strpyw

My wife and i are going to have our delayed honeymoon in mid Feb to France. We are mid 40's from San Francisco, CA and not very brave for cold weather.With airmiles we are flying into Paris CDG.For one week's time and being the first time in Europe, should I do the romantic week at Nice's Marriott, using points, or go to Paris,using points, and stayed at Marriott's various hotel, or paid the 99 Euro special at Marriott's Village D'ile De France. I am thinking of Marriott's Village D'ile De France because we are not night person and having an indoor swimming pool is great. Only concern is whether traveling into Paris or Nice is convenient, and whether it has lots of construction noices in Feb.Any opinion, I would appreciate it. Thanks

artlover

ttt

has anyone stayed here and used it as a base to visit Paris and daytrips to surrounding areas?

Trudaine

The Mariott village d'Ile-de-France is not in the city of Paris, but in the outer suburbs, near Disneyland Paris, I think. I would not stay there for a first trip to Europe, even if you are a Disney fan.

Given the time of the year, and if you do not have any accommodation opportunity in Paris proper, I would go to Nice, where the weather is likely to be much better.

Travelnut

There are only two Marriott properties within Paris; the others require a commute. In my opinion, you would want to limit commutes while visiting during the coldest season.

Renaissance Paris Vendome
4, Rue du Mont Thabor
Paris, 75001 France

Paris Marriott Hotel Champs Elysees
70 Avenue des Champs-Elysees
Paris, 75008 France

Woody

We have stayed at various Marriott properties throughout France for free using points. We stayed at Marriott's Village d'Ile-de-France, the Riviera Marriott Hotel la Porte de Monaco, the Marriott Champs Elysees, and the Renaissance Paris Vendome (also a Marriott property).

We have not been to the Marriott in Nice, so I cannot comment on that hotel. But, while at the Riviera Marriott, we walked to the sights in Monaco and took the train for daytrips to Nice and Eze Village.

For a first visit to Europe, <b><i>I would hightly recommend staying in central Paris.</i></b> You will have many, many options for sightseeing and dining that are within walking distance of your hotel or just a short Metro ride away. If an indoor swimming pool interests you, the Renaissance Paris Vendome has one.

The villas at Marriott's Village d'Ile-de-France are huge (sleeps six), tastefully decorated, and well appointed (2-1/2 baths, full kitchen, dining room, laundry room). It is a good base for daytrips (Reims, Epernay, and Fountainbleau by car). The RER train to Paris takes 50 minutes or so.

Woody

jody

I'd certainly stay in the center and avoid a commute..the Marriott Renaissance Paris Vendome has an indoor pool and spa . We're from FL and often visit Paris in Feb, who can ever say what the wweather will be, last year it was cold ,it even snowed a bit, but the museums, cafes,galleries are all warm and you can always take the metro, bus or taxi.

Travelnut

&quot;.. we are not night person and having an indoor swimming pool is great...&quot;

I'd like to comment on this remark...

We aren't night people either - we're in bed usually by 10:30pm. You should realize that most locals eat dinner later, say 8-10pm..also, it is most enjoyable to take a stroll thru a nice area after dinner, on the way back to your hotel...or to go see the Eiffel Tower doing its &quot;twinkling&quot; after dark.. or go to a movie (lots of cinemas with &quot;VO&quot; language movies - <i>version originale</i>. Once you're in Paris, you won't give a swimming pool a second thought.

bizzyb

artlover,
We stayed there in Sept. 05. We rented a car and did day trips to Versailles, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Fontainebleau, and Giverny. We also took the train into Paris on two days, trip was about 1 hour each way. Our second week we rented an apartment in Paris. This was our first trip to Paris and we enjoyed it very much. However I would not want to stay at the Marriott to go into Paris every day. The units are very nice and large, there is no restaurant on site so you would need a car to get around. Let me know if you have any other questions.

artlover

Thanks all for your replies. I really should have started this as a new post, but guess I got lazy or tired...sorry.

DH and I have been to Paris several times and I agree that if this were a first trip for us, we should stay in central Paris. I'm just starting to plan this for our 25th anniversery in Spring of 2007, so much is undecided yet.

bizzyb &amp; Woody,
thanks so much for the information. A few questions: could be do daytrips to Vaux, Reins,Fontainbleau, etc. without a car...in other words by train from the resort? Is there a shuttle from the resort to the train?

Thanks again for any information.

Woody

artlover,

First of all, congratulations as you plan your 25th anniversary!

When we stayed at the Village d'Ile-de-France, there was a free shuttle between the Marne la Vallee station and the villas. The station is conveniently located at the entrance to the Disney parks and Disney Village. D.V. has restaurants, stores, and entertainment without an admission charge. I suggest checking with the villas to see if they still offer the shuttle service.

The train station serves the RER (to Paris) and SNCF lines. The RER to central Paris takes approximately 50 minutes. The SNCF to CDG takes approximately 10 minutes (Yes, 10 minutes -- that's NOT a misprint). The station also has EuroStar service to London.

There is a Hertz agency at the station. Since we rented a car, we did not look into whether daytrips could be made by train. Perhaps others could provide some information.

I would add that our villa at the Village d'Ile-de-France was beautifully appointed and HUGE. It was perfect for entertaining (which we did). But, it is isolated from anything else (restaurants, shopping, plaza, sights, coastline). I would recommend renting a car -- at least for part of the time.

Woody

Trudaine

On the question of possible daytrips from Marne-la-vall&eacute;e/village d'Ile-de-France, you will definitely need a car, except in you want to visit the nearby town of Meaux, which has a fairly interesting old centre, or the 18th-century ch&acirc;teau of Champs-sur-Marne located between MLV and Paris.
For most other destinations, you will need to go to Paris first, then board a train there in one of the city's stations (gare de l'est, gare de lyon). The difficulty is not distance itself(there are interesting places like Vaux-le-Vicomte or Fontainebleau just south of MLV) but the way the train system is laid out(it basically radiates from Paris proper.)

artlover

Thanks so much Woody and Trudaine for the added information. Looks as if we will need to rent a car for at least a few days (not for Paris, of course!) and hopefully our marriage will be able to survive this (DH's driving drives me crazy!)