Stay Report: Hilton Paris CDG Airport (Paris, January 2012)

Stay Report: Hilton Paris CDG Airport
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

photo courtesy of Hilton

I was going to be transiting in Paris twice, the first for about 1.5 days and second for 14 hours; based on this I was looking for a place near the airport.  I was traveling with someone else and that individual does not like taking buses, so the hotel I choose would have to be connected to the airport and/or train station.  The Hilton Paris CDG Airport fit that criteria as it is connected to the train station by a walkway.  There are two entrances to the hotel – one is on the main street while the other is connected to the Airport Train Station.  From the Airport Train Station, there is an exit with the ‘Hilton’ sign on there and it’s a 2-3 minute walk to the hotel; the walkway is not covered so if it is cold or raining, you get cold or wet.

Booking the hotel is very easy through the Hilton website.  Hilton was having a ‘points blowout sale’ so I used my HHonors points for a free stay for one of my transits.  From the outside, the hotel looks very large and nice.  The walkway from the train station is connected to the hotels parking lot, so you have to walk through the parking lot to the main entrance to enter the building. 

The hotel has an open lobby so the inside feels large and grandiose.  As you enter, on the left side are the check-in desks as well as bellman service.  There is a small waiting area in the middle, and to the right is the restaurant/bar.  Even though there were a lot of guests, check-in was relatively quick and we proceeded towards the elevators. The elevators are located further into the lobby, and the elevators themselves have glass walls so that you can see the lobby as you go towards your room.

photo courtesy of Hilton

The rooms themselves were large Hilton rooms and this is something I was not expecting, as generally the rooms in Europe are smaller but this room was big even by American standards.  As you enter the room, on the right-hand side was the bathroom which was nice and very large.  There were double sinks, a toilet plus bidet, a standing shower (which was very roomy), and a tub.  The bathroom contained PeterThomasRoth toiletries which are very nice.  Across from the bathroom, on the left-hand side, were closets and storage space.

As you continued further into the room, on the right-hand side were the 2 double beds.  The beds

were very large and comfortable and provided a very restful night’s sleep.   There was one night stand in between the two beds.  Across from the beds was a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top as well as a desk.  Other furniture in the room included a couch, located next to the second bed, with a foot stool that faced the window.  The window was very large and provided great views of the runway.  When the curtains were opened, that is when the spectacular-ness of this hotel really shined --- the views were of the active runway so you could see planes taking off all day and all night (you could not hear the planes so it was a comfortable night sleep).

The hotel is a full service hotel so there are many facilities available including a fitness center, which I did not get to try; a restaurant, which I did try and regretted it as it the service was slow, the food was not good, and it was very expensive; and complimentary wifi both in the lobby and in the room.  On the second floor of the hotel there were additional facilities including the business center and meeting rooms.  The meeting rooms can be accessed via stairs in front of the elevator or via the elevator.  The business center contained computers and printers, but hotel charged to print boarding passes.  There is also a crew lounge on the second floor, as apparently many airline staff stay at this hotel.

photo courtesy of Hilton

Even though you can walk from the train station, the hotel does provide a complimentary airport shuttle to the airport.  The shuttle is supposed to be between the hotel and Terminal 2, and pick-up is always at Terminal 2 but if the shuttle driver is nice they will drop you off to whichever terminal you want.

Overall, it was a pleasant stay at the Hilton Paris CDG Airport.  I was looking for a hotel that was close to the airport but was also connected to transportation, and this hotel fit all criteria.  The hotel is nice and comfortable, provides a good sleep, and the windows facing the runway are a great bonus.  The service at the hotel is also good – in between my stays, the hotel kept some of my luggage for me.  If you are looking for a hotel close to the Parisian action, this is not your hotel; however, if you are looking for a hotel close to the airport and with direct access to the train then this a good option.  Note: the hotel is connected to the train by a walkway but there are no restaurants or stores near the hotel.  There is a bus that stops at the train station which takes you to other hotels in the Roissy village, and in that village there are some restaurants and small convenience store/local store.  It’s about a 5-10 minute bus ride.

Stay Report: Holiday Inn Paris - CDG Airport (Paris, December 2011)

Stay Report: Holiday Inn Paris - CDG Airport
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

photo courtesy of IHG

I had a day layover between two flights so I was looking for a hotel that was near CDG airport and also had access to the train to go into the city.  There were many options that met these criteria, but since I was only going to be there for a little while I did not want to spend a lot.  The Holiday Inn Paris CDG Airport provided nice accommodation in a comfortable setting at a low cost.

It is very easy to book the hotel through the IHG website.  The hotel is located in the Roissy village, which is the town/village located right next to the airport and where most of the hotels are located.  The hotel is not connected to the train station, but there is a free bus that goes from the train station and makes a loop to the surrounding hotels in the area (it runs about every 10-15 minutes).  From the train station to the hotel was about a 5-10 minutes bus ride (the Holiday Inn is part of the later stops).  As the bus runs a loop, you can take the bus from the hotel to the train station but it does take some time so factor this in.  Even though the hotel is located towards the back of the ‘hotel’ village, it is actually closer to the real village so you can walk (about 5-7 minutes) to the village town center to access restaurants, coffee shops, ATM and bank, as well as a convenience store/market. 

From the road, you walk up a nice covered walkway to enter into the hotel.  There are benches on either side of the walkway so it provides a nice place to sit outside and wait for the bus.  As you enter in the hotel, straight ahead is the check-in desks.  To the left of the check-in desks is the restaurant and bar as well as little sitting area.  To the right of the check-in desks is access to the first floor rooms as well as the elevators.  There is also a monitor that provides live information on your flights.  Check-in was quick and efficient, I received my key for my room on the first floor, and proceeded to my room.

The room itself was comfortable, nice and updated, but it was not the biggest room.  I had booked a

photo courtesy of IHG

room with 1 queen bed so as I opened the door, on the left was the entrance to the bathroom while on the right was the closet.  The bathroom was clean but very small; it reminded me of a standard European bathroom.  The bathroom had a toilet, a bidet, a shower, and a sink but it was all right next to each other with very little room to move.  The shower was also very small and tight.  The interesting and nice thing about the hotel was that they had dispensers for shampoo, body wash, and lotion instead of individual, travel-size containers – a nice eco-touch.  The bathroom shared a wall with the main area of the room. 

The main area had a queen size bed against the right-hand wall and across from the bed was a desk along with a chest with drawers on the bottom and TV mounted against the wall.  Next to the bed was a small chair and table that faced the windows – there wasn't much to look at but the curtains were thick so they could block out most of the sun (if you wanted to sleep during the day – again a nice touch since passengers are coming in from all over the world).  The bed was a standard Queen-size bed that you would fine in America and it provided a really comfortable sleep.  (I was surprised at the size of the bed as I was expecting the smaller, European-style beds).  Overall, the room looked and smelled clean and comfortable. 

photo courtesy of IHG

The hotel has many facilities, but since I was there for a short while I did not experience them all.  The hotel has a business center, fitness center, restaurant, bar, wifi, and complimentary shuttle.  I did experience the wifi, which was complimentary and had good speeds.  I was also able to print out my boarding pass from the business center.  As previously stated, I also used the complimentary shuttle which, although took some time, provided good access to the trains and to the city.

Overall, it was a nice stay at the hotel.  The hotel looked modern, the lobby smelled really nice, and the service was really good.  The hotel had access to the bus for transportation (the hotel was in contact with the bus so you could wait inside the warm hotel until the bus alerted the hotel that it was on its way) as well as was in walking distance to the Roissy village to access restaurant, shops, and ATMs.  The only negative was the ‘small-ish’ bathroom and the transportation via bus, but both of those were small negatives as overall it was a pleasant stay.