Originally Posted by
Matthew_22
I stayed here a couple of weeks ago and had a pretty disappointing experience. Lengthy diatribe below...
I checked in mid afternoon and was given the usual diamond thank-you-for-your-loyalty spiel and details on the complimentary wifi and breakfast. There was nothing said about an upgrade, nor did I push the matter as that isn't really my style. As I walked up to my room I was a little disappointed to find it was on the back of the building, and so only looked out at the side of the directly adjacent railway station. As this was my first time in Paris, and it was still early in the day so the hotel was by no means full, I thought I would see if there were any rooms with a better view available.
The girl at the front desk was very accommodating, and she even pulled out a floor plan to show me the new room she assigned. It was on the top floor along the front of the hotel facing the city, exactly what I wanted. After carrying my bags over, I went to open the window drapes, and was shocked to look out and see nothing but a builder's scaffolding! it Turns out this section of the hotel was undergoing some kind of minor exterior construction work, and the framework and hoardings were pushed right up against my window, completely blocking the entire view. It was the type of thing I would've been annoyed to encounter unexpectedly on a normal day, let-alone when specifically requesting a room with an improved view. The irony wasn't lost on me, and I actually did sit and have a brief chuckle over it all, it really was like something out of Fawlty Towers.
I went back down to the girls at front desk, and as politely as I could, whilst trying to avoid coming across like a precious DYKWIA, explained the situation and asked if there was any other room I could please move into. They were very apologetic, and said they would see what they could do, but as they were just that very moment about to go into their shift handover meeting, their colleagues would have pick this up as soon as the meeting was finished in 10-15 minutes. I could sense I was being palmed off, and I was not mistaken. After about 40 minutes sitting in my room waiting for them to get back to me, I gave up, and returned to the front desk for the 4th time, and it was promptly sorted. I was given a new set of keys and upgraded to an executive room along the front, which was perfect. Finally!
Here is the real kicker though, when I returned to the front desk on the first occasion, another slightly older gentleman began to check in next to me. He was also a diamond member staying at the property for the first time, and I couldn't help but overhear as he was upgraded to an executive room voluntarily and completely unprompted on his part, whilst I was simultaneously offered absolutely nothing? Even after making it known I wasn't really satisfied with my room. I was actually so stunned by this I didn't really know how to react, feeling too embarrassed to draw attention to my shunning any further, which in hindsight was obviously the wrong approach. The only reason I could really think of was my age? (mid 20s, leisure traveler) as I have a hunch this is something I've occasionally run into before whilst traveling, presumably due to the assumption that either a) I didn't pay for this or b) I'm not used to this level of service, ergo my expectations will be lower than others. But thats a topic for another day..
I appreciate in the grand scheme of things, griping about a view is pretty inconsequential, but I guess it doesn't seem that unreasonable to me, that in lieu of an upgrade, a diamond member should at least be able to expect a decent room in the category he's booked, especially when a dummy booking shows wide availability.
Other than that, the hotel is reasonable enough, the rooms are nicely decorated, although the Deluxe/superior are stunningly small, I couldn't real imagine two people staying in one of these. The executive lounge spread was on the modest side, and rather disappointedly for Paris, no champagne is offered.
I ordered a room service steak which was fairly poor, and a humble diet coke in the lobby bar was €8! Yikes!
Regarding the homeless people thing, I didn't seem to notice particularly any more unsavory characters around the hotel than in other parts of the city.
Would really only recommend at a rate sub €250.
I'm pretty appalled that they moved you to a room with a worse view after having complained. Sounds like a typically French move. I would say, however, that in Paris, you rarely get a room with a view of anything. Even on the top floor, usually you only have a view of the building across the street. And actually, top floor rooms usually aren’t the greatest in many hotels in Paris because the roofs slant inward so the rooms are smaller and the windows are often dormers so they are smaller. I actually think that hotels staff believe the interior courtyard rooms or back alley rooms are better especially in a noisy area, because it is less likely for noise from the street, particularly at night if there are some bars around.
I often wonder about the upgrades too. I feel like I never get upgraded (albeit I'm only gold), not only at Hilton but at other chains too. Even if I ask… I feel like they look at me and immediately think "not worthy of an upgrade" every time I enter a hotel lobby.
For this one I could say there is the possibility that the other gentleman asked for an e-standby upgrade. Are you familiar with those? I have a stay coming up at the Paris Hilton and I received a confirmation recently with an opportunity for e-standby upgrades. I noticed that the upgrade to executive room would cost $0, so I put in for that. I figured it was because I'm gold and am supposed to get an upgrade if available. I'm not saying this makes the situation any better or more acceptable. I think this is sort of a wonky way to do things, seeing that gold and diamonds should get an upgrade if available. But perhaps this guy asked for an e-standby by like I did and managed to secure his room a little earlier in the day and you got the shaft because there were no more exec rooms.
We'll see if I get my upgrade this weekend, I have small expectations.