Etap Hotel Roissy near Charles de Gaulle airport

Looking for an inexpensive place to stay at Roissy Aéroport Charles-de-Gaulle Paris Nord? I stayed at the Etap Hotel Roissy (335 rue de la Belle Étoile, ZAC Paris Nord 2, Roissey en FRANCE 95974; phone [+33] 892 68 3056, fax 149 89 3342 or visit www.etaphotel.com). There are 20 Etap hotels in the Paris area. Etap is a member of the Accor chain (800/466-8356).

I paid only €39 ($51) for one night in October ’06 and got what I paid for. There was no room key (instead, you enter a special code), no bellhop, no cart for hauling your own baggage, no phone and no clock.

The room was clean and had a shower, a small TV, a small bed and a very small alarm posted on the headboard to set for your wake-up call. There were food machines and some kind of breakfast (which cost extra).

The best part was being only 15 minutes from the airport and missing the traffic. Included in the room price was a shuttle to the airport.

• At the other end of the scale, there is a chain of fish restaurants in Paris called Vin et Marée (183 boulevard Murat, 75016 Paris, France; phone 01 46 47 91 39 or visit www.vin-et-maree.com). There are three locations other than this one at which I ate.

The variety of fresh seafood was incredible, served in large portions. Their specialty dessert was a gigantic chocolate soufflé.

Be prepared to spend a small fortune. Three of us shared two appetizers and two entrées for a total of €110 ($142). Save it for a special treat.

PHYLLIS C. BISMANOVSKY

Mountain View, CA