sapguy

Seems like you and I have the same opinion

The Westin Paris is indeed very convenient, with being right the Rue du Faubourg St Honoree and the Place Vendome, and you are absolutely right that for first timers to Paris, it's an easy walk to the Louvre, the Tuileries, the Place de la Concorde, the lower end of the Champs Elysees, etc... (btw, unless you're super rich, Rue du Faubourg St Honoree is strictly for windows-shopping only as the prices are indeed for tourists.

Being that Paris is almost my second "home town", the Hilton ADT is more convenient (I usually drive myself in a rental car, and parking is easier to get near the Hilton) and it feels more like home (all the rooms are newer and I have not had any problems in my numerous stays there).

I disagree with dingo about "not much around the Hilton ADT including eating options...you have to walk quite a ways to get anything good from my experience" - the residential feel of the ADT location can be deceptive, but within 5 minutes walk, there are excellent cafes and bistrots. Within a 10 minutes walk, there are outstanding restaurants, including Dominique Bouchet (one of my favorites in Paris), and a 5 minutes cab ride or a 25 minutes walk will take you right to Place de la Madeleine and the Rue Royale, where the eating & shopping action is as good if not better than the Faubourg St Honoree. You can also walk to the Arc de Triomphe in 10 minutes.

All that said, the fantastic lounge at the Hilton will now tilt the balance for me: it's so nice to be able to pour yourself as many flutes of Nicolas Feuillate Champagne as you like in the afternoon (that's 16 euros a glass in the bar), to help yourself to all the finger food that they have for a pre-dinner snack, to avail yourself to their great breakfast buffet, and to have that nightcap drink (wine or cordial), all GRATIS if you are upgraded to the Club Floor (and as a Diamond, you should be able to).

STARFLEET

Just next to where they set up the cart.

At 6:50 they clear the pour-it-yourself carafes and substitute the pods.

MachOne

We never were awake made up by 06:50

MachOne

I am currently a Starwood Plat and Hilton Gold. This is just another reason why I am seriously considering swapping the *wood Plat for Hilton Diamond.

MO

sapguy

Starwood Platinum has its advantages with some hotels on certain continents, and Hilton Diamond has its advantages with some other hotels on other continents.

So it's not as simple as you make it sound.

Even for Paris, if you really want a lounge (although minus the free Champagne and wines and liquors), you can go to the Meridien Etoile, and its location is excellent as well. This hotel is not as luxurious as the Westin Paris, but it can almost hold its own against the Hilton ADT. BTW, there is NO guarantee that you will upgraded at the Hilton ADT as a Diamond (see the numerous threads on "complaints" about that on the Hilton board.

For Hawaii, being a Starwood Platinum is better than being a Hilton Diamond, IMO (and I'm sure that others will disagree with me).

MachOne

It is getting simpler.

There is no longer a lounge at Le Meridien Etoile.

As for my favriote island, Hawaii, I have stayed at the SPG property and the Hilton Waikoloa Village. Both are nice and are very different. However, for my family, the HWV wins hands down.

MO

sapguy

When were you there last? I was there in November and December 2008 and enjoyed the lounge very much.

Regarding Hawaii, let's agree to disagree. I will take the Westin Monoa Surfrider over the HHV anytime, and I'm a HH Diamond as well as a Starwood Platinum.

MachOne

[QUOTE=sapguy;11686936]When were you there last? I was there in November and December 2008 and enjoyed the lounge very much.
QUOTE]

Earlier this month.

See:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...-thread-5.html

MO

sapguy

[QUOTE=MachOne;11686966]Really too bad! Will have to buy my own croissants and baguettes now

Starwood will need to rethink its "lounge elimination" strategy!

Time to make sure that I renew my HH Diamond status.

mbrihmi

Hi,
I am travelling to Paris from Augiust 5 to 11, 2009.
Do they have a Lounge or a Club Level and what do they provide?
Thanks

Seattlenerd

You should spend a few minutes and read earlier posts in this thread. I think you'll find this matter has been addressed, perhaps even a few times.

That said, welcome to FlyerTalk. Part of the excellent resources here are the existing threads, which are like a living reference library, and the search function.

W2B Globetrotter

Stayed here for the 1st time last weekend May 2-4 on C+P rate.

There's a separate check-in desk for SPG elite. Dagmar (sp?) was very welcoming and personally escorted me to my room, which I was thrilled with. Room 5050, the "Salon" was expansive with a king bed and large seating area for multiple people. It even had its own private courtyard. Only cons were no views (but the private courtyard had a painted mural of what the view from the hotel would look like) and that the bathroom was fairly small. Someone complained about the lack of Molton Brown bath products which I think are overrated. The Thierry Mugler bath products are just fine IMHO. Anyways, room 5050 would be perfect for entertaining friends and family. I'll have to add photo links sometime later.

My only disappointment with my stay was the wait for service at Le First...or in my opinion, Le Worst. Got seated around 10:30pm for a late dinner and no servers came by for the next 20 minutes, not even to take a drink order. So I got up and left. Thankfully, a lot of Parisian restaurants are open until 1am if not later.

LarryU

I recently visited Paris for a long weekend and spent a Sunday night at the Westin Paris and two nights at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe.

After waiting for a while at a short but seemingly unmoving queue at the front desk, I was eventually directed to a dedicated Platinum check-in desk where I was assigned a Junior Suite with a partial Eiffel Tower view. As is my custom, I reminded the check-in agent that I required a very quiet room, as has been clearly stated in my reservation. I also added that the stay was a very special occasion for me and my companion.

Just in passing, I casually asked why the hotel had opted to close its club lounge and she explained that the space was small and they often had as many as 50 platinum guests staying at the property. She added that fights had sometimes broken out! She also reminded me that it is not a Westin standard feature anyway.

During the check-in process, the agent happened to mention that the hotel occupancy was fairly high because their optimal location had rendered them rather recession proof. I am not exactly sure why she opted to add this factoid because I had not asked about it. In any case, although there did not seem to be many guests in attendance at any given time, much of the staff seemed a little slow and frenzied, although this could be as much a case of poor staffing as anything else.

The room I was assigned had been recently renovated and was quite attractive and comfortable.



As I had very clearly requested, the room location indeed seemed very quiet at first. However, the peace and quiet lasted only until a little after 6:00 AM, when we were awoken to the sound of heavy machinery. When I rolled out of bed and I looked outside the window, I could see that heavy construction was well in progress and that a crane was positioned just outside the window. I peered down below and several construction fellows peered back up at me, none of us particularly amused at the view. The unpleasant cacophony of sound continued unabated for the remainder of the morning.



Back at the front desk, I requested to speak with the manager on duty, after waiting for about 10 minutes to gain the attention of one of the harried desk clerks. I calmly explained what had transpired and the manager remarked that she was unaware of this issue and, besides, they are not in control of what goes on outside their hotel. I responded that may indeed be the case, but they are most certainly obligated to note any possible issues on their web site, so customers such as myself can be dutifully warned to avoid the property when special conditions are extant. From the appearance of the extensive construction site just outside the window, it certainly seemed to me like work had been going outside the hotel for quite some time.

A little later in the morning, we wandered outside and I noticed that it was raining so I asked the bellman if I could borrow an umbrella, a courtesy I have always enjoyed during my entire travel career. I was directed to the concierge desk, where they refused to loan me an umbrella. The concierge explained that they would only be willing to sell me an umbrella for €30.

I returned to the front desk and engaged in a polite and cordial conversation with a different manager than the one with whom I spoken earlier in the morning. He said that this was a new policy change because they had encountered too many problems in the past where guests failed to return the umbrella. I pointed out that many hotels make note of the room number so they can easily charge guests who abscond with their property. He explained that they don't like to do that after a guest has checked out. I then asked him whether he really considered the act of charging €30 when a guest wants to borrow an umbrella to be any less usurious and outrageous.

After checking out, I returned to the Hilton Arc de Triomphe, where I was assigned a nice top floor room and enjoyed lounge access from morning until 11:00 PM at night. After check-in, I walked back out of the hotel and the bell man proactively asked me whether I would like to borrow an umbrella. As I began to provide him with my room number, he smiled and said that was not necessary. ^

As far as I am concerned, my experiences at the Westin Paris were quite unsatisfactory and I do not see myself returning there. At this point, although I love the SPG program overall and their level of customer service is often vastly superior to that of Hilton, I have not been enamored with the suite of benefits afforded platinum guests in Europe overall. I won't belabor this overall topic any further here because there are already some other threads discussing this. The bottom line is that Hilton properties will be winning the vast machinery of my future European stays and this most recent visit is just another small data point justifying my personal decision.

allset2travel

Nice report. The fotos certain are worth a 1000 words.

sapguy

Agree with your point completely, and I am busily regaining my HHONORS Diamond status for my stays in Paris and in European cities. I remain a strong supporter of Starwood elsewhere.