Marriott's Village d'Ile-de-France

Traded into this property via interval international for the week of 09/13 to 09/20/2009. Property itself is nice with more of a '"natural" way about the landscape as compared to the "manacured" look. The unit was sufficient in size although the kitchen was tight if more than two people tried to occupy it at one time. The water pressure is outstanding. Almost too strong really. The only problem I had was the dryer did not dry my clothes. I just used the drying rack provided and air dried the clothes. No big deal.

If you are going to Disney this location is very convenient. I was not there for Disney. Although Central Paris is not very close one can easily get there via public transportation. A bus (#34) stop right outside the property and you can get off at either Disney or the Val de Europe Mall and catch the (RER) Train righ into town. About a 40-45 min train ride. I purchase a "Paris Visit" pass which gives you unlimited access to the public Buses, Subway and RER train systems. I used these almost exclusively during my stay. I would not recommend driving a car into Paris. The streets are difficult enough to navigate on foot much less while trying to drive. A navigation system is HIGHLY recommended if you insist on a car.

There is no need to go to the Val de Europe for Groceries if you just need a few items as there is a small market within walking distance from this property. However, if you want to STOCK up and a huge wine selection the Auchun is remarkable even by USA standards. Also at this plaza are a few restaraunts and pastrie shops if you want to stay close.

I noticed another person complain about the resorts proximaty to Paris. Well maybe he/she should read the info better because the distance is no secret. Bottom line is if there was no Disney Paris there would probably be no Marriott Paris. It is what it is.

Remember you are in Europe not America. Things are different. Appreciate it for what it is.

PS. Hopkie's review below is dead on.

We have recently returned from our vacation to Paris and based on other Marriott properties we have stayed at over the years, I would have to rate the Village d'Ile-de-France as not up to Marriott standards. Although the resort is unique with the 2 story villas, the maintenace and upkeep of the units left a lot to be desired. We made approximately 4 calls to the service desk to have problems resolved (microwave did not work, washer would not drain, safety lock on the front door was broken, toilet would not stop running). The response to these concerns were not acceptable with either long wait times to have issues resolved or not response at all.

There is daily maid service but don't expect your towels to be replace as this involved another phone call to the front desk.

We arrived by train from Italy and showed up at 1:00 a.m. Although there were a couple of front desk staff on duty, a common courtesy would be to help us with our luggage to the unit was located at the far reaches of the property but we were not offered this service.

The marketplace is well stocked but the prices are outrageous. A trip to the mall at Val d'Europe is well worth the time and effort.

Unfortunately, I would not return or recommend this property.

biggest drawback is 45 min train trip to Paris. Great town house type set up.

We stayed here in July 2007. I am a Marriott owner and have stayed at 6-7 different MVCI resorts around the world.

We really enjoyed our stay here and I would definitely recommend this resort. You must go here with the right expectations because it is a slighlty different experience than what you are used to with other Marriotts.

First, the rooms. Excellent 2 storey townhouse layout with a beautiful garden out back. Well appointed by French standards - if you have stayed in Paris you know what I mean. The kitchen was well appointed - a bit smaller than the American properties. Negatives - the internet service is useless. We gave up on the air conditioning.

Grounds - the resort is meant to feel like a small French village and despite the somewhat modern feel they do a remarkable job of accomplishing this. There is an abundance of playgrounds and walking trails and the grounds are immaculate. The outdoor pool is not heated so plan swim days for the sunny days. Aside from this the pool is beautiful with a lazy river (much smaller than Aruba!) and a nice fountain. The golf course (owned by Disney) that surrounds the property is brand new and well worth a visit. The gym is one of the better ones I have seen in MVCI. There is a bar in the lobby - drink there - don't eat there. The Marketplace is well stocked - the prices will truly shock you.

Staff - we found the staff to be very friendly and helpful, never a problem in 2 weeks.

Area - Rental car a must. France has very modern roadways and driving is a breeze (bring your GPS!). Do not even think of driving into Paris. It is a short drive to Disney (hint - park in the multi-level lot at Disney Village). Also a short drive to a shopping centre (Val D'Europe) that rivals anything I have seen in America. Buy groceries and drinks at the Auchon lower level. The commute to Paris is 25-35 mins depending on the time of day. I had no problem with this but I am a subway commuter back home. I find the Paris Metro to be one of the best in the world - the station at Val D'Europe is modern and accessible. (hint - park free at the Auchon at the mall and walk to RER).

Disney - about a 2/3 scale model of Magic Kingdom Orlando - the Studio park was about 1/2 scale. Remarkably we found the staff very friendly and eager to speak English. (Actually true throughout Paris too). We enjoyed 3 full days at the parks over the 2 week stay- this is all you need. It is loads of fun - I am an Orlando regular and I was not at all disappointed. Don't come here to visit Disney but visit Disney if you come here. Do visit Fountainbleau, Provins and Veaux-Vicomte - they are stunning.

In all this is a great place to take it down to 1st gear (or even neutral) and experience the French countryside. A perfect place for a family with young kids. A brilliant place for a family reunion. A perfect place for day trips around the countryside. Not so good if you want/plan to spend a lot of time in Paris, but that is a different kind of vacation.

Stayed the 1st week of July 2007 (we don't own there). Resort actually is OK but service is unbelievably BAD!

First the resort: True, it is not convenient to a lot of things unless you have a car (we did), but if you rent a car it is quite easy to get to a great deal of non-Paris sightseeing (Fountainbleu Palace, Vaux le Vicomte Palace, Provin - medieval town, the Champagne region, lots of smaller towns with very nice churches and small castles, etc.) We had a great time driving around (it was quite easy to drive through the countryside and towns outside Paris).

The resort had a nice ambiance and the 2 bedroom we had was very nice. One of our party had a bad knee and we requested and got a handicapped unit with one of the bedrooms on the ground floor - it was very large.

Physical problems: Light bulbs out when we checked in. Very slow internet connection. Air conditioning went out upstairs and it took several days to get it fixed (after reporting it, they sent a security guard at 11 pm who, of course, could not fix it). Windows had no screens so if you opened them to get a breeze, mass numbers of mosquitoes came in. Birds had built nests in some of the windows (the quantity of mess on the windows would indicate they had been there a month or more) so you had to be careful which ones you opened. Did not replace toilet paper in bathrooms some days.

Now the service: Concierge was quite good, but front desk staff was the worst we have ever encountered anywhere in the world - and we travel a lot. As an example, when we went to the indoor whirlpool the second day, there obviously was a problem - it was cold. My wife went to the front desk clerk to report the problem and the clerk's response was that we were Americans and didn't know the difference in cold and warm - how rude can you get! After about 45 minutes of inaction, I went to tell them there was a problem. The clerk's response this time was that maintenance had just checked the temperature and it was fine. I informed the clerk that no-one from maintenance had been in the pool area nor near the whirlpool in the past hour and she said that they had checked the temperature just a few minutes ago - she lied. I asked to speak to a manager - after waiting 15 minutes and being told 3 times she was "on the way", I left and told them I would speak to a day manager the next day. When I got back to the pool area and collected my belongings a maintenance person showed up and when I asked about the temperature he said he was going to check it - finally. Turns out someone had closed the hot water valve in the basement, but by that time, the pool was closing for the night.

When I asked for a manager at 8:15 in the morning I was told that no manager was on duty. I was shocked and said that surely there was a manager or someone in charge I could speak to and was told that there was no management staff was on the premises. Either I was lied to again - or the resort management is hopeless.

We had gone to a very low pressure presentation the morning of our 2nd day and actually considered purchasing at this resort. By 10pm that night we knew we would not purchase there, nor probably ever go back.