Originally Posted by Richelieu

1. The buffet at the lounge has switched to "summer mode". No more vegetable soup, the sandwiches from the afternoon are replaced by a spread of hoummous, tapenade, baba ganoush, and other dips, shrimp tempuras, smoked salmon, pâté en croûte, foie gras, 3 kind of sausages and ham, and tasty marinated large shrimps. On the sweet sides, fresh strawberries were added. The nems, tomato bread rolls and cheese bread rolls are unchanged. Since they don't rotate much from day to day, I except this to be the standard for the next few weeks/month. Still high quality, but still lacking a hot option to be perfect.

2. With regard to the occupancy of the dreaded 40-nighters, I discussed with the staff and on a day the hotel was booked full, and I was told they had 85 guests with lounge access. Google tells me they have 455 rooms. The lounge didn't feel crowded at all, even at breakfast time, even if I was there quite early (8am) and vacationners would certainly get up later. It was rather lively at cocktail time, but not full. I think it's a better indicator as some (most?) of the lounge-accessing guest could be eating breakfast at the Café de la Paix. I think the fear of being overcrowded is unfounded, at least in this hotel.