I’ll be making my first trip to Europe as a milestone birthday gift (60!) to myself - traveling from Minnesota, on Paris in 7 days tour, first week of June 2025 - tour starts on Monday, I plan to fly overnight Friday to arrive early Saturday- recommendations on where to spend those first 2 nights- at the same hotel booked for tour, or somewhere else? (Le hotel 6 is hotel which is over $300/night - as a solo traveler maybe I’d be better off getting somewhere with a balcony view my first nights there alone? Thoughts and advice welcome.
Posted by
11614 posts
Have you told the hotel that you are a member of the tour? Perhaps if you let them know that you’ll be joining the tour, they will give you a price break.
Posted by
Lynnwood
292 posts
We've taken several RS tours (not this one - but it will be wonderful no doubt!) and each time we've stayed pre-tour at the first hotel. It is so worth it to not have to repack/move/unpack. You can be sure RS has vetted the hotel and it's in a good location. For your first trip to Europe, in particular, this likely small splurge will be worth it. I'm also not sure you can do a whole lot better price wise for a balcony view in another hotel. Have a wonderful time!
Posted by
Seattle
215 posts
The advice and responses you have received so far are spot on. I would email the hotel and ask for their best rate for adding nights before the RST starts (as well as after if that fits your plans). I prefer to stay in the same room as on the tour if possible as I do highly value unpacking only once. Best of Paris is an excellent tour, the City of Light is a fantastic inaugural European destination and it's very savvy of you to pick a city tour with its stay-in-one-place pacing. Many, many RST members are repeat customers due to the quality of their guides and experience-focused itineraries, and you may well be adding yourself to their ranks. Bon voyage!!
Posted by
The Heartland USA
9027 posts
The hotels that RS uses are used to dealing with RS customers. At the start of a tour, a hotel will often set aside a few rooms for people wanting extra days before things start. So they might not show vacancies online. Therefore a direct email is worth a try, mentioning exactly which tour. They may give you the same discounted rate that they gave RS, or at least give you the same room they would have for you for the tour time, so you don't have to move rooms.