jordyn

I completely disagree. I've been extremely underwhelmed by the concierges at the GV across multiple trips. I use concierges in Paris almost exclusively for restaurant reservations, and (although it was better on this last trip) have found the GV team to be quite slow to respond to e-mails, often requiring several days for a turnaround and in one case missing the opening of a restaurant's reservations book as a result. Just as importantly, I don't think I've ever gotten a reservation via the GV that I wouldn't have been able to manage on my own.

My only other data point in Paris is at Le Meurice, which was much better. They were extremely responsive by e-mail, even reminding me of reservations I had made directly with the restaurant but informed them about. They also managed to get two difficult reservations (L'Astrance and Frenchie, the former of which I had tried to book through the GV with no success).

For me, if I stay at the GV it's despite the concierge team whereas a big part of the reason I sometimes opt for Le Meurice is because of it.

Blackbook

You could always call them as well.. I have never been impressed with Le Meurice. The one or two at most concierge they have, and I believe one side-shows as the receptionist as well at times, is unimpressive. I also particularly like how by 11 pm, no concierge is to be seen in sight at Le Meurice.

The George V has been superb at getting me reservations (even same day) at Michelin 3 star restaurants in Paris. I can't comment on mid-range restaurants because I don't find the concierge necessary for such a task.

BENLEE

Not to disbelieve your good experience at the FS George V, but I just finished my stay at the George V and find the whole experience so underwhelming.

The subpar refurbished Exec Suite is small. Low ceiling. No walk-in closet. No electronic curtains. Not even a DND button. Cheap looking electronics, JVC mini compo with awful sound and iHome iPod docks ( at this price, I am expecting B&O or at least Bose ). Furnitures does not look luxurious. Shower stall not renovated I think and still using old fittings. Provide a coffee machine but no coffee granules. Have to call. Stingy welcome amenity comprises of two tiny cakes and forgotten to provide plates and cutlery in the room ( expecting me to eat with my hands perhaps? ). No management welcome letter. Shower gel and shampoo not replenished at turn down or forgotten.

Staff smile a lot ( which is very un-parisan like ) but otherwise don't really do much or go the extra mile. Concierge was very slow in replying email prior to stay as explained and also provide the wrong information on Eurostar check in procedures. Mediocre breakfast quality. When check-out, print the bill, swipe the card and say thank you. That's all. Not bother to ask how was my stay.

Granted, the common areas are very beautiful with the beautiful floral decorations and all that and so is the Le Cinq restaurant with good service from waiters but you don't need to stay there to enjoy the restaurant. Overall, one of the worst stay ever for me. Highly over-rated and possibly the worst Four Seasons.


I cannot disagree more. While I rate the FS London Park Lane highly, I think the Savoy is superior in both service and hardware ( but not by a wide margin ). I am comparing suite to suite. It will definitely be my future home in London from now on.

Kagehitokiri

i hope FS corporate (ongoing changes) does not have a role in events leading to BENLEE's comments on paris, and the several recent comments on marunouchi.. (considering how consistent those properties have been in this forum)

Blackbook

I know this gets off topic from Paris, but I never found the Savoy suites that notable.. The FS PL suites are some of my favorites..

robyng

Again somewhat OT - but...

IIRC - I've stayed at the George V 3 times over the course of 20+ years. And - with hotels of this age - there are huge variations among rooms - even rooms in the same price category. Some are great - others are what people call "mother-in-law" rooms - and some are in the middle.

Our last room there was a very large nice deluxe room that had some of the amenities that yours lacked. Like a walk-in closet (much appreciated) - high ceilings - etc. OTOH - the room had zero view. Don't recall anything about the curtains or the electronics (either in a positive or negative way). FWIW - we did our booking through a FSPP agent - and were celebrating both my birthday and our anniversary during our stay. Don't know whether either or both of those things made a difference.

With regard to the low ceilings - was your room on a higher floor? In properties this old - it was not unusual for servants/employees to live on higher floors - hence the lower ceilings.

Anyway - here's my trip report from that stay:

http://http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels/875752-our-stay-four-seasons-george-v.html

And - rereading my trip report - I thought at the time that we got excellent service from the concierge staff (guess that sometimes I remember bad stuff more than I remember good stuff).

FWIW - I think one problem with Paris is it's too expensive. You can spend (what is for most people - including me) a lot of money - and just get "so-so" by world-wide luxury standards. Robyn

BENLEE

I don't think so. I am just stating facts about the accommodation and services received.


Ah.. that make sense. My room was at one of the top floor I think ( 6th floor ). Perhaps the room has to be at the top floor for the terrace and the view. I have refrained from trying the FSGV until they have done the refurbishment because I know the rooms before refurbishment were very old. Somehow, I think they are cutting many corners in doing so. Really disappointing.


I absolutely agree with you. Luxury hotel standards in Paris is below that of London and Hong Kong in general.

robyng

Perhaps appropriate for another thread - but our room - in 2008 - was pretty fresh and new. Is the refurbishment that you're talking about a new one - or a continuation of the refurbishment that was going on in the mid-2000s? During our first stay at the place - late 1970's - the hotel was a real dowager. The rooms looked like "grandma's house".

One thing no one mentioned or speculated about is why people from the George V - including people from the concierge desk - are now at the MO. Did they get an offer they couldn't refuse? Or is something else going on?

BTW Kagehitokiri - I won't know about the physical plant of the FS Tokyo until I get there. But the concierge staff has been great in terms of helping us with restaurant reservations - some other things too. I honestly don't think there would ever be more than a 2 hour delay in their responding to my emails substantively - except for the time zone difference. It's hard for them to make - rearrange a restaurant reservation when they receive my request at 2 am local time . OTOH - even at 2 am their time - I will get an email saying that they will take care of things when they are able to do so. On the third hand - I have never been in a country where the level of service is as high as it is in Japan - everywhere in the country. As someone who appreciates good service - it's travel heaven. Robyn

jordyn

I could, but it's the 21st century. E-mail is a communications medium that every other luxury hotel I deal with seems to have figured out. To suggest that the GV has "the best" concierge in Paris when they can't even reliably communicate via e-mail beggars belief. As robyng points out, other FS properties have concierge that manage to respond back within hours.

L'Astrance is a 3* restaurant, and has been since 2007. And, go ahead and try to make a reservation at Frenchie without help. I look forward to hearing back on your results.

obscure2k

From RichardInSF:

After discussion, we have decided to delete a personal attack post and two responses to it (the responses were not attacks, it's just that they don't make sense without the attack post). We are re-opening this thread.

Please keep the discussion civil and on topic!

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels

robyng

Also keep in mind that many buildings built 100 or more years ago had what are called "Mansard roofs". With slopes. And often odd shaped windows in the rooms on higher floors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansard_roof

The Grand Hotel in Stockholm (where we stayed last year) was like that.

I'm not saying it's good or bad - just something to be expected with older buildings.

I've gotten the impression that luxury standards in Asia are higher than elsewhere - especially from a "value" point of view. My husband and I will be returning to Asia (Japan) for only the second time this year. Will see what we think. In all honesty - even if it's great (we think it will be) - it is a very very long trip from North America. I'll see how we handle this trip at our age and plan our future travel accordingly. Robyn

robyng

My husband and I are not young (both pushing 70) - but not doing email isn't in our vocabulary.

In all honesty - in all the decades I've dined in Pars (last time in Paris = 2008) - I have never heard of Frenchie before. It appears to be going to a Momofuku (David Chang) kind of reservation system. A type of reservation system that meant for me that I would never eat at a David Chang restaurant in New York (we did try a couple of his places in Toronto this summer - not a big deal at all making reservations - and that was ok IMO).

Info about Frenchie reservation system:

http://parisbymouth.com/frenchie-ope...-reservations/

Robyn

nicolas75

it is true that you need to book largely in advance (same story for Tickets in BCN), but you may find a table. Nothing surprising considering that Frenchie is a tiny and well-known restaurant.

PS: I have just booked a table for 2 for end of October (dinner time) with no issue.

jordyn

Things may have gotten easier. In any case, last time we went to Paris the concierge there managed to book a table well outside the normal parameters that I'd have been able to do on my own. Also, since the restaurant just opened in 2009, it's no surprise that it wasn't on anyone's radar in 2008 and before.

In any case, it's not that helpful to fixate on specific restaurants unless you really want to go to one in particular and a specific concierge has an "in" there. My point is that the concierge team at Le Meurice has managed to get me reservations that I'd not been able to manage on my own, whereas I don't think this has ever been true at the Georges V and in at least one case the Georges V dropped the ball sufficiently badly by not being prompt in reading e-mail that they actually made things worse by missing the opening of the reservations book.

Blackbook

The problem with this thread is that since we don't have any real statistical information to conclude which staff is better at getting reservations, its frankly hard to compare accurately their effectiveness. Our experiences differ. I would say exactly the opposite in terms of my experiences with both concierges. I was unimpressed with the Meurice, while you had a good experience with them. I find the Meurice generally a notch below the George V and the MO in Paris in terms of facilities, so I have had less experience with the Meurice staff because I don't find the facilities at the Meurice on the same level of other properties in the city, so I prefer not to stay there.

I also found the 12 (I believe) concierges at the George V to be better connected and in-the-know than the Meurice concierge. I believe they have 2-3 concierges. I find as well the 24 hour availability of their services at the George V more helpful. With business, its helpful that at 3 am in the morning, I can reach a concierge, while at the Meurice, I reach the one receptionist handling both desks.