The RER is fully equipped with escalators, so it wouldn't be hard at all to take the RER if you want to. Just a quick change at Gare du Nord.

No airline at CDG has its own terminal. United is in terminal 1.

If you plan to use the RER, better bet would be to book a hotel within walking distance of an RER B station, such as Saint-Michel or Luxembourg. It would be worth the taxi ride from Gare de Lyon to stay in a better neighborhood for strolling and nearby restaurants.

There are also lots of budget hotels in the Montparnasse area, along with terrific restaurants and cafes. If you're concerned about taking Air France coach from Gare de Lyon due to potentially full buses, they start from Gare Montparnasse before stopping at Gare de Lyon. A huge advantage of Air France coach versus RER is that they handle your bags for you, and also no stairs are involved.

Transfers on the RER involve a lot of walking and stairs. It is far preferable to transfer at Gare du Nord than Chatelet/Les Halles.

Or, you might want to consider staying in the 7th within walking distance of RER station at Pont de l'Alma or Invalides. You'd have a chance to walk by the Tour Eiffel. We've done the RER to CDG from there, and the transfer at Saint-Michel is quite manageable (to my recollection a double staircase down and two escalators to the track for RER B).

Again, I think it would be worth taxi fare to stay in a nicer neighborhood and better connections to CDG if you're planning to use the RER.

An inexpensive choice you might try is etaphotels.com

They have one at: Etap Hotel Roissy CDG Paris Nord 2

http://www.etaphotel.com/etaphotel/f...he_hotel.shtml

This one goes for 48 euros for 3 people. It's new, very nice and very clean, A/C, elevator, private bathroom...equal I would say to Holiday Inn or Comfort Inn

check it out and other Etap Hotels in France at etaphotels.com

Good Luck

kwren,
Riding the RER D from Gare de Lyon to Gare du Nord, and then the RER B to CDG will take around 50 minutes, including transfer time. There are two RER stations at CDG. Get off at the first one, CDG 1, which is located next to Terminal 3. Take the free CDGVAL driverless shuttle train to Terminal 1.

There are no stairs to take on the RER if you don't want to. The RER stations are all labeled as handicapped accessible for those who cannot handle stairs. The metro is not quite as advanced yet, except for line 14.

The Sheraton has become very expensive but is extraordinarily convenient. Last time I stayed at the Hyatt(CDG). It is quite nice and has frequent shuttle service right to your airline. Starting at 5 am. The breakfast is nice as well. I have not eaten dinner at their restaurant.