IC Paris Le Grand
Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes, overall but please note lounge information below...
Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked classic room under advance purchase rate and received a Junior Suite, 5th floor with nice Opera view.
How are the rooms?
Classic French decor with a comfortable King Bed. The bathroom was spacious and included both a shower and soaking tub. There was a separate half bath in the hallway entrance. Plenty of closet space.
How is the exec. lounge?
Here's where things are problematic. Past readers of this thread know RA's have traditionally been allowed Club access. According to the check in agent, that practice ended approximately one month ago. In the welcome letter, RA's are now offered a "special" price of 130 Euro/day (less than the 150 Euro regular price). Gee, how generous to give me a 20 Euro discount for all my loyalty as an RA?
The agent reminded me that Club Access is not an RA benefit (thanks, after 15 years I know that) but it made me wonder if this is being driven by a standardization effort across the chain.
In the lounge, there was a nice selection of beverages, plentiful evening buffet, and morning breakfast items. At breakfast, the lounge was extremely crowded and there were no seats available. The concierge gave me a pass to take breakfast downstairs at Cafe de la Paix. Very nice!
What was good and what was bad?
Good:
As always, the Le Grand is a special experience in a beautiful historic property. It's location next to the Roissybus stop makes for an easy transfer to and from CDG.
The room was clean and spacious
The workout facility was small but well enough equipped for a limited decent workout.
Bad:
The new lounge policy for RA's is distressing! In addition, the 130 Euro addition is ridiculously expensive, unless you want to live in the lounge for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
In another development, the welcome letter also states RA's staying on points do not receive free mini bar, room upgrades, or free pay TV film (basically, everything that is a significant RA benefit). This is a significant downgrade from the previous policy.
Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Overall, I love the Le Grand, but with the new Club IC access policy, my money would be better spent staying at another IC property and using the savings to have a meal out.
If they hold true to the policy on Rewards Nights, there is no benefit to spending 50K to stay here in a small classic room.