Recommendation for Versailles

[mmm2009]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone recommends places to stay in Versailles? It looks like LL has one recommended property -Trianon Palace Versailles - but no packages yet -



Has anyone stayed at this hotel: Trianon Palace Versailles, and would you recommend it?



Thank you so much!

[shygirl724]

When we went to Versailles last year, we stayed in Paris and took the train out to the site for the day. If we go again, we want to stay at the Trianon Palace to be close to Versailles Palace venue. It would have been great to have more time there and be able to go back to our room for a break. We did walk around this hotel to get a look for the next trip. It was beautiful and I look forward to staying there. It is rated #1 on Trip Advisor. From the reviews, it seems that the great views are in the main building (and more expensive rooms), while the rooms in the "annex" are still very nice but without the palace views. If you are like us, we would have been out sightseeing most of the time, so I am not sure I would have paid the higher price for a view I would not be in the room often to enjoy.



As for LL packages, I will keep my fingers crossed for you. The hotel site has some "specials" listed and they offer a AAA discount. Even with that, I found that booking it through venere.com would give you the same room for almost half less, so that might be an option for you.



Enjoy your trip!

[mmm2009]

Thank you so much for your thoughts. I am keeping an eye outfor the LL package hoping it will pop back up for Trianon - otherwise I was thinking of maybe booking a few nights on their website. I will definitely check out venere.com - sounds like they have some great deals.



How many days/nights would you recommend for visiting Versailles?



thanks again,

mmm

[shygirl724]

That all depends on how you like to sight see. My mother-in-law thinks 1 day is sufficient to see Disneyland. My husband and I would need at least a week, as we want to see and experience everything!



Having said that, we were there a good 8 hours visiting the palace and grounds. We did take an hour out to enjoy a leisurely lunch at a restaurant in the gardens. We missed some of the out venues as we did not have enough time. 2 days to visit would allow you to relax and see all that you want to see. There are electric carts for rent in the gardens, but I wouldn't waste your money. You only get them for 1 hour and then have to return them, so it actually seemed to take away from the experience. The property has some trams in the gardens, but we chose to walk as it seemed people were waiting for the ride longer than it would have taken to walk. Good choice, though, for those with mobility issues. I did see some people with bicycles but I don't know if they rented them on property or brought them with them. We actually enjoyed all the walking, as it allowed us to experience the grounds. Make sure you time your visit at the palace early in the AM, as it gets crowded once the tours show up. You can rent headsets inside that will take you on a self-guided tour of the palace that you may enjoy. Or you can do what we did and just downloaded a free (and I am sure not as detailed) self-guided tour recording to our iPOD from

http://www.ricksteves.com/news/trave..._downloads.htm. We just purchased a dual plug in for the headsets so 2 of us could listen at the same time. We timed our visit to the grounds so that we could enjoy the gardens while the music was playing. Very nice. You can find information on the times and tickets for accessing when the music is going on their site.



Hope this helps.



Shy ~
Message Edited by shygirl724 on 07-10-2010 09:19 AM

[mmm2009]

shy - thank you so much for all of your recommendations and details. I really appreciate it. That's such a cool idea to download a tour onto your ipod - I would have never thought of that! I will definitely look into booking at least 2 days since it seems like there is so much to see and experience.



What time of year did you go? I will be in France for the whole of August and 1/2 of September - any advice and what time period is better to go?



Thanks again,

mmm

[shygirl724]

We went the same time.....flew to Paris the last week of August, then on to Amsterdam for a LL package on a Uniworld Cruise. Weather was beautiful. Some rain one day in Paris, but I am in the Seattle area, so we are used to it (and it was warm rain anyway! lol).



Shy ~
Message Edited by shygirl724 on 07-11-2010 07:40 PM

[LL_Travelfan]

Hi mmm2009,

Have a look under the discussion thread of Mon Hotel, where the Mon Hotel vs. Trianon Palace were discussed in detail. We stayed at the Mon Hotel, but recognize, that if you want to be in Versailles, the Trianon Palace is a great place to stay, but getting back and forth to Paris takes a little time, but it is doable. We have been to the Trianon Palace many times for lunch on day trips while we lived in Paris. It is definitely a great place and you won't regret to stay there if you want to devote two or three days to see Versailles and its Gardens and other museums in Versailles. Keep watching the LL site for the Trianon Palace, it might come back soon. Good luck!

[shygirl724]

mmm2009,

How was your trip to Paris and Versailles? I'd love to hear about your trip.

Shy ~