Sheraton @ CDG vs. Auberge du Jeu de Paume for one Night

I would spend the evening in Paris and have a nice dinner and stroll along the Seine after dark and get a cab to the airport next morning. The airport has terrible food choices and there is nothing to do. It does mean getting a cab at 6:30 the next morning; call g7 the night before and arrange the pick up. If you were arriving at 10 pm haviing had dinner on the road or a picnic on the train then the Sheraton would make more sense.

Will having dinner in Paris mean you think you need to pack non-hiking shoes and clothing ? Will you be overtired after a hiking trip ?
I agree that the dining options at CDG are ... limited. We usually stay at the Ibis and dine at Mickey D but that's at the end of a 3-4 week trip with an early-morning flight.

Thanks for the input. We were just in Paris for a week a few months ago, so we probably wouldn't go back just for one night, but the Jeu de Paume (30 minutes from airport door to door we are told) was an intriguing alternative. Very good to know about limited options at Sheraton. Makes me lean towards Jeu de Paume.

Yes, we'll have decent dinner clothes with us. Backroads trips combine guided hiking + nice hotels/meals, so we'll have an assortment of clothes.

Thanks again.

I assume you are referencing the Auberge du Jeu de Paume in Chantilly which is a wonderful property. For a 10:30 transatlantic flight, you should be at the check desk around 7:30.

The Sheraton Hotel is in terminal 2 and you can walk to the check in desk in minutes. How are you purposing to reach the airport from the Auberge du Jeu de Paume which is probably 20 to 30 minutes from the airport?

For me, the Sheraton would be an easy choice.

Ah I assumed the hotel was near the Jeu de Paume in Paris. For a 10:30 flight I would not stay in some random spot with questionable transport. Paris has reliable transport - being AT the airport gives you an extra hour of sleep. I'd do that. I would also aim to arrive AFTER dinner as the options at the airport are grim. If your agent has personal experience of this hotel and knows its transport situation is reliable maybe -- but most travel agents are using catalogues and don't really have experience with what they are recommending.

I had added a reply here and somehow it disappeared (so I apologize if it somehow shows up twice).

MY BFF just returned from 2 weeks in France, flying out of CDG. They stayed at the Sheraton on their last night. I texted her and asked about her experience. Here is her reply:

Upon checkin they ask if you want this deal which includes the “club” room (I think that’s what they call it) and breakfast - I’m thinking it was an extra maybe €30. The club room had really great small plate items - hot and cold, cheese platters, etc. and free wine and beer so we pretty much chowed down dinner there and a little later on went to the dining room and split something - fish sticks or something like that... way over priced and not enough for splitting had we eaten all that good stuff upstairs earlier. For us it was fine. The breakfast buffet was excellent. You could get omelettes cooked and eggs Benedict - a really great deal because it alone, without what we had done upstairs the night before would have been the cost of what we paid for the
“Deal” when we checked in. Well worth it. In that terminal there are not many dinner choices and you don’t want to go in and out of security at that point so from what I can recall after walking around following dinner, there wasn’t much available in the line of a good restaurant with a nice meal. Like I said the appetizer stuff upstairs in the club room was really, really good! Free wine and beer too. The rooms at the Sheraton are so beautiful and comfortable. We were so glad we went that route after a long travel day and having to catch a flight the next morning.

Auberge du Jeu de Paume by a long shot would be my choice. Have them arrange a ride to the airport. Spending the night at the airport is okay but really, all you are saving timewise on the departure morning is the time it will take you to get to the airport (40 minutes) and you may as well have a fun afternoon and evening the night before as opposed to staying in airport. IMO, the overnight stay at the airport is for people who are arriving later than you are because there is nothing to do there. But if you are going to be super tired and just want to rest/chill that afternoon, then yes to the airport but otherwise, I'd stay either in Paris or at the Auberge.

@BJL

I am not the OP and am not facing this decision at this point, but thank you for posting as it is good information to have and squirrel away for the future.

I have stayed in Heathrow in the Sofitel and just brought in sandwiches and wine from the M&S in the terminal and relaxed the night away before my early AM flight. Not everyone's cup of tea, but it has worked for me.

Debbie

@ BJL, thanks so much, that's incredibly helpful.

To those that asked about Jeu de Paume transportation, the hotel has a regular car service to the airport, you just schedule it ahead of time.

We're still on the fence here, so maybe it will come down to cost difference after all. Am having the travel agent price both out and thanks to BJL's input will be sure to price out the club level.

So glad the info was helpful :-) Just as an aside, my BFF was arriving from Avignon as well. (This was just a few weeks ago) She said they were just so tired that it was nice to not have to worry about being out and about and arranging transport the next day, etc. I guess it will depend on how late you'd arrive at CDG and just how tired you are :-) . Have a marvelous time!

I hear ya' Debbie - sometimes it's the little things :-))

We stayed at the Sheraton the night before our flight left Paris. Our flight was at 7:00am or 7:30am so we were glad to be right there at the airport for that early flight. Before we left Paris for the airport we each ate one last crepe. Then later we did grab a bite at someplace at the airport. It wasn’t anything great but not bad and it was just one meal so no big deal for us. By that time we were pretty exhausted from a long fun trip so that night we just relaxed and looked through the photos we had taken.
Have a great trip!

Just a warning not to underestimate how long the check-in process can be. Since you will be leaving the Schengen zone, you will need to go through a passport control line, separate from check-in and from security. Duration depends on how busy it is, but keep in mind that CDG is one of the busiest airports in the world. For that reason, I’d go with the Sheraton.

I stayed at the Sheraton CDG twice this past May. The hotel is excellent - sparkling clean, comfortable, quiet, and huge rooms. The first stay was the night before taking the TGV to Reims/WW1/Champagne country (Champagne-Ardenne Station); the second stay, a few days later, was the night before flying back to the US. The airport TGV station is very close to the hotel, which made going to Reims very convenient. Perhaps you can catch a TGV from Avignon directly to the CDG TGV station? The hotel is also located very close to Terminal 2E, which I flew out of the next morning of the second stay. Lastly, although a bit pricey, the food at the Sheraton's restaurant was excellent. Had two breakfasts and two dinners there.

Re the check-in process at CDG, most airlines are saying that you need to be at the airport three hours before your departure time. Of course, if you are traveling in business class, arriving two hours before departure is plenty of time because you get access to the priority lines for check-in, security, and passport control. If you are getting a VAT refund, add more time for that.

Re the check-in process at CDG, most airlines are saying that you need to be at the airport three hours before your departure time. Of course, if you are traveling in business class, arriving two hours before departure is plenty of time because you get access to the priority lines for check-in, security, and passport control. If you are getting a VAT refund, add more time for that.

Yes, we are flying business class.

Really appreciate all the input. We decided on the Sheraton and will book a room with club access. This also gives us some flexibility to leave Avignon a little later if we want.

I had a feeling you would be in business class. I am glad the information is helpful.