Luxury Hotels - Report: Mandarin Oriental, Paris

On a recent FAM trip through Europe I had the opportunity to stay at the new MO Paris. Overall, I was quite impressed. More details are below in the report.

Vitals
Booked directly with the hotel and confirmed into a Superior room on a bed and breakfast basis. Upon arrival, upgraded to a lovely 6th floor Mandarin room.

Arrival
We arrived by taxi from the Left Bank (from the Hotel Esprit Saint Germain - report forthcoming too). Doormen were quick to open doors, welcome us to the hotel and show us to Reception.

As one enters the hotel, you are immediately struck by the large verdant courtyard through large glass windows. There is a seating area in front of the windows. To the left is the Concierge desk and the Reception. Further to the left at the end of the hall is the MO Bar and Sur Mesure, the Michelin-starred restaurant by Thierry Marx. You can enjoy drinks in the courtyard in nice weather -- I had the pleasure of meeting with a fellow esteemed FTer there. Along the way, there are small nooks with additional seating where you can enjoy drinks, afternoon tea, etc. They can be curtained off for privacy.

To the right at the end of the hall are the guest elevators and Camelia, the all day restaurant. More seating in nooks are available here as well.

At Reception, we were very warmly received and were informed of our upgrade. Our room was not quite ready so we were invited to have a seat in the Lobby and enjoy a drink. I was not feeling well so I was very appreciative of the hotel putting a rush on getting the room inspected and ready for occupancy.

The Room
We were escorted to our room by a Front desk agent. Elevators are controlled by the RF key card (you simply touch the key card on the card reader) as are the doors. Many of the rooms overlook the inner courtyard and many of those have small balconies. Higher floor rooms have plenty of natural light -- some may find lower floor rooms to be a little dark.

We were upgraded to a Mandarin room on the 6th floor. The Mandarin rooms average about 50sq meters or just over 500 sq ft. These are very nice sized rooms and are very comfortable. Much of the real estate is taken up by the bathroom facilities.

As you enter there is a small foyer. To the left is the WC, bath, and shower. To the right are two individual wash basins and the closet space for the room. Both are open and closed by sliding glass doors. This area of the room is tile. Beyond is the sleeping quarters anchored by an extremely comfortable Sealy king sized bed, a built in sofa, small coffee table, and a desk with chair. There is also a sliding glass door to lead to the small balcony.

The decor is contemporary but in a tasteful way with a subtle asian twist. There is extensive use of photography in the rooms and public spaces, especially those by Man Ray. Since the building used to be a government office building, the hotel has tried very hard to create a history, a story for the hotel, since it lacks the historical pedigree of the Ritz, George V or Crillon.

The room is filled with the latest technology from telephones, flat screen HDTVs which swivel out from the wall, to the ubiquitous TV in the bathroom. Lighting is controlled by bedside panels as well as a main panel by the main entrance. Curiously, drapes are not automated.

Toiletries are by Dyptique and the conditioner is exclusive to the hotel. It cannot be purchased in any of the boutiques.

The Spa, Pool and Fitness Centre

As per most MO hotels this hotel has invested a lot of time and money in its spa which is in the basement level. The Spa is very compact with 4 single treatment rooms which feature private lockers, change facilities, and showers so there are no common change areas for Spa use. There are also couples treatment suites as well which feature a vitality pool en suite. The overall feel is very relaxing with very subtle Asian cues; the feminine style lends well to wellness and relaxation.

The hotel uses the butterfly and flower motif extensively throughout the hotel and the spa is no different. The Spa also features an indoor swimming pool (which is larger than the one at the George V -- you can actually swim laps in this pool) and there is a well equipped and good sized (for Paris) fitness centre overlooking the pool. Complimentary plain and flavoured waters along with fruits are available to guests using the facilities.

I liked it, too. It does not try to compete with FS George V, but of its type, it is a very good hotel and reminds me a little of MO Barcelona because of the garden, which I loved.

I am hoping that when MO Milan opens next year it will be of the same standard!

I stayed at this property last week and I thought I would add just a few observations to those above.

I am a huge MO fan so I was always going to like this hotel!

Airport transfers at CDG included rendevous at the gate and escort through Immigration.

We booked a Mandarin Room through DavidO. The Virtuoso upgrade was subject to availability on check-in and was not granted (perhaps because of heavy bookings for Fashion Week?). However, we were given a very nice room with balcony overlooking the garden on the third floor. Room sound-proofing is excellent - our room was next to the lifts but we heard nothing at all from outside when the doors and windows were closed.

There were numerous little touches that I appreciated during our stay - wine and fresh flowers and fruit in the room, an invitation to a Paris Fashion Week event at the hotel (not extended to all hotel guests), Bollinger and chocolate cake in the room on my birthday. There was a small issue with my spa booking (caused by me missing a flight connection at LHR), and the staff were extremely contrite, rebooked me with a minimum of fuss and gave me a gift in thanks for my understanding.

The concierge team was great and handled restaurant reservation requests very well both prior to our arrival and during our stay, including securing a table for us at Le Chateaubriand (definitely worth a visit for some very interesting and delicious modern food).

The hotel has a very appealing (to me), modern, elegant, slightly feminine feel and rooms are well-equipped with the sorts of facilities and products that women often appreciate (eg hair straightening irons as well as hair dryers, but no clothes steamers, in contrast to MOHK).

It is a modern hotel and a very different offering from the grand palace hotels. It is relaxed in feel but I found all the staff to provide impeccable service. It has a lovely intimate yet buzzy, boutique feel and the bars and restaurants are frequented by some locals as well as hotel guests, which to me always adds to the appeal. And the location, for those who like shopping, is hard to beat - just a short walk from Colette and other boutiques on Rue St Honore, a fifteen minute stroll to Avenue Montaigne and a slightly longer walk in the other direction to the Palais Royale.

I would happily return.