michelin

Aventine

FS George V Virtuoso hotel of the year

George V is the Virtuoso hotel of the year.

bhrubin

EuropeanPete

The ultimate triumph of vulgarity and shiny things over taste.

I give it 5-10 years before pure Instagram hotels without any real luxury start winning awards.

MikeFromTokyo

sophialite

bhrubin

MikeFromTokyo

EmpressRouge

Has anyone had experience at the Hotel Grand Powers? Looks like they just [re]opened/rebranded ~8 months ago and is part of SLH and bookable with Hyatt points. Has 100 reviews on Tripadvisor, all positive.

offerendum

KatW

CGRA

had a brunch there lately and it was ok / good.
the lobby is on the small side but pretty.
the staff seems nice / OK.
Don�t know the room.
I do love the location
Not the same league than FS etc but if the price is right, why not.

DavidO

My recent trip to Europe ended with four days in Paris ... to save money! My round-trip air was much less with a return from CDG rather than Stockholm. I spent two days at Ritz Paris followed by two more days at Le Meurice, and I'll say a bit about those stays at the end of this review.

I took the opportunity to visit and review five hotels I had not previously inspected.


Splendide Royal

Splendide Royal opened two years ago and became a member of Virtuoso about a year ago. The sister hotel of the Splendide Royal properties in Rome and Lugano, this property is a member of Relais & Chateaux. It occupies what was formerly the Parisian home of Pierre Cardin. It is located just off Rue du Faubourg Saint Honor�, very close to Le Bristol and La Reserve.

The operative word here is boutique, and service is very personal. The hotel's GM greeted me at the door, then proceeded to assist with a check-out before introducing me to his Director of Sales. He greeted his guests by name.

The hotel has just twelve (12) rooms. Each of the six floors has a 1BR Suite and a Junior Suite. Rooms can connect, creating 2BR Family Rooms that occupy an entire floor of the hotel. Over the first five floors, Suites are 65 square meters and Junior Suites are 45 square meters. I would not book rooms on the sixth (top) floor. Being under the building's mansard roof, top floor rooms are narrower (55 sqm Suite, 35 sqm Jr. Suite), and the sloping roof means lower ceilings.



6th floor Junior Suite bedroom ... narrower than lower floors ... but the hotel was completely occupied. Housekeeping got this ready for my photo!

Suites consist of a master bedroom and a separate living room with available sofa bed. Bathrooms are equipped with a soaking tub, step-in shower, double vanities, and a WC with toilet and bidet. There is an additional powder room, useful if other guests are occupying the sofabed in the living room.

Splendide Royal has a very personal and residential feel. True to its Relais & Chateaux membership, Tosca, the hotel's restaurant, offers gastronomic Italian cuisine.


Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg

This Sofitel was once a member of Virtuoso, left the consortium, and has again renewed its membership. It is located on a side street off the Rue du Faubourg Saint Honor�, one of the renowned fashion streets in Paris.

One enters through the Art Deco entrance into a clean and contemporary glass-ceilinged lobby. The hotel has 148 quite small rooms. The sales manager tells me that they can virtually always upgrade a lead-in Superior room (20 sqm) to a not-much-larger Deluxe (22 sqm). The room is compact, and the bathroom has a shower in the tub, single vanity, and toilet. Luxury Rooms (25 sqm) are a bit larger, but as the extra space was devoted to a small entrance area, the living space did not seem larger. Guests are provided with Hermes amenities.


Deluxe room

Step-in showers and separate tubs begin with the Prestige (45 sqm) and Opera (50 sqm) "Suites." The Prestige Suite I was shown had a rain shower, a WC, and an open floor plan.

Avoid the top (7th) floor as the mansard roofs result in lower ceilings. If you stay here, I recommend higher floors (6 and lower) and a room that faces the street for more natural light.

Guests who desire a lower price point in the neighborhood could be well served by this four-star property.


Fauchon L�Hotel

As there's been a lot of buzz about this hotel � and some of my clients have booked it � I wanted to see Fauchon L'Hotel with my own eyes and arranged a site inspection. The hotel has a good location on Place de la Madeleine, just a block from Place de la Concorde. Not a member of Virtuoso (although they are applying), you can get amenities through Travel Leaders Select including daily American breakfast for two and a $100 spa credit. The in-room Gourmet Bar (minibar) offers lots of complimentary, yummy, but caloric-looking goodies (you've been warned). The hotel has a very inventive restaurant where we enjoyed our lunch very much.

Fauchon is a fashion brand, and you can see its trademark hot pink throughout the hotel. Rooms are compact, but if you like the quite distinctive styling (and especially if you're traveling alone), they might be just the thing for you: Superior - 28 sqm, Deluxe - 31 sqm, Duplex Suite - 43 sqm, Deluxe Suite - 40 sqm, Prestige Suite - 60 sqm. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.



Deluxe Room at Fauchon



hallway at Fauchon


It's totally a matter of personal style. These interiors will appeal to some; they will not appeal to others. If Fauchon's style speaks to you, then L'Hotel is definitely worth a try.


Hotel du Louvre

This hotel, while under the management of Concorde Hotels, used to be a member of Virtuoso. The hotel had a reputation of being tired and in need of significant renewal. That has work has now been accomplished. After a complete closure, the hotel underwent an extensive renovation, reopening as a part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection. Hyatt Priv� amenities are provided including breakfast for two daily, a $100 hotel credit, and an upgrade confirmed within 24 hours if available. The sales manager explained that if the forecasted occupancy is under 95% for your stay, you'll be upgraded at booking. Upgrade decisions are based based on the forecast of the Revenue Manager. I am told that the hotel will upgrade from the highest room category into the lowest suite category at booking, if available.

The hotel's history began in 1855 but in a different building across the square. It opened in time for that year's Paris World's Fair with the first grand hotel in Paris. Hotel du Louvre moved across the square to its current location in 1885, reopening with 180 rooms. The latest renovation has reduced the room count to 164 rooms. Located next to the Louvre, the hotel's front doors look look directly down the grand Avenue de l�Opera with a view of the Opera Garnier at the end of the avenue. The hotel's best views can be had by booking a room directly over the lobby.

Styling is contemporary with clean, simple interiors. Hallways are quite plain � grey wallpaper, tan borders around the doorways, and dark, plain wooden doors. Rooms are compact. The "View" room pictured here is 20 sqm with a nice view of the square outside its window. Its tiny bathroom has a shower, single vanity, and toilet. The room's workspace is quite compact.


"View" room at Hotel du Louvre

Guests enter the small neoclassical lobby whose quite small seating area has just two seats. There is a larger seating area on a mezzanine one floor up, overlooking the lobby. Early arrivals have access to Cabines Priv�es in order to shower, change, and freshen up � a facility similar to arrivals lounges at airports.

The hotel is trying to be innovating, providing an experience something more than a mere hotel stay. Guests are presented upon check-in with a folder entitled "Passages du Flaneur" including a map of a nearby arrondissement with suggested places to visit and explore as well as a page of unique experiences offered by Hotel du Louvre. These include complimentary neighborhood walking tours on Tuesday mornings, a tour of the Louvre�s wine cellars on Wednesday afternoons, a chance to play p�tanque on Thursday afternoons, and a tour of the Louvre's Napoleonic bedrooms on Friday mornings. NOTE: tours are offered only during designated months of the year. The tours are complimentary, and if you visit the Louvre, you can stay behind in the museum after your tour.

Hotel's du Louvre's restaurant, Brasserie du Louvre, was founded by the late renowned chef Paul Bocuse and looks quite nice. I did not have a chance to dine here.


Regina Louvre

I've booked the Regina a few times over the years. It has a very good location on the rue de Rivoli at the northeast corner of the Tuileries. This is a good four star hotel for guests who want a taste of turn-of-the-century Paris (turn of the 20th century, that is). A family-owned hotel that opened in 1900, the original design features have been preserved and can be seen in the lobby's stained glass and frosted glass and in the green-tiled chair railings still present in guest floor hallways. The conscious decision has been to maintain the hotel's historic feel rather than making everything contemporary and up-to-date.


lobby of Regina Louvre

A member of Preferred Hotels, Regina offers your choice of Platinum Preferred or Travel Leaders Select amenities (or whichever your travel advisor has access to). Family owned, they are devoted to preserving this sense of history. Pictured below is a Junior Suite. Located on the corner of the building, the view looks over the Tuileries with a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Rooms maintain their original ceiling moldings and have preserved the original, now antique, furniture pieces. I found the upholstery a bit cheesy... a good place to begin when the hotel next renovates.


Eiffel Junior Suite at Regina Louvre

This is a boutique hotel with 99 rooms. Rooms are small. Superiors are just 20 sqm, Deluxes just 25 sqm. The first category I would consider would be a Prestige Room (30-35 sqm). Eiffel Junior Suites at the building's southwest corner have panoramic views. However, the Junior Suite's �extra� was taken up by a larger entrance area in which were the closets and minibar and thus did not enhance the room's spaciousness. As with several other hotels in this report, I would avoid booking rooms on top floor with mansard ceilings.


Ritz Paris

I spent my first two nights in Paris at the Ritz, surely a nice place to land after ten nights on a cruise ship (or after ten nights anywhere!). Truly one of the finest hotels in the world, my take-away is this... You know the expression over the top? Well, the Ritz is at the very top without going over.

Rooms are tasteful and elegant. Many bathrooms have natural light. The gold-plated swan faucets remain, and all bathrooms have dual vanities, a soaking tub, a separate step-in shower (that does not leak anymore), and a WC. Rooms are spacious and comfortable, and the Virtuoso upgrade-at-booking offers real value... as does the complimentary round-trip airport transfer with VIP reception at the jetway with Fast Track immigration.

Breakfast was elegant, and the concierge services were beyond helpful. Seriously, Didier helped out with a very vexing situation!


Le Meurice

I've always said that Le Meurice is my favorite hotel in Paris. I don't claim it's the the most ultra-luxury hotel in the city. It's a solid five star choice with warm, informal service. I love the hotel's location, right on rue de Rivoli at the center of the Tuileries. Walk across the street, go through gates into the garden, and find yourself at the Louvre, the d'Orsay, or Place de la Concorde after just a short walk. It's the ideal location for first time visitors wanting to explore the heart of Paris.

Guest rooms are undergoing renovations with lighter colors to brighten the room. Splashes of red in the draperies reminded me of its sister hotel in the 8th arrondissement, the Plaza Athen�e. At either Dorchester Collection hotel, Diamond Club bookings receive an upgrade at booking (up to the Superior Junior Suite category), full breakfast in any venue, 100� credit that can come off your hotel bill, and premium internet.

KatW

DavidO