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We stayed at the Paris Marriott Rive Gauche using a Marriott Free Night Award. This 4-star Montparnasse Paris hotel is located on the Left Bank in the 14th Arrondissement. As a conference center, it is popular with business travelers but it also attracts leisure travelers. We visited as a couple without the kids and found the hotel convenient for exploring Paris by metro. Read our Paris Marriott Rive Gauche review for help deciding where to stay in Paris, especially if you have Marriott free night awards you’d like to use. We also stayed at Le Meridien Etoile another Marriott Category 5 property where we used free night awards, so read our review to see how it compares.
**Our WTA score represents our own views based on our personal experience with the entity being reviewed.
Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Booking
We made our booking at Paris Marriott Rive Gauche, a category 5 hotel, using a Marriott free night award earned from our Marriott co-branded credit cards. The hotel requires between 30-40K points per night, depending on the date of stay. We have several Marriott co-branded credit cards between the two of us, including a business credit card and a personal credit card, each of which comes with an annual free night certificate valid for any hotel stay requiring 35K points or less per night.
See our favorite travel reward credit cards to learn more about the different Marriott credit cards and apply for your own. We have the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card by Chase and the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card, but there are many options that will earn you a free night award annually.
We redeemed our e-certificate for 35,000 Marriott BonVoy points and paid just 5.76 Euros in taxes and fees for the room. There was no resort fee for this property. Our room would have cost about 400 Euros if not using a free night award, so this was a valuable redemption in peak travel season.
Hotel Location
The hotel is located at 17 Boulevard Saint-Jacques in the Montparnasse area of Paris. This charming neighborhood is lined with shops, bistros, and creperies so there is no shortage of places to eat nearby. Within walking distance you can find the Montparnasse Cemetery, where Sartre is buried, the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens, and the famous Catacombs of Paris.
It was convenient to access the metro line 6, with 2 stops a short walk from the hotel- Glaciere and Denfert-Rochereau. The hotel is also near the train station Gare Montparnasse. We took a taxi from Orly airport, which was about 30 euros. Unfortunately the hotel does not offer an airport shuttle service for either Orly or Charles de Gaulle. Parking is available in an underground garage for a fee.
Marriott Rive Gauche Lobby
The 3-story lobby is open and spacious, with upper floors overlooking the space. The hotel is a convention center so it is designed to accommodate large groups of people. While the hotel caters to business travelers, we felt welcome as leisure travelers. It is a popular location for conferences with desks welcoming conference attendees in the reception area.
Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel and Conference Center lobby
Concierge at Marriott Rive Gauche Paris Hotel
Reception at Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel & Conference Center
Standard Room
We booked a standard room using our free night award and asked for a room with a nice view. We arrived in the early morning long before check in, but were able to access a room which we appreciated. The only rooms available at that hour had 2 double beds instead of a King bed, but we took it since we wanted to freshen up after our overnight flight (read our review of La Compagnie business class here).
The room was larger than anticipated for a Paris hotel and since it was just the two of us, we had plenty of space. Our room had a desk with an ergonomic swivel chair, additional chair in the corner, dresser, and nightstand in between the beds. A flat screen TV was mounted to the wall. Our room also had a mini-fridge, safe, iron and ironing board.
Standard Room at Paris Marriott Rive Gauche
The views from our room were lovely at sunrise. Our room had a floor-to-ceiling window which allowed us to take in more of the city. We could see far across the city from being on a high floor.
View from our standard room at Paris Marriott Rive Gauche
Our room had tea and coffee making facilities, which was helpful since we didn’t have access to the executive lounge. We have Marriott Gold status, but the lounge is accessible for Platinum and above loyalty members. It is also available for guests booking a suite.
In-room amenities included coffee and tea maker
The bathroom had a shower tub combination, a granite vanity with one sink in the corner, and a separate room with the toilet. As is often the case in European hotels, the shower did not entirely close off from the rest of the bathroom. We were careful not to get water all over the bathroom floor where the shower door did not extend.
Bathroom
Bathroom
The toiletries were by Acca Kappa and included a very small bottle of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion.
Accra Kappa bath amenities
Fitness Center
The hotel has a fitness center which is open 24/7. It was equipped with treadmills and a variety of weightlifting machines. There was also a yoga studio with wall to wall mirrors.
Marriott Rive Gauche Gym
Gym
Fitness Center
R’Yves Restaurant
As Marriott Gold members, we unfortunately were not eligible for complimentary breakfast. With so many delicious dining options in Paris, we chose not to eat at the hotel so cannot review the quality of food but just the availability of dining options.
The hotel has just one restaurant, R’Yves Restaurant and Bar. As mentioned earlier, there is also an Executive Lounge for elite members and guests with lounge access. The restaurant serves classic French cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The restaurant is temporarily closed due to the pandemic, however. The hotel also offers 24-hour room service.
Last thoughts on Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel & Conference Center
We only spent one night at this Montparnasse hotel before continuing on to Italy’s Amalfi Coast. We found it satisfactory for a brief stay and would certainly stay there again with Marriott free night awards. Our standard room was sufficiently spacious for the two of us, but if we were to return with our kids we would prefer to have more space. The hotel has a variety of suites and family rooms to accommodate families. With just one restaurant, there are not a lot of options for dining. Thankfully there are many restaurants nearby in the Montparnasse district.
*Editorial Disclosure-The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
