Hi everyone.
Well, I was happy with our hotel in St. Lazare and then our tour company changes hotels! I am not a happy traveller. Our new hotel is called the Libertel Auteile Tour Eiffel, on Rue Felicien David - way down near Roland Garros and not within easy walking distance of anything. And after all of that research for the area around our old hotel.
So, can anyone try to cheer me up and tell me that it%26#39;s not as bad as it looks? C%26#39;mon Phread, KDK, Anne - someone!!
Very disappointed.
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well it%26#39;s true that you will nto be in the best part of the 16th, but it is not far from everything!! it%26#39;s jsut near the seine, and the 16th is a big district, with metros buses etc, restaurants also. i don%26#39;t know how the hotel looks, but it%26#39;s not really next to roland garros, or maybe it%26#39;s not far but it%26#39;s not 10 meters from there. don%26#39;t worry you%26#39;ll be fine (if the hotels looks great it%26#39;s ok). it%26#39;s just meters from avenue de versailles, where there are buses metros etc.
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Well...the good news is that you%26#39;re still in Paris (just barely) and you%26#39;ve access to the #10 Metro ligne at MIRABEAU and EGLISE d%26#39;AUTEUIL (you%26#39;ll need both because the #10 ligne takes an odd %26#39;..loop..%26#39; out there) and be at ODEON or CLUNY-La SORBONNE in 15 minutes or so. You%26#39;re also within walking distance of stops for the #9 ligne (the two Michel-Ange stops ae gonna%26#39; be fun trying to remember) and bee on the Right Bank in 12-15 minutes or so. The bad news is that you will be sorta%26#39; %26#39;..commuting..%26#39; to most of the Paris you came to see and enjoy. You may find that the #72 public bus route is a pleasant ride all the way along the right Bank of the Seine as far as Chatelet/Hotel de Ville and the #22 bus takes a meandering route through Right Bank neighborhood to Trocadero, Arc de Triumph, ending at Opera. And if you%26#39;re willing to walk several blocks east across the Seine, you can pick up the #42 bus route which is a great ride--past the Eiffel Toweracross the Seine, down the lower portion of Champs Elysees, through Place de la Concorde, around Madeleine, past Opera to Gare du Nord. You%26#39;re really gonna%26#39; need a free RATP %26#39;..#2--PARIS-Grand Plan-lignes et rues..%26#39; Metro/RER/Bus map when you arrive.
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Well sorry Floski I am not very fond of that part of Paris.
It is not a bad part as it is %26quot;posh%26quot; , you will see beautiful people with great clothes. You are also not far from the bois de boulogne (our Central Park) which is something to see and enjoy. There is a nice restaurant called %26quot;Chalet des iles%26quot; in the middle of Lac Superieur, you need to take a little boat to go there, it%26#39;s fun.
But apart from that, It is quiet a boring area (in my opinion) and not close from the main attractions of Paris.
But do not worry, we have a very good metro network and you will very easily get to the places you will enjoy.
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We%26#39;re actually staying in Boulogne Billancourt, a suburb of Paris near Roland Garros and Parc Des Princes and we%26#39;re only 10 minutes by metro to Eiffel Tower. Your hotel is much closer than us so don%26#39;t worry too much. By the Way there is reason we%26#39;re staying so far out in the burbs. A big part of our trip is the Iron Maiden concert at the Parc Des Princes, and we wanted to be able to walk back to our hotel afterwards! We don%26#39;y mind having to get the metro into the city for our sightseeing trips!
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Floski -
Floski - I am sorry to hear this. Bummer!!!
I am sure as others have suggested thast you can have a great trip depite the %26quot;change of venue.%26quot; But I wonder if there is nothing that can be done to persuade your tour company that they need to reconsider this decision and find alternative accommodation closer to the center. [Have you tried throwing a tantrum in the middle of their office? :%26gt;)]
What is the name of the tour company? I think they need to be avoided in future, don%26#39;t you?
At the very least I consider this to be an example of %26quot;bait and switch%26quot; which is illegal in all 50 states I think...
If there is nothing that can be done to change the decision, I%26#39;m sure you are going to have a great trip, wherever your hotel is. And I hope you come back with a little gem of a new discovery in a different area of Paris...
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;At the very least I consider this to be an example of %26quot;bait and switch%26quot; which is illegal in all 50 states I think...%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Unfortunately, this probably doesn%26#39;t qualify. Within the Terms %26amp; Conditions of most of these pre-packaged deals are qualifications* that allow the packager to substitute hotels of %26#39;..similar quality..%26#39; at their discretion. In this case, they%26#39;ve probably promised a certain standard of Paris hotel and whether that hotel is a block from the Louvre or a block from an off-ramp of the Peripherique (but still has a 75xxx postal code), it%26#39;s all the same.
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I can tell you that this is the %26quot;enth%26quot; time I%26#39;ve heard of this kind of switch and avoiding this company in the future is a given. My mother was switched from the Latin Quarter to a suburb east of town in 1997 for example.
I don%26#39;t think they switched you to a BAD location though. If it%26#39;s an easy walk to line 10, you%26#39;re in business. AnneParis%26#39; observation is true in the respect that the busiest, noisiest, craziest part of the city isn%26#39;t right outside your front door. But remember the advantage is that... the busiest, noisiest, craziest part of the city isn%26#39;t right outside your front door... It%26#39;s 15 minutes away on the Metro.
The metro line 10 passes right through the rive gauche and crosses every north/south Metro line you%26#39;ll ever need to access. The neighborhood you%26#39;ll be in is pleasant and you%26#39;ll never be without something to do.
It%26#39;s really the switch of hotels that makes me want to --have a word-- with the tour company. I%26#39;d definitely consider throwing that %26quot;tantrum in the middle of their office%26quot; IrishRovr recommended...
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THis : not many parisians can AFFORD to live there, you can, lucky you!! Is that enough to cheer you up?
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If you are near the Peripherique at Port la Muette, you might get a slight chuckle from our adventures in this area, which I posted as Day 3 of my trip report...now buried a couple of pages back. It might cheer you up a bit.
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Well, thank you, everyone, for your replies.
I just got off the phone and let them know that I was not happy with this arrangement but hey, there%26#39;s not much I can do about it now. The chap on the phone assured me that the hotel is great and that they have used it often in the past, with no complaints.
I%26#39;m still upset, but what the heck, I%26#39;ll still be in Paris, right?
Perhaps I%26#39;ll rent a bicycle and just ride around the city!!
Thanks again, everyone. 3 more days!
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