Hilton Evian-Les-Bains {FRA} (France)
Nov 4, 2007, 12:23 pm
#16
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Newcastle, UK
Posts: 108
Had excellent treatment as a gold member on a 3 night paid stay with my husband and parents this year.We had booked the cheapest rooms on an advance purchase rate. Both rooms were upgraded to the executive deluxe rooms. These were huge rooms with a balcony looking out over the front of the hotel across the lake. My room contained a 1/4 bottle champagne, a nice note from the manager and Pierre Marcolino chocolates.
The rooms were modern and spacious with good hanging space, a desk, excellent bed and a very spacious bathroom with separate shower.
Staff were very helpful and we were allowed to use the executive lounge prior to the check in time.
The lounge was amazing. Branded champagne, good wines and beers and some nibbles. Plus an open terrace looking over towards lac leman .It did not open till midday ( so breakfast here is not an option) but we were given free breakfasts in the main restaurant which was excellent.
Leisure facilities were the best I've ever seen in a hotel. Indoor and outdoor pool with sauna steam, soaking tubs and a huge well-appointed gym with very up-to-date equipment ( including tv monitors on each piece of equipmment). The theme is very zen and restful.
Staff were warm and friendly .Cocktails in the bar and a simple meal in the less formal restaurant were well prepared and served with a smile.
The hotel is next to the Evian day spa where you can buy treatments or day packages. The underwater vaseline massage was incredible.
There is a small casino in Evian ( nothing like a Vegas casino I should warn my American colleagues!). Nice walk alongside the prom.
The town centre was sweet, and on a Summer Saturday evening the main street of restaurants was buzzing with street musicians etc.
The ferry crosses Lake Geneva to Lausanne and there is a medieval village Yvoire which is supposed to be very pretty and is accessible by the ferries which leave from the harbour 200 yards from the main entrance.
The hotel can arrange transport to and from Geneva airport for approx130 euros.
I can highly recommend this hotel and the town. We wish that we'd spent at least 4 days there.
Please feel free to e-mail me with questions
The rooms were modern and spacious with good hanging space, a desk, excellent bed and a very spacious bathroom with separate shower.
Staff were very helpful and we were allowed to use the executive lounge prior to the check in time.
The lounge was amazing. Branded champagne, good wines and beers and some nibbles. Plus an open terrace looking over towards lac leman .It did not open till midday ( so breakfast here is not an option) but we were given free breakfasts in the main restaurant which was excellent.
Leisure facilities were the best I've ever seen in a hotel. Indoor and outdoor pool with sauna steam, soaking tubs and a huge well-appointed gym with very up-to-date equipment ( including tv monitors on each piece of equipmment). The theme is very zen and restful.
Staff were warm and friendly .Cocktails in the bar and a simple meal in the less formal restaurant were well prepared and served with a smile.
The hotel is next to the Evian day spa where you can buy treatments or day packages. The underwater vaseline massage was incredible.
There is a small casino in Evian ( nothing like a Vegas casino I should warn my American colleagues!). Nice walk alongside the prom.
The town centre was sweet, and on a Summer Saturday evening the main street of restaurants was buzzing with street musicians etc.
The ferry crosses Lake Geneva to Lausanne and there is a medieval village Yvoire which is supposed to be very pretty and is accessible by the ferries which leave from the harbour 200 yards from the main entrance.
The hotel can arrange transport to and from Geneva airport for approx130 euros.
I can highly recommend this hotel and the town. We wish that we'd spent at least 4 days there.
Please feel free to e-mail me with questions
Nov 7, 2007, 1:10 pm
#17
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: UA 1K (1st time!), Hilton Diamond, Marriott Silver
Posts: 61
I stayed this summer for 2 nights (wish it was more) on an award stay. Arrived on Bastille days and had a great evening outside the lounge on the roof watching the fireworks over the lake and up on the hill to the south of the hotel. We were upgraded to the exec room. What a view. The lounge was wonderful (had to call down a few times to get them to restock) but the food and drinks were great. What is great is you also get the breakfast coupon (best of both worlds). Ended up eating at the hotel restaurant each night (food was great, especially the duck). My daughter loved the pool and the spa was great (they had a shower that was like being in a Florida downpour). The main restaurant row in town was a fun evening also. Also found time to travel to Le Grand-Bornand to catch the start of a Tour de France stage. Wonderful memories.
Jan 20, 2008, 6:34 am
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NC
Programs: AAConciergeKey/1MM, DL DM/2 MM, UA Gold,Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 11,983
What time does the lounge close and how late do the goodies stay out? Does it still close for breakfast? and only open midday?
Jan 20, 2008, 12:37 pm
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NC
Programs: AAConciergeKey/1MM, DL DM/2 MM, UA Gold,Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 11,983
Ill answer my own question...the lounge is open until 11pm. Sadly, wifi is expensive and not complimentary in the lounge.
Jun 22, 2008, 9:50 am
#22
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 8,142
Bobette
Jun 22, 2008, 7:09 pm
#24
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 8,142
Bobette
Last edited by b1513; Jun 22, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Jul 26, 2008, 8:20 pm
#26
Join Date: May 2000
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Posts: 1,960
Mrs. SST and I just returned from a trip thru the Alps, which included three nights at the Evian-les-Bains location. We liked the hotel a lot. It's all pretty new, with a rather cool spa (diamonds admitted free) on the lowest level. Great lounge, with drinks and pupus over a long period. Only thing missing is an internet terminal.
The hotel wasn't at high occupancy; there was a tour group of Japanese folks who came in one night, but they departed the next morning. We were assigned a fairly spacious, decent room with a balcony facing the lake upon arrival; E25 for three days' parking, including in-and-out and valet.
We were there just prior to Bastille Day, and the town had a huge sidewalk sale throughout the main shopping street, and some acts on stage (which we thought were actually pretty marginal; a lot of recorded accompaniment...) The Casino is pretty small, and a little dull, but not for me because for the first time in many, many years I actually won some substantial money on a slot machine.... I hightailed it out of there immediately, so my observation is based on about 20 minutes, but we ate a lot better the following days! In any case, it's walking distance, as is just about everything else in town.
We took the ferry over to Lausanne for a day; the fare and the accompanying bus pass to get up the hill to the shopping downtown of Lausanne is staggeringly high: It's about 47 Euros for two, second class. (a similar ride here in SF, from the City to Sausalito, also about 30 minutes, runs $28 for two tourists). Lausanne is nice, but we bought nothing but lunch, as the prices were simply a lot higher than in France.
On another day, we drove to Annecy on a Sunday morning: a charming little medieval town with a superb market day. We finished with an afternoon's trip over to Chamonix, a view of the Mont Blanc glacier, and a superb alpine drive on the small shortcut over the mountains from Cluses to Thonon, that takes forever but is replete with superb mountain views. An extra plus was that in a little burg in the mountains, there was an antique car rally, so we saw lots of superb motoring specimens coming and going.
There's not much to do in Evian at night other than the casino, so prepare accordingly. I don't have any restaurant recommendations, as we ate large meals elsewhere. The hotel's restaurants looked pretty decent; a pizza one evening in the bar was acceptable, but no better. Hope you enjoy it; it's low-key, but we did.
The hotel wasn't at high occupancy; there was a tour group of Japanese folks who came in one night, but they departed the next morning. We were assigned a fairly spacious, decent room with a balcony facing the lake upon arrival; E25 for three days' parking, including in-and-out and valet.
We were there just prior to Bastille Day, and the town had a huge sidewalk sale throughout the main shopping street, and some acts on stage (which we thought were actually pretty marginal; a lot of recorded accompaniment...) The Casino is pretty small, and a little dull, but not for me because for the first time in many, many years I actually won some substantial money on a slot machine.... I hightailed it out of there immediately, so my observation is based on about 20 minutes, but we ate a lot better the following days! In any case, it's walking distance, as is just about everything else in town.
We took the ferry over to Lausanne for a day; the fare and the accompanying bus pass to get up the hill to the shopping downtown of Lausanne is staggeringly high: It's about 47 Euros for two, second class. (a similar ride here in SF, from the City to Sausalito, also about 30 minutes, runs $28 for two tourists). Lausanne is nice, but we bought nothing but lunch, as the prices were simply a lot higher than in France.
On another day, we drove to Annecy on a Sunday morning: a charming little medieval town with a superb market day. We finished with an afternoon's trip over to Chamonix, a view of the Mont Blanc glacier, and a superb alpine drive on the small shortcut over the mountains from Cluses to Thonon, that takes forever but is replete with superb mountain views. An extra plus was that in a little burg in the mountains, there was an antique car rally, so we saw lots of superb motoring specimens coming and going.
There's not much to do in Evian at night other than the casino, so prepare accordingly. I don't have any restaurant recommendations, as we ate large meals elsewhere. The hotel's restaurants looked pretty decent; a pizza one evening in the bar was acceptable, but no better. Hope you enjoy it; it's low-key, but we did.
Last edited by SST; Jul 26, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Sep 27, 2008, 11:05 am
#27
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 8,142
Just returned from a 4 night stay at this hotel. It is one of the better Hilton hotels IMO. I'm only a gold but was upgraded to the Executive floor (lake view) with lounge access.
The lounge is also a cut above with beautiful lake views and a very large outdoor patio. The food offered was average I'd say but certainly adequate. Alcohol was free. We also had free parking. I'm not sure if it was an oversight or if it was meant to be.
The weather, first day we were there, was lousy so I spent much of the day at the spa which is really a nice spa.
The location was great. We spent a day in Annecy and another day on a recommended drive through Alpine villages (like Abondance) ending up in Montreaux which is a very picturesque town on the other side of Lake Geneva.
The hotel staff was excellent and the general manager even parked our car for us because the garage is a bit tricky. I have only positive thoughts on this hotel.
Bobette
The lounge is also a cut above with beautiful lake views and a very large outdoor patio. The food offered was average I'd say but certainly adequate. Alcohol was free. We also had free parking. I'm not sure if it was an oversight or if it was meant to be.
The weather, first day we were there, was lousy so I spent much of the day at the spa which is really a nice spa.
The location was great. We spent a day in Annecy and another day on a recommended drive through Alpine villages (like Abondance) ending up in Montreaux which is a very picturesque town on the other side of Lake Geneva.
The hotel staff was excellent and the general manager even parked our car for us because the garage is a bit tricky. I have only positive thoughts on this hotel.
Bobette
Sep 27, 2008, 4:33 pm
#28
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Tampa, Florida, U.S.A.
Posts: 7,664
We ended up staying here on the nights of 9/21-22, had two rooms both on awards stays. Like others have said decent hotel with friendly staff.
Got a bottle of bubbly and the nice presentation of fruit (surprisingly) for both rooms upon arrival.
Lounge was OK with some sushi offerings in the PMs. also granted full buffet breakfast in the Canelle lounge ( which the front desk tried to charge us 21 euro per person = 162 euro for the stay but my confirmation quite clearly listed breakfast and the charge was removed) did not escape paying 12 euro/day for parking however.
Ate one night at restaurant Au Cabastan about a 1/4km down the road and despite the "Basil Fawlty"
deameanor of the owner/waiter the meal was quite few enjoyable.
mike
Got a bottle of bubbly and the nice presentation of fruit (surprisingly) for both rooms upon arrival.
Lounge was OK with some sushi offerings in the PMs. also granted full buffet breakfast in the Canelle lounge ( which the front desk tried to charge us 21 euro per person = 162 euro for the stay but my confirmation quite clearly listed breakfast and the charge was removed) did not escape paying 12 euro/day for parking however.
Ate one night at restaurant Au Cabastan about a 1/4km down the road and despite the "Basil Fawlty"
deameanor of the owner/waiter the meal was quite few enjoyable.mike
Sep 27, 2008, 5:55 pm
#29
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 8,142
Nov 23, 2008, 3:16 pm
#30
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Nokesville, VA, USA
Programs: AA GLD 1MM; US PP; HH Diamond; SPG Plat; Wegmans Shoppers Club; ExxonMobil Speedpass
Posts: 221
Just checked in for two nights. I don't know why but I was expecting this to be an older sort of property, but of course it's not -- very contemporary chic. Despite booking a cheap rate (E119/nt) I was upgraded to the exec floor. The lounge is undergoing refurbishment so breakfast is in the main restaurant and lounge-type drinks & eats are in the lobby bar.
A plate of fruit, macrons, and a mini bottle of bubbly awaited us in the room. I don't think there are a lot of guests, it all seems quite quiet.
One oddity -- at checkin the agent apologized and said the hotel had no parking of its own, but pointed me to a nearby parking garage. Fair enough, except that I then discover an elevator from the garage which comes out immediately next to the hotel's registration desk. Apparently the missing part is through-billing to the hotel bill as I have to pay the garage directly on the way out.
twj
A plate of fruit, macrons, and a mini bottle of bubbly awaited us in the room. I don't think there are a lot of guests, it all seems quite quiet.
One oddity -- at checkin the agent apologized and said the hotel had no parking of its own, but pointed me to a nearby parking garage. Fair enough, except that I then discover an elevator from the garage which comes out immediately next to the hotel's registration desk. Apparently the missing part is through-billing to the hotel bill as I have to pay the garage directly on the way out.
twj