makes it inconvenient to take a nap to work through the jet lag. You'll have to pay to take the train from the airport into town and be subjected to, um, some of the less savory elements of Parisian society. I am a serious Marriott aficionado, and even I wouldn't stay there unless I had a compelling reason to be near the airport.

Paris has scores of charming hotels that will give you a much better experience of the city. My favorite hotel for price & convenience is the Hotel Hospitel, located on the top floor of the Hotel Dieu (public hospital) at 1 place du Parvis on Ile de la Cite, about 50 yards from Notre Dame cathedral. The train to the airport stops right under the hospital, as does the Metro. Yeah, you may share the elevator with a couple of nurses and a guy on a gurney, but the people at the hotel speak English, the rooms are super-clean, the price can't be beat (about 86 Euros per night), and the location is unbelievably good. Their website's kind of hard to find, so send me a private message if you want more info. I have other recommendations if you want something a bit more romantic.

Paris = Good choice of destination for Valentine's day, IMO. The weather may be lousy, but it makes smooching your sweetie in a cozy cafe that much more fun.

If you're looking to do the typical tourist things, I would probably go in late March - April. We went in late April of this year and the weather was perfect. Not hot, not cold. I think it rained overnight, but during the day it was great. All the flowers and trees were blooming and it was everything I had imagined Paris during the spring would be. This was our first time there, so far.

We stayed at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome. I would suggest booking a backup reservation at a normal hotel, then try to go for a few Hyatt Faster Free Night awards at the Park Hyatt. It was really wonderful. The rooms normally go for 450-700+ euros per night, but by using Priceline and the FFN awards carefully it cost us around $100 / nt. Plus if you have Hyatt Diamond status, you can get free breakfast normally 32 euros EACH! They allow you to order it from room service, and can upgrade to the full "american" breakfast for 10 euros more.

The current promotion period is over on September 30th, but I believe they will begin again in the spring. Check out the Hyatt forum for more info about FFNs and the hotel if you're interested.

Thanks Lori_Q for the great information and you have a PM waiting for you. I definately don't want to go during the tourist season -- thanks again everyone.

DEFINITELY DO NOT STAY BY THE AIRPORT!!! It's absolutely the worst mistake you can make. You have to stay in center of Paris, 7th, 8th, 1st, arrondisements. The hotel I would recommend is the Best Western Champs Elysee; it's a couple of blocks of Champs Elysee; nothing too fancy, but charming and not expensive. And location can't be beat.