Where to Stay - Last Night in Paris

Since you're already getting to spend some time in Paris, I guess it might be easiest to stay right by the airport. I've done a really early departure from the 1st to the airport and I don't really think I ever fell asleep as I was so worried about missing the cab I had set up.

Laurel, is your 10am flight an international flight? If so, you should be there about 7am. (My understanding is that you'll be in Paris for a few days, then the Luberon for a week, then returning to Paris for your flight home.)
We enjoyed the Hôtel Eugénie which pat has recommended several times and is nearby place St Michel.

I would stay at the airport not NEAR it -- there are several hotels on the grounds and then it is just easy to hop the intra airport shuttle train in the morning. This lets you get up at 6 for your 7 am gate time rather than getting up at 5 to get a cab at 6 for the airport run.

If possible get into Paris by early afternoon, and stow your gear at Nord and spend the afternoon and have dinner in Paris then after a final stroll around Notre Dame, head for the airport and your hotel. Make sure you have guaranteed for late arrival.

I would stay in Paris and look for a hotel near the RER B line. I generally stay in the Montparnessee area and it's pretty good for transport to the airport. However, we probably need a definiton of "nice" and especially of "reasonable" :)

I have not stayed at the airport, basically because of never having just a single night in Paris, but agree with Janet's advice to do it.

The last time that I took an early-morning RER to CDG, I was staying at hotel-du-loiret.fr (they had a cheaper single room than they do now) and walked to Chatelet Les Halles to catch it. First daily departure from this station is at 5:25 to get to the airport at 6:05. It caused a bit of nerves on my travel as the RER was delayed - sat there in the station getting fuller - but I did reach CDG in time.

I agree with Janet that the safest bet is to stay at the airport (not in the nearby town of Roissy, though that would probably be safer than in Paris itself). We stayed at the Ibis, which was clean and comfortable enough. There are also a Novotel, a Hilton, and a Sheraton, all within the airport and served by its tram line. You could compare prices, I think Ibis will be least but maybe not.

I also agree that stashing your bags in the city is a good idea if you have some afternoon/evening time there. You could do that either at Gare de Lyon when you arrive (assuming you're coming in by train) or Gare du Nord where you'll catch the RER later for the airport. (I'd opt for Nord.)

I want to thank you all so much for your kind and helpful replies!
I decided to book a room at the Ibis (per Dick's recommendation) it looks decent enough, good reviews and
walking distance to terminal 3. I can spend the day in Paris, get up to the hotel in the evening and
not have to stress about cabs and trains. I appreciate all your great advice...

There is a bus you can take, No 351, from Place de la Nation to its terminal at CDG right on the doorstep of the Ibis. Cost is 3 metro/bus tickets.

With your flight time the [alce to stay would be the Hotel Ibis at CDG. it's only about a two minute walk to the underground shuttle stop. We have stayed there a few times in the past and could easily make that decision in a heart beat.

" Costs 20 euros " - Last I looked it was 10 , or included on a Navigo card . Just did this in November . Stayed at The Hilton the night before an early flight ( price was comparable to the IBIS that night ) It was anything but depressing

Actually I've gravitated to staying by airports on my last night. I haven't had any problem getting from a Roissy hotel to CDG, and I like getting a good, comfortable night's sleep before the LONG trip home to the west coast. We usually stay at a Marriott, which isn't the cheapest option, but has comfortable beds which leave me more rested. We usually wring out as much travel as we can and go back to work the next day, so the sleep is important!

We stayed in Marias area and had an early AM flight out .
We called and ordered an early AM taxi/van (there were 8 of us)
and we got to the airport in plenty of time to have a small breakfast there
and to make our flight.

woin

a hotel room is a hotel room -- a hotel room at the airport is likely to be no more depressing than one in Paris. But having dinner at the airport or an airport hotel definitely is. That is why when we have one night in Paris before a flight we stay at the airport but spend the evening in Paris and have dinner and a final stroll then hope the train and get a good night's sleep which is an hour longer because we don't have to get up that extra hour early to get to the airport. Best of both worlds. We have driven to CDG and turned in the car in the afternoon and then taken the train into Paris and back. Or have dropped the car at Gare du Nord, checked the bags, spent the evening in Paris, collected the bags and taken the train to our reserved hotel room at the airport.

If already in Paris then it makes no sense to move, but if arriving at the last minute the night before a flight, the airport makes sense.

After several years of staying in Paris the night before flying out, we started to stay in either Plailly or Senlis. Plailly is a 10 minute drive to CDG; Senlis is 20 minutes. And very easy drives.

Tout à fait, woinparis. I also agree that it's depressing to stay near Roissy. Especially since Paris is easily connected to the airport. People do it every day without missing a plane. Get up earlier in the morning, but you can still make a magical last night in Paris.

iBIS hotel are not the most charming hotels in the world. Ibis Styles are slightly better, but they are convenient and often a very good deal in Europe (stay clear of them in Asia)

My husband and I also stayed in Senlis the night before our return flight to the US. This was early October 2013. Senlis was fun and convenient. Yes, the drive was easy and less than an hour. We had a lot of trouble finding the rental car return at CDG, so we circled around the airport a few times before we figured out that we needed to return it at the departing terminal. I hope that makes sense.