MacMyDay

Thought I'd update this thread with some additional Peninsula thoughts, as I'm due to check out later today after 3 nights.

• The Grand Premier Suite (100sqm) is a massive improvement on the Deluxe Suite (85sqm). It is not down to the increase in space, but the fact that it feels someone has thought it out. It feels much more like a suite should and reassuringly homely. The living room being directly next to the bedroom and offering places that you can actually sit and eat in is the biggest difference. The natural light completely transforms the feeling to the room. If I had this room last time, there would have been no consideration at all as to whether or not to come back - it would have been a definitive yes. Whilst it still may feel like it could be anywhere, I really have nothing to complain about with the suite. Huge improvement and offers absolutely everything I'd want.
• The suit has a balcony the entire way around it, which allows you to glimpse at the hotel entrance and Champs Elysee.
• Collection from Gare du Nord in a "deluxe" car (e.g. Mercedes) costs €260. When traveling business class on the Eurostar, they will organise a taxi to collect you from the platform and take you to the car - a Mercedes. That cost €34.
• The same guest relations member, Geoffrey, reached our prior to arrival and were there to greet me on arrival. The guy is simply amazing and just wants to ensure you have the perfect stay, with a full list of amenities remembered from last time and the room setup to perfection. He's so good that I mentioned I wanted to go see The Ritz and he even contacted them in advance so that someone was waiting there to do a full, hour long tour.
• The service also spreads into the restaurants, where Lili remembered all my preferences from my last meal in November and gave me feedback on what I liked last time. Unbelievable.
• The tech was fully working this time - no issues at all.

Overall, I have gone from "amazing hotel, but don't like the room" to "hard to fault it".

Some balcony view photos taken last night.

Epicura

Thank for sharing your feedback. I did not stay at the Pen Paris yet, but will most certainly add it to my list given your pleasant stay.

callmedtop

We had an absolutely fantastic stay two weeks ago at Le Meurice for four nights. I wanted to quickly share my thoughts as this hotel has not been written about extensively.

ARRIVAL & CHECK-IN

We arrived at around 5pm from London, and took a Le Cab from the airport to the hotel. Our check-in process could not have been smoother. Our bags were quickly taken and we were brought to the check-in desk. After quick formalities and a brief tour of the lobby, we were taken to our Superior Junior Suite (booked category) on the 6th floor. We booked this stay with a 3rd night free promotion.

Public areas are absolutely stunning, with high, elaborate ceilings, incredible art and furniture, a phenomenal smell, and a fantastic sense of ambiance, history, and modernism all brought together.

There are two elevators - one in front near the check-in desk and one at the back. Both are beautifully designed and very quaint, yet still quite fast (I can't stand a slow elevator more than most things in the world).

ROOM

My initial reaction was a bit muted, as this room feels quite small for a Junior Suite. Being on the top floor, the ceilings are slanted and give the impression of the room being smaller than it is. The benefit? There are two balconies looking over the Tuileries Gardens and Eiffel Tower. Light pours into the room during the day, but I don't think I have any day pictures.

The room itself is 55sqm (or so it says), but like I said, it feels smaller. I actually had to call the front desk that evening to confirm that we are indeed in a Junior Suite. My biggest problem with the room? Closet space, or lack thereof. I wish I had a picture but there is only one closet, half devoted to hanging space and half to drawers. For two people who only travel with carry-ons, this was not enough space. I can't imagine what people who travel heavy do. On tours of other Suites, the closet space seems significantly better even one Junior Suite category up, so I would highly encourage booking one of those rooms.

The bedroom has two chairs, though not what I would consider a sitting area typically found in a Junior Suite. The desk area is functional and I have no complaints here.


Being an older property, there isn't any fancy lighting technology like you may find at other hotels in the area (La Reserve, Peninsula). There are of course master switches by the bedside, but they are unlabeled and I found to be rather unintuitive. There are power ports near the bed, but they are underneath the bedside table and annoying to access.

The bed itself is a cloud - an absolute dream. I'm trying to think of a more comfortable bed + linen combination, but I can't. This bed made it difficult to get up in the morning.


The bathroom is absolutely stunning, and I have nothing bad to say here. Shower pressure is without a doubt the best I've ever experienced in my life. Counter space was a little lacking, but this is likely a function of how we travel than anything else.


Ultimately what it came down to is that this room felt decidedly comfortable and Parisian at the same time. We settled in as it was home very quickly, and enjoyed the fact that the room has a decor fitting with the city. The room has been kept relatively pristine since it's last renovation. Nothing run down, everything in tip-top shape. It walks that perfect line between classic and up-to-date, and that's a line I fairly enjoy butting up against, and almost always prefer a modern accommodation. Not in this case.

We also did tour their top accommodation, the Belle Etoile Suite, which is 300sqm with a 250sqm terrace, and we found it to be quite unimpressive. Happy to share pictures if that would help anyone else.

SERVICE

In a word, outstanding. The first night I noticed a light rattling in the HVAC duct as we were heading out to dinner. I notified the front desk on our way out and the problem was taken care of by the time of our return, and it never reoccurred.

The concierge was almost entirely fantastic. The first guy we worked with gave us a couple of "dud" recommendations for a causal first night dinner, but after the fact we worked with the concierge I had been emailing with prior to the stay, and he was excellent. We enjoyed dinner at David Toutain one night which we quite enjoyed.

Every time we walked into the property from a day exploring, the doormen were gracious and welcoming. As I've alluded to already, this stay felt like we were at home, not a hotel, which is the highest level of compliment.

DINING

We did eat breakfast in the main dining room each morning, but did not partake in lunch or dinner during our stay. Their flagship restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse was closed for two weeks while we were there, but breakfast is served in that restaurant's dining room, which is a treat.


Breakfast is excellent. Every morning started with a two-tier pastry / bread display and an incredibly delicious kouign aman, which I'm drooling at the thought of. I ordered eggs two mornings (excellent), muesli one morning, and french toast for our final breakfast. I regret not ordering the french toast earlier as this was the best I've ever had (MacMyDay, I think you're due a trip just for this!).


Service at breakfast was also excellent. The waiters were incredibly attentive, precise, and accommodating. Off-the-menu requests were never a problem. We developed a friendly repore with the head waiter by our third morning which made breakfast a pleasure. The waiters were incredibly graceful - this was 3* Michelin service for breakfast without the stuffiness or pretension.

CONCLUSION

We toured seven luxury hotels in Paris during our stay as this was a wedding site visit, including FS GV, Le Bristol, La Reserve, Shangri-La, and the Peninsula. My fiance, whose opinion matters much more than I did, unequivocally stated that she preferred our accommodations the most. FS GV is more recently renovated, La Reserve is undoubtedly sleeker, but she felt a feeling of warmness that no other property conveyed, except maybe Le Bristol (but the drape / line matching needs to stop, good lord).

I, for the most part, agree with her. I loved La Reserve from start to finish, but I do have to admit that she has a point - it doesn't feel like Paris in those rooms. Maybe that's fine for one's 50th stay in Paris, but we're not quite ready to give that up yet.

The only other property I can see us staying at is Le Bristol, but the room design frightens me, and the idea of not knowing exactly what you're getting as each room is different makes me uneasy. The outdoor space is stunning, and the warmth from this property in our eyes rivals Le Meurice.

The others have been written about so much that I don't feel the need to comment. Despite the reputation some of the other properties have, we felt most comfortable and at home at Le Meurice and will be most likely returning here for our next trip to Paris.

I do have extensive pictures of all the properties in question, so if that would help anyone, feel free to ask.

bhrubin

Thanks for sharing, callmedtop! Looks like you had a wonderful stay in Paris at many properties.

I do have to share that the Junior Suites at the next block Westin Paris Vendome are more spacious and are pretty well designed. Some on the top floor look out into the side street between the Westin and Le Meurice with Juliet balconies--those are my favorite, as it turns out. Others on the top floor are more spacious as one room and look out directly onto the same view as you shared.

The regular view rooms on lower floors have high ceilings and are about the same size as those of Le Meurice--with similar views to those shown from Le Meurice.

To me, the Westin Paris Vendome is one of the nicest Westins in the world, and perhaps the best located. Service is to a very high standard for a Westin. Perhaps not to the level of the best in Paris, but then the price point there is also significantly lower. That being said, if one has elite status with SPG/Marriott, one may find this Westin Vendome to be a great option.

The one bedroom suites look into the central courtyard of the Westin, and those aren't my favorite rooms at the hotel.

stimpy

I'm glad you've enjoyed your stays at the Westin Paris, but for me it has been a disappointment each time I've ended up there, going back to when it was an Intercontinental. It does not belong in a Luxury hotel discussion IMHO. Great location, but not so great service or rooms or even SPG Platinum service. In my experience anyways. YMMV. And I can think of a dozen better Westin's, but even those aren't really luxury hotels or resorts.

Thanks also from me callmedtop as I now know to book the larger junior suite or higher if I go to Le Meurice. That bathroom looks stunning! I like a daring design.

chinmoylad

Thanks for the wonderful review and photos callmedtop!

offerendum

Glad you liked Le Meurice. To be honest I would have been angry about the room, as it's far from a suite in my eyes. It's a mediocre sized room

MSPeconomist

To me, it's at best a room with a sitting area, so perhaps one category above whatever term the property uses for their standard rooms. The bathroom looks nice.

callmedtop

I hear ya - I don't see how this room is a Junior Suite either. We took a property tour our first morning and we saw another Junior Suite one category higher (they have 3x Junior Suite categories), and was blown away on how much more spacious it was.

They did offer to move us at no extra charge, but my significant other loved our room for whatever reason and didn't want to move.

EDIT: Our room category is 52sqm / 525sqft. I think that's probably accurate.

MacMyDay

Thanks for the write-up, calmedtop. Sounds like I need to start planning another trip to Paris. Has been too long since I was last there - all 3 weeks ago.

MikeFromTokyo

Le Meurice and Westin are close in location, but are a world apart in every other respect. Le Meurice is unquestionably one of the most elegant palace hotels in Paris, and indeed in the world. I have very fond memories of staying there and look forward to returning.

Junior Suite or higher is basically my rule of thumb in most hotels, and particularly at historical/grande dame hotels like le Meurice. At other hotels, I may find a Premier room sufficient, such as at FS George V, where that category is in fact more spacious than what many of its competitors call junior suites.

SojournsOf

Out of interest (maybe wrong place), does anyone have a good service they use for booking motorcycle taxis in Paris? I'll be in town for 10 nights for fashion week in September (have an apartment) and they're by far the best way for me to get around quickly.

simpletastes

I'm staying at Le Meurice this weekend (corporate rate booking). I reserved a Superior Room. What's the lowest room category that would potentially allow a view of the Tuileries; and is the price premium worth the view? (Hotel website suggested suites and above but I believe some rooms have this view.)

Secondly, does anyone know if a jacket is required for breakfast at the Alain Ducasse restaurant?

Many thanks

callmedtop

Can't speak to your first question but to your second, jackets were definitely not required during our stay last month. Although the A-D flagship restaurant was closed for two weeks while we were there, breakfast was served in the restaurant anyways, so can't imagine that would alter the rules.

DavidO

1. There are a few Executive rooms with Tuileries view. These have to be booked directly with the hotel's reservations department. (A Diamond Club TA can get you an upgrade at booking from Deluxe to Executive — and might even be able to get you blocked in a Tuileries View room).

Don't know the corporate rate you're paying, but if you want an Executive Room, the standard rate is 1050€ ... but you'd pay 940€ per night and have a one-time 100€ hotel credit that you can take off your bill when you check out. Add to this the value of two breakfasts per day ... and do the math. If you can let us know the rate you're paying, and your exact dates, we can help you evaluate.


2. There's no dress code at breakfast.