Review – Courtyard by Marriott Gare De Lyon (Paris)

Paris, as you know, is an expensive city. As such, there is no low season in Paris. It is either crowded or very crowded. The high influx of travelers leads to expensive hotel rates all around the year. Early in the year, we had made a short trip to Paris to attend a trade event. We had stayed at Courtyard by Marriott Gare De Lyon. This post is a review of the hotel.

Booking Process

I wanted to use my Marriott Bonvoy points for this trip and was specifically looking for Category 2-4 hotels. In my opinion, Courtyard by Marriott Gare De Lyon offers one of the best value for your redemption in Paris. As you can see from the table below:

Hotel	Marriott Category	Points per night	August Prices (€)	November Prices (€)	Average (cent per point)
Courtyard Paris Arcueil	3	17,500	84	212	0.85
Courtyard Paris Saint Denis	3	17,500	88	116	0.58
Courtyard Paris La Defense West – Colombes	3	17,500	88	85	0.49
AC Hotel Paris Le Bourget Airport	3	17,500	79	162	0.69
Moxy Paris Bastille	4	25,000	97	140	0.47
Courtyard Paris Gare de Lyon	4	25,000	196	211	0.81
AC Hotel Paris Porte Maillot	4	25,000	132	212	0.69
Courtyard Paris Boulogne	4	25,000	116	99	0.43
Renaissance Paris La Defense Hotel	4	25,000	127	179	0.61
Renaissance Paris Hippodrome de St. Cloud Hotel	4	25,000	134	179	0.63
Paris Marriott Charles de Gaulle Airport Hotel	4	25,000	116	193	0.62
Courtyard Paris Roissy CDG Airport Hotel	4	25,000	86	116	0.40
Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel	5	35,000	184	242	0.61
Le Méridien Etoile	5	35,000	154	241	0.56
Sheraton Paris Airport Hotel & Conference Centre	5	35,000	136	208	0.49
Renaissance Paris Republique Hotel	6	50,000	223	279	0.50
Paris Marriott Opera Ambassador Hotel	6	50,000	224	308	0.53
Hotel Banke Opera, Autograph Collection	6	50,000	212	309	0.52
Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hotel	6	50,000	269	324	0.59
Le Dokhan’s, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, Paris	6	50,000	270	288	0.56
Renaissance Paris Le Parc Trocadero Hotel	6	50,000	234	399	0.63
Le Metropolitan, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, Paris	6	50,000	252	293	0.55
Hotel de NELL, Paris	7	60,000	242	323	0.47
Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel	7	60,000	289	324	0.51
W Paris – Opéra	7	60,000	465	448	0.76
La Maison Champs Elysées, Paris	7	60,000	375	210	0.49
Paris Marriott Champs Elysees Hotel	7	60,000	408	349	0.63
Le Roch Hotel and Spa, Paris	7	60,000	420	395	0.68
Westin Paris Vendome	7	60,000		427	0.71
Hôtel de Berri, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Paris	8	85,000	359	432	0.47
Prince de Galles, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Paris	8	85,000	466	623	0.64

I tried to make the booking through the Marriott website but I ran into a problem. The redemption was allowed only on a standard room which could accomodate a maximum of two adults. I called the hotel and asked if I could be upgraded to a Family room as I was also travelling with a child.

The good part was that it was possible. The bad part was that it cost me €40 per night and I am a Gold Elite. I could not have waited till check-in to ask for an upgrade so I paid.

The prevailing rates of the family rooms were €320 per night (including taxes) so I got a decent value of 1.1 cents per point.

Location

This was the main reason to book this property. This hotel is located right next to the Paris Gare De Lyon metro station. The station is served by both RER and M trains.

We took about 4 trips a day and most of them were non-stop trains. After a couple of trips, you figure out the best exit to take for the hotel. Then walking to the hotel takes less than a minute.

Check-in and Room

This is a modern hotel. It is decorated largely in white with a bit of yellow thrown in.

The first thing you would notice when you enter the hotel is the check-in area. It is really small! I have doubts if it could accommodate more than 5 groups checking-in at the same time.

The staff at check-in counters were multilingual. I could hear French, English and Arabic. We arrived a bit earlier than the standard check-in time and it took about 30 minutes for the room to be prepared. I asked for higher floor rooms facing Eiffel Tower. However, only the first part of my request was accepted.

This was my first time staying in Paris outside of the central areas (near Eiffel Tower). I was expecting tiny rooms and small windows. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. The rooms were quite huge by Paris standards. There was a queen-size bed and a convertible sofa.

The best part though, were the fantastic views from the windows. I just could not get enough of it.

Food & Beverages

A couple of bottles of water were provided when we checked-in.

Paris was cold and rainy when we traveled. We had pretty much made up our mind to have breakfast at the hotel even though we had to pay extra. However, on our first day, we discovered that there is an ‘Eric Kayser’ right across the hotel. We have extremely fond memories of the place. We ended up having breakfast there every day. The croissant and many other bakery items are to die for!

Final Thoughts

Would I recommend this hotel? Sure, for three specific reasons. First, if you are looking to redeem Marriott points. Second, if you are looking to stay in a relatively quiet but well-connected chain hotel. Third, if you want larger rooms.

If you do not care about any of these, you can find a boutique hotel in central Paris for the same price.