Paris Hotels on Points for Families of 4

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"Paris is always a good idea," Audrey Hepburn says in the movie "Sabrina."

That may be why Paris often is the first overseas destination for many North American families in pursuit of magic moments, such as seeing their children catch their first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower (or, hopefully soon, a rebuilt Notre Dame Cathedral).

Hotel rooms in the City of Light, however, often lack that je ne sais quoi. They are notoriously tiny, often forbidding more than two or three people because of strict fire codes. Plus, they're expensive -- even with the more-advantageous-than-normal exchange rate (about $1.13 to 1 euro as of publication).

It can start to feel like a bad idea to try to go to Paris on points as a family when you keep encountering messages about room capacities for more than two guests:

Hotel rooms for four comprised of two double or queen beds may be common in North America, but are rare in Paris (and much of Europe). Luckily, TPG Family has pored over hundreds of Parisian hotels to take on the task of successfully fitting a family of four into a points hotel room. This is the second in a planned series of these how-tos for families visiting major cities in Europe using points, with London points-friendly hotels for families of four available now.

While there is a wide range of points hotels for in Paris for two people, finding rooms that fit four is harder. If this list seems Marriott-heavy, that's because it is. Marriott is now the largest hotel chain in the world and, from what we found, it has the most diverse group of family rooms available on points in Paris, though Marriott commonly tacks on a surcharge when booking a nonstandard (larger) room using points.

Paris With a Family Using Hilton Honors Points

Several of the Hilton properties in Paris were available for families of four as “premium room awards” that ranged in our tests from 244,000 points per night at Hilton Paris Opera for two twin beds to 256,000 for a rooftop suite at Maison Astor Paris, Curio Collection.

Based on the award rates we’ve seen for premium awards, you’d be better off spending around 60,000 to 80,000 points per room per night at the Hilton Paris Opera or Maison Astor Paris, Curio Collection by Hilton, and asking for interconnecting rooms rather than spending more than 240,000 per night on a small room with two twin beds.

Hilton Paris La Defense had the most reasonably sized family rooms in Paris for the redemption value in the Hilton family, so it made it into our roundup.

Hotel: Hilton Paris La Defense

Program: Hilton Honors

Family Rooms: Points required vary per room type and season (Tests ranged from 169,000 to 198,000 points)

Metro: La Défense

In our tests, the family rooms varied from 169,000 points per night for the room with two double beds to 198,000 points per night for a 430-square-foot suite featuring a king bed with a sofa bed in a separate living area. La Defense is one of the largest business areas in Europe, and should you have to be here on business, it could be a nice way to combine it with a family vacation. Located inside the pristine CNIT shopping center, it has direct access to the Metro and RER underneath the mall. Guests have reported issues when arriving by Uber, so make sure you double-check with the hotel about arrival information.

Here are our favorite Hilton cards so that can ramp up your Hilton Honors points balance in a hurry.

Paris With a Family Using Radisson Rewards

Hotel: Radisson Blu Hotel, Paris-Boulogne

Program: Radisson Rewards

Family Rooms: 70,000 points per night

Radisson Rewards is one of the best hotel loyalty programs for families visiting Europe, as it is one of the few programs that makes family rooms available for a reasonable number of points. Although outside of the center of Paris, this hotel sits between Versailles and the Champs-Elysees and gives visitors an the opportunity to travel to both the city center and Versailles easily. The city's larger stadiums for music and sports are also in this area. Some of the rooms have Eiffel Tower views, and guests rave about the breakfast and 460-square-foot rooms with a separate living area, which is palatial for Paris. This is a great option if you’re sitting on Radisson Rewards points. There are free meals from the children's menu for all kids under 12, along with personalized welcome packs for kids that include games.

Should you wish to visit Disneyland Paris, you could book a family room at the Radisson Blu Hotel Paris, Marne-la-Vallee for 55,000 Radisson points per night and enjoy a bed and a double sofa pullout bed. The Radisson Blu Hotel Champs-Elysées, near its namesake, is another option if your family consists of two adults and one child and you have 105,000 Radisson points to spend on a premium-room award.

Paris With a Family Using the World of Hyatt

Despite having three Hyatt properties in Paris, the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile is the only one that has suites that can officially accommodate two adults and two children.

Hotel: Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile

Program: World of Hyatt

Family Rooms: Suites start at 24,000 points per night

Metro: Neuilly - Porte Maillot

The Regency Suite goes for 24,000 Hyatt points per night. Children eat breakfast for free up to age 12. Regency suites don’t have Eiffel Tower views, but for 30,000 points per night you can get the Eiffel Tower Suite, which accommodates four people. I had to call Hyatt to find this availability, and it won't be available on all nights. The representative said that to search for the Regency or Eiffel Tower suites, you must search with two adults and then add a note that there will be two additional children. Even with this workaround, I could not find any availability online -- but when I called, I was able to access plenty of bookable dates. Considering a standard room at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome is 30,000 Hyatt points, getting a suite for four with a living room and two bathrooms for that same price is a solid deal.

The World of Hyatt Credit Card can get you started with your World of Hyatt points collection. If you don’t have the World of Hyatt points necessary, you can also transfer them in from Chase Ultimate Rewards if you have a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or Ink Business Preferred Credit Card.

Choice Points Rock for Families in Paris

Hotel: Comfort Hotel Paris Porte D'ivry

Program: Choice Privileges

Family Rooms: Rooms with two single beds and a queen bed starting at 8,000 points or 6,000 points + $15

If you are looking for what may be the best deal on points in Paris for a family of four, turn to Choice as family rooms with three beds can be booked for an insanely low 8,000 points per night with no surcharge. During the peak season, (July 1 - Sept. 15), rates increase to 16,000 points per night, which is still very fair.

Hotel: Quality Hotel & Suites Bercy Bibliotheque

Program: Choice Privileges

Family Rooms: Rooms with up to four single beds or one queen and two singles can be booked for 10,000 - 25,000 points per night.

Reviews for this property aren't quite as good as for the Comfort Hotel, but getting up to four beds in one room for a standard award rate is very more generous than what is available in the other chains. Award rates are more variable here, but start at 10,000 points for a room for four in the lower season. You can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points to Choice at a 1:1 ratio if you need to increase your account balance.

Marriott at the Head of the Pack for Families in Paris

Hotel: Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hotel

Program: Marriott Bonvoy

Family Rooms: Category 6 with rooms that cost 50,000 points plus 190 euros per night

Metro: Charles de Gaulle or Ternes

Three blocks from the Arc de Triomphe is the modern, recently renovated (if a bit sterile) Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hotel. Guests love the location for visiting the sites or jumping on the Metro and RER. Some rooms have views, and elites report a chance of upgrades (although those are never guaranteed). Many of the 398-square-foot family rooms with two double beds have balconies, and some upgraded rooms have views of the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe. Renovated in 2018, it has a foosball table and board games in the lobby, along with a refurbished gym that helps clear the cobwebs for those with jet lag.

The hotel bar offers free drinks to all guests for a brief happy (half) hour between 7pm and 7:30pm, Monday to Friday. Elites at the Platinum level and above have the choice of free breakfast or 750 points per night. Breakfast for nonelites and Gold members is 30 euros per person for adults, half price for ages 6 to 12 and free for those under 6.

The RER at Charles de Gaulle goes straight to Disneyland Paris and makes for a nice day trip. There also is quick access to all airports from the top of Avenue Mac Mahon via Le Bus Direct.

Two nights at this property (other than the cash family-room supplement) could be yours with the current 100,000-point welcome offers available until April 24 on three of Marriott’s cobranded cards. You can also use the program’s Points Advance feature to book these rooms now even if you don’t have enough points in your account just yet.

Hotel: Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel

Program: Marriott Bonvoy

Family Rooms: Category 5 with family suites that cost 35,000 points plus 130 euros per night

Metro: Glacière

While not the prettiest hotel to look at, the Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel has the largest rooms for the lowest redemptions, giving you a king bed plus a queen pulldown bed with 473 square feet. The hotel was built in 1972, and its age shows on the exterior and the fact that rooms were last renovated in 2007.

Why include it? Families love the size of the rooms, the low point redemption for a family of four and the ability to use a Category 5 certificate for a standard room. The hotel also has an executive lounge on the third floor. It is just outside the Left Bank, which has a more Parisian-neighborhood feel than near the Champs-Elysées. Located between two Metro stations, it is walkable to the Catacombs of Paris, one of the most fascinating attractions in the city, with the remains of more than 6 million people in underground tunnels.

Hotel: Paris Marriott Champs-Elysées Hotel

Program: Marriott Bonvoy

Family Rooms: Category 7 with rooms that cost 60,000 points plus 190 euros per night

Metro: Franklin D Roosevelt

Once a crown jewel in Marriott's Paris collection pre-SPG merger, the Marriott Champs-Elysées may not be the highest-end property in the Bonvoy collection but is still a solid choice for families willing to pay a supplement to stay together in one room that is centrally located. Marketing itself as the only five-star hotel with a Champs-Elysées address, this hotel is steps from the Arc de Triomphe and a great location for a short stay where you just want to hit the key city attractions.

While the hotel cites being family-friendly on its website, it doesn't provide any specific family amenities. (Allowing four people in a hotel room in Paris seems to be reason enough to call yourself family-friendly!) The family room has two double beds, is 430 square feet and has all the North American-chain comforts you would want in a hot and sticky summer in Paris, such as air conditioning. Families rave about the location, and Platinum elites get a substantial savings of 44 euros for each adult by way of the free American breakfast given in lieu of a lounge. The hotel shows wear -- while the lobby is light and airy, the rest of the hotel is dated. The hotel has a 24-hour fitness room to help you run off your jet lag.

Hotel: Prince de Galles, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Paris

Program: Marriott Bonvoy

Family Rooms: Category 8 with rooms that cost 85,000 points plus 350 euros per night

Metro: George V

For that once-in-a-lifetime Paris trip or if you’re sitting on endless number of Marriott Bonvoy points (and a fair amount of cash), the Prince de Galles is waiting for you. Its one-bedroom suite is 484 square feet and has a king bed plus a large sofa bed in a separate area. While the redemption may sound high, the cash rate for the room would be more than 1,600 euros ($1,800) per night for the dates I checked in June. TPG himself reviewed the hotel in 2015 and praised its old Parisian feel and over-the-top luxury with gilded chandeliers and marble floors.

Though it's not a hotel that outright caters to families, those who stay here say the standards are high for all guests, and staff make your visit more comfortable with your children by reserving breakfast tables, providing upgrades when available and arranging dinner reservations. They are known to provide extras in the room, such as cake for a child’s birthday or celebration, and greet kids warmly.

Hotel: Marriott's Village d'ile-de-France

Program: Marriott Bonvoy/Marriott Vacation Club

Family Rooms: Category 4 with a two-bedroom townhouse that costs 35,000 points per night

Train station: Val d’Euro

An article on points-friendly Paris wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the Marriott Vacation Club near Disneyland Paris. A two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom, two-story townhouse at Marriott's Village d'ile-de-France fits up to six people with a king bed, two twin beds, a double sofa bed and a rollaway bed across 1,130 square feet. This is a Marriott Vacation Club and has that feel with an Owners Clubhouse, Marketplace store and on-site breakfast at the bistro costing 19 euros per person. Here's a guide to booking Marriott Vacation Club properties (though double-check the award prices, as the guide is in need of a pricing update.).

Families rave about the full kitchen (with dishwasher) and a washing machine and separate tumble dryer, which are rare in Europe. A shuttle bus to take you the 4 miles to Disneyland Paris is provided for 4 euros round-trip per person; the times vary seasonally, and the trip takes approximately 10 minutes. The property is 40 minutes outside of Paris and it costs approximately $70 via Uber to get to the Arc de Triomphe. Families can also take a train into Paris for 14 euros per person from the local train station, called Val d’Euro, and be in Paris in 45 minutes.

Bottom Line

While none of these points hotels are perfect solutions for families looking to stay in Paris using points, being able to fit your family of four into a hotel room with a points redemption of some sort makes them worthy of consideration. They're almost all well-connected to the efficient Paris Metro (with more than 300 stations). You can see the city and keep your budget intact while also taking advantage of the great free things to do with kids in Paris. If you've chosen to make it a family Paris-London trip via Eurostar, check out 8 Points-Friendly Hotels to Fit a Family of 4 in London. And stay tuned for future points guides to family travel in other major European cities.