I landed in Paris just before 7:00 P.M. and wanted to be back at 6:00 A.M. to capture pictures of the Air France lounge before it got crowded.
I arrived in Paris well-rested, having just stepped off an 11-hour overnight flight. With no desire to go into Central Paris, I opted to stay local. There wasn’t time anyway: it was morning on the East Coast and I had a full day’s work ahead of me.
That left me with a couple choices. I could have camped out at the Instant Paris lounge and not even had to change terminals. In fact, had I know this lounge existed before arriving I would have done exactly that. Instead, though, I just wanted to a place to work.
Since airline lounges are not 24/7 in CDG, I looked into airport hotels. Last time I was in Paris I stayed the Hyatt Regency before my early flight home. That’s an acceptable hotel, but I didn’t want to deal with the taxi or shuttle bus to the hotel, which takes 15-20 minutes. The Sheraton hotel, located in Terminal 2, was my top choice but sold out. Instead, I opted to stay at the Ibis Paris CDG Airport located just outside the rail station in Terminal 3. Careful: there are three Ibis hotels within a close proximity.
The hotel was about $80/night when booked online, which represented an acceptable price for a quiet place to work for the next 12 hours. It appears the hotel is brand new or undergoing renovation.
Check-in took mere moments and I was soon in my room. It’s clean…I’ll give them that. Those cruise ship bathrooms, though. I just don’t like them. However, internet was over 100mbps up and down, so I had no trouble connecting to my VPN and putting in a productive day.
Around 5:30a I left the hotel to return to Terminal 2. I never slept nor did I eat anything at one of the hotels’ restaurant. I had a protein bar and bottle of water. The hotel also has no workout facilities.
CONCLUSION
I love a productive layover and the IBIS CDG airport was perfectly suited to help me achieve that. If you’re looking for a reasonable day room or a place to lay your head overnight, this is the place. But remember, the Yotel in Terminal 2 is even more convenient, especially if you are flying Air France.
> Read More: The Free Lounge For Everyone At Paris CDG
I opted to take the LeBus into Paris and its first stop is the Hyatt Regency Etoile. Got to do lots of sightseeing and then got back on the bus to catch my 10:30am flight the next morning.
The CitizenM is a good choice. Right near the IBIS.
That’s one of the two hotels United offered when we had a 48 hour delay at CDG (the other one was the Millennium). Instead, we used SPG points and stayed at the Sheraton attached to the terminal, which was an excellent hotel for an airport property.
It is nice. The CitizenM is good, too, but the downstairs dining area there is crowded and slow.
So I says to myself, “Yeah, right. WTH is a ‘cruise ship bathroom?'”
Then I scrolled through your pics. Excellent description.
I almost always have to have the fitness room (no matter how bad) and preferably a pool. I’m no fitness junkie but definitely feel that overseas a 30-40min workout helps with any jet lag or tiredness….. prior to a few wines before bed.
Totally off topic, but, since you mentioned logging on to VPN, I was wondering what VPN do you use, in what laptop?
You obviously do an enormous amount of business while traveling.
Thank you!
Struck by the quality of food at Ibis hotels in France. Better than four-star hotels in the States.