As you can imagine, this trip wasn’t all plain sailing, as I had to reschedule everything almost at the last minute, due to the British government’s announcements that rrefused to abandon the 10-day quarantine when returning from FranceIn contrast to all Orange Zone countries, for those vaccinated in the UK.
Given my vacation in Mexico the following week, I’ll have to cut my trip to Paris short.
As a reminder, here is the itinerary followed:
Booking
I booked into this property two days before my arrival, as the rate I had obtained in the hotel I had originally booked into, which had rebooked me into the Renaissance Paris Vendôme, was obviously no longer available for a stay of just two nights.
So I had to find an alternative and ended up at the Paris Marriott Champs-Élysées, a hotel I hadn’t visited since 2012. All this for around €220 a night.
Arrival
The day before or the day before my arrival, I receive an e-mail from the hotel asking me for my transportation and arrival time.
I reply that I’ll arrive at the hotel by cab from the Gare du Nord, around noon. I was immediately told that the room wouldn’t be available until 3 p.m.: I’m always amazed at such a response to an Ambassador member, who is one of Marriott’s top 2% customers! I understand that hotels have lost their experienced staff, but there are limits to not training employees.
I arrive at the hotel shortly before noon after my Eurostar journey. I wait a few minutes as the check-in lady is in the process of extending the stay of an existing customer, and then she greets me.
The friendly receptionist takes care of the check-in formalities. She asks for my proof of fare, and proceeds to take the credit card imprint that will be used for my stay.
I’d say that the credit card imprint is very large, almost doubling the total price of my stay.
As a welcome gift, I chose breakfast, which I’d end up using only every other day, and she told me I had an upgrade to a room with a terrace. I prefer a room with a terrace to a suite without a view, and this suits me just fine. In fact, this room with terrace is very often sold at a higher price than the suite on the website.
Room
The room is located on the seventh floor of the property. Of course, since it has a terrace, I’m sure it’s on the top floor.
The room itself is really a standard room, with Parisian standards, i.e. around 20 m².
As soon as you enter, on the left, you enter the bathroom, equipped with a washbasin and a bathtub that I would describe as “American-style”.
Then, what can I say? Left is the bed, right is the desk!
There’s not much more to say, except that it’s largely faded and needs a good renovation… No, I’d even say it needs a real overhaul!
Because if I had paid the proposed rate without any discount, I would have spent nearly €500 a night for a standard room, and nearly €900 a night for this room with terrace.
The terrace is very spacious, almost the size of the bedroom. Nevertheless, I would have preferred the table and chairs to have been better maintained, and the whole thing to have been much cleaner.
In fact, the night I arrived, I’ll see a mouse wandering around on this terrace.
Note that the temperature in this room will not be able to drop below 26°, and despite my repeated requests to the front desk, no one will be able to fix the air-conditioning. I wonder how American customers can accept that!
To finish the visit on video :
Hotel facilities
The hotel has a fitness room, which I won’t be using during this stay. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, it is available 24 hours a day, but only on reservation.
Which is already better than nothing. But for a five-star hotel, no spa, no pool.
Food options
The catering at this hotel is a little strange. There is a terrace on the Champs Élysées, but it doesn’t seem to be in operation. There’s a kind of small restaurant set up on the left as you enter the lobby, but it’s very dark and not very appealing. There’s a bar in the lobby, which is very pleasant, and where I’ll be having a drink with an colleague. There is an indoor terrace, but I don’t think it was operated. And finally, there’s the breakfast room, available on the left as you exit the elevators.
Breakfast service
On the first morning, before our trip to northern France, I’ll have the opportunity to have breakfast at the hotel.
Breakfast is now served entirely at the table, with a choice of three set menus.
Since I’ve chosen this benefit as an Ambassador member, I opt for the broadest one, eliminating certain elements I don’t like. The American breakfast, in the form of scrambled eggs, will be excellent, as will the rösti and bacon. The service will be perfect, but I’m not surprised as I’m the only customer at this hour.
Departure
Departure formalities will be completed quickly, and the bill will be correct.
Bottom line
A really average experience, induced by a last-minute change. Nevertheless, I would have been quite unhappy if I had paid the normal posted rate without the Corporate code. Not at all acceptable in these post-Covid times!
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