Lived up to its rave reviews
by Aldo_Nola - - New Orleans, Louisiana
30 Apr 2008
Previous reviews are quite accurate and complete. The location of the hotel is prime for two reasons: it is extremenly convenient to the Metro and the fabulous views of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triompe. Walk outside of the hotel, take 20 steps and you are at an elevator that whisks you down to the Metro and RER stations. There are lots of decent cafes and great shopping within walking distance.
The hotel itself exceeded my high expectations. Front desk, bellmen, concierge staff, housekeeping and dining room staff were 100% friendly, proffesional and accurate in their recommendations. Our suite, 606, had a postcard view of the Arc and Eiffel Tower which was especially wonderful at night.
Quality of bedding and bathroom linens were okay. Not bad, but not luxurious. This did not impede our enjoyment of the hotel, but I mention it just in case it is important to others. Room was very tastefully decorated and whisper-quiet even with all of the traffic whizzing by the Arc just yards away.
Farouq is quite an ambassador for the hotel and Paris. His calm professionalism and friendly manner were most appreciated as we got our bearings in the big city of Paris. My wife asked him about onion soup for lunch one day and he said, “come with me” and walked with us about 3-4 minutes to a nearby cafe and introduced us to the Maitre d’. The meal was great, the service very attentive, and we appreciated the VIP treatment that Farouq provided.
One other opinion to share: when in Paris, don’t underestimate the importance of access to the Metro. Taxis are pretty reasonable price-wise but can be hard to find, and traffic jams eat up a lot of your time. You simply can’t walk everywhere you want to go. Having a metro stop just outside the door make it easy to whisk down to the Louvre for a few minutes to see the building and pyramids at night, zip over to the Eiffel Tower for a coffee, and be back in your room all within 90 minutes, having spent only a few Euro. Taxis are pretty reasonable price-wise but can be hard to find, and traffic jams eat up a lot of your time.
The bottom line is that this is an excellent hotel even without the beautiful view, and nearly unbeatable when you factor it in. We left Paris and after a few days in Amsterdam we returned and stayed at the Four Seasons Georges V, and I found the differences in quality and service to be fairly small considering the astronomic difference in price. Next time we stay in Paris it will be at the Splendid Etoile.
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