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| image from: Taylor Miles |
Destination: Paris, France
Date: May 2014
Hotel: Sheraton
Brand: Starwood
Status: none (We booked through Travelocity, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway…)
# of travelers: 2 (a couple)
Hotel & Brand – Making the Decision
Long story short, my husband and I were unexpectedly delayed in Paris and we needed a hotel near the CDG. (Is the CDG airport actually located inside the boundaries of the city? Or is it similar to Hartsfield in Atlanta wherein the airport is said to be located in the city but it is actually located south of the major metropolitan area?)
Moving on…
Our plane was to depart the next morning super early and we did not want to miss it, so we decided to stay in the airport overnight. This plan would allow us to experience a late night in Paris, let us sleep in a bit more (than a hotel outside of the airport would), and we wouldn't have to deal with transporting via metro early in the morning given that we weren't entirely sure what their hours were. (The plane was expected to depart at approximately 7am.) Needless to say neither brand nor hotel really played a factor in our decision; it was all about location.
Getting There
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| image from: No Garlic No Onions |
We arrived via rental car when our first intention was to board a plane and go home … not sleep over. After booking the hotel, we used the Metro system to get around quite easily. It's a bit of a ride into the city, but the commute itself is nice. You don't have to worry about traffic, roundabouts, small roads, insane drivers, or parking. Obviously, being at the airport, another great way of arriving is via plane. If you are between flights, this is a great overnight layover hotel. Or if you are just arriving to the city and not planning on staying for very long (and don't mind the high prices of a hotel in an airport), this might be the place for you.
Location
This section feels a bit redundant, but nevertheless, the Sheraton is located in the CDG airport making it easy to get from one location to nearly any other in the world. With a little bit of money you can get into the city, but with a lot of money (and good timing) you can go wherever your heart desires.
Hotel Room, Disability Access, Amenities, Staff, & Price
Let's begin with price and staff, shall we? Overall, our experience with the staff was pretty neutral. They didn't do anything to make our stay exceptional, and in fact gave us a bit of a problem when we first went to check in. It would seem that these employees were there to do their job and not cater to Americans who had been delayed from their return home. We were giving them a hard time (asking for a price match to an online site) and they were fighting back knowing that they had the only hotel in the airport and that we had nowhere else to go if that was what we desired. After a few minutes of arguing (I was outside the hotel with the luggage waiting at a coffee shop), Justin returned flustered and determined to book using Travelocity, the website offering the cheaper price. We then had to wait approximately an hour for the booking to go through and for our room to be prepared before we could return to the Parisian streets taking in the magnificent sights, sounds, and smells of the French. We were really tired after three weeks of navigating Europe, but that hour was the longest hour ever knowing that we only had a small amount of time before shops and restaurants closed for the day. (Parisian retail and service hours are weird.) Of course, just as we expected, by the time we returned to the streets most locations were closing and we had missed the peak portion of the day. :(
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| image from Paris Escapes |
When we finally got access to our room, we were not overly impressed nor terribly unimpressed. The hotel seemed a bit empty with a long (seemingly empty) hall of rooms; we did not run into any other hotel guests in this area and the lack of noise was almost eerie. Nevertheless, the hotel rooms were large and (for the weary traveler) comfortable. It was nice to put our luggage down and not think about carrying it another 5 feet. (Three weeks worth of luggage gets heavy and burdensome after about 5 minutes no matter how light you pack. Next time I will seriously consider packing even lighter even though I'm not sure I packed heavily for this trip… Hmmm…)
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| image from Paris Escapes |
While I had not expected much from this hotel, there was one big surprise waiting for me when I woke up the next morning: a view of the sunrise at the airport. It was gorgeous and so cool to see this view of the airport. It's an experience I had never seen before and likely will not see again for a very long time.
Other surprises in the room were the little bottles of soap and shampoo that were very much appreciated in the bathroom. We had tossed most of our toiletries the morning before as we tried to lighten our luggage for our trip back to the states. Little bottles of everything we needed made it easy to not have to rummage through our luggage to find the things that were still in there and we didn't have to go shopping for toiletries for one night in Paris. Thanks, Sheraton. :)
As nice as the little bottles of liquids were, the biggest downside of the hotel was the fridge. As expected, there was a small fridge in the room packed with goodies that cost a fortune. Obviously we were not planning on consuming any of these goods, but then Justin noticed a sign (upon first glance in the fridge) that not only were they charging you to take drinks and food out of the fridge, but they would also charge you for putting things in the fridge! … I'll let that sink in for a minute. … So if you put a water bottle in the fridge before exploring Paris the next morning, you will leave the hotel owing them money for something you had already bought. SOOOO frustrating! Worst of all, the little bitty sign is super easy to miss. If you aren't planning on consuming any of the hotels food and you just stick something in without reading a tag on a water bottle or candy bar, you could easily miss the sign and be charged. They didn't even mention this little tid bit when we checked in! It turns out, they are charging you based on the weight of what is in the fridge. Whatever you do, do not put something heavy in there and then proceed to take it out! You WILL regret it.
Another downside to the hotel was lack of internet access. I thought when we first checked in that even though we couldn't use the CDG internet, at the very least I could use the hotel's internet. HA. You have to be a Starwood member to do that. Since I wasn't a Starwood member prior to checking in and I could not join Starwood during my stay (because of my lack of internet), I had no internet during my stay. This was almost as irritating as the whole fridge escapade. This hotel was seriously out to take every nickle and dime (or Euro) that we had. (They ended up charging us $4 for something, but I never called them out on it or figured out what it was…)
The best benefit for us, however, was the free coffee and croissants (chocolate and regular) in the lobby that we got to chow down on prior to our departure. (Or perhaps I should say that Justin got to chow down on prior to our departure. I was so nervous and afraid of missing the plane that I stuffed some into a bag and ate them while browsing shops in the airport outside of our terminal while drinking some sparkling water. Yum!)
I'm not sure that I really need to comment on disability access, because (obviously) with the hotel being located inside the airport, it does not take much effort to get to where you need to go. There are no stairs to enter the hotel and the elevator provides easy access to rooms. I did not stay in a room with anything special for the disabled, but I would be very surprised if they did not have any. If you are elderly or have problems getting around, I would not worry about considering this hotel as an option. You should be able to get around just fine here.
Overall Review
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| view of sunrise/tarmac from the room |
★★★ (average)
While not stellar or exciting, the hotel was pretty average for an American chain. Big rooms, a free traditional French (Parisian?) breakfast, close access to the city and airport, toiletries available, and a view (even if the view was only enough to impress me) made the hotel work for us. High prices, rude staff, and random charges are, of course, reasons to consider staying elsewhere.
Your Turn
Would you ever consider staying at a hotel within an airport? Have you seen where hotels can charge you for putting things into a fridge before? Is there anything else you would want to know before staying here? Feel free to leave comments or questions regarding this hotel below! :)
