5 night stay on points, 230K points total (includes 5th night free), 12/26-12/31/2019

Summary: this is a below-average hotel in a very convenient location. I would not stay here again unless there was a very, very cheap rate or you had to be located in the immediate area. Read on for more details.

Pros:

- requested early check in for 10:00am arrival. They had an upgraded king room on the boulevard for us, but it wasn’t ready. They did have a standard courtyard view king already cleaned, and since we were tired we took it. Nice to have a room to crash in when you check in 6 hours early.

- friendly and quick check in.

- only had one request of the concierge, but he was helpful and responsive, and got us a table at a restaurant that we had been told was full.

- large bathroom by European standards and seemed to be recently remodeled. Plenty of room for two people to get ready. Excellent water pressure and a great rainfall shower that was much better than most in Europe.

- executive lounge (top floor) at dinner time had a large selection of hot foods, pizzas, beers, wines, etc. Food was about as good as expected for the dinner hour. Well staffed and, though crowded, wasn’t a mess. Got a lot of coffees from the machine up there.

- location. Three blocks from Palais Garnier and about a 15 min walk to the Place Vendome. Easy to get to Louvre, Montmartre, etc. If you like to shop, Galeries Lafayette etc are all right nearby.

Cons:

- this is an old, tired hotel desperately in need of renovation. Our room had paint peeling off the ceiling and off the baseboards and door frames. Carpet stains. Hallway had chipped paint, dated carpet, faded wood stain. It would probably smell if they didn’t overpower the corridors with a scent. Chipped furniture.

- further to the above, the elevator (1/3) and the executive lounge were both closed on the final day, due to a “major breakdown,” whatever that means.

- you’d think an inward facing courtyard room would be quiet, and it was when none of the rooms around us were occupied, but the walls and ceiling/floors are so thin that you can hear pretty much everything if people are near you.

- the breakfast. We are platinum, so they offer included breakfast in both the lounge and in the restaurant, your choice. The eggs are disgusting - worse than a Fairfield Inn in the rural US. They won’t even bring you coffee in the restaurant, you have to get it yourself from a machine. The pastries are good (this is France) and the cheeses and fruits are OK. After two days we started eating breakfast out since the whole thing feels like a low end cafeteria experience.

Overall, this property actually could be great if they’d just acknowledge and address the need for a major renovation - and majorly upgrade the breakfast. The bones are good and the service was great, but the physical plant of the hotel is in dire need of serious attention. If not renovated in the near future, this hotel should lose its Marriott flag and become a Four Points by Sheraton.