Long weekend: Four Seasons George V + Foodie Heaven
Feb 15, 2018, 2:29 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 109
Long weekend: Four Seasons George V + Foodie Heaven
Having failed to complete my previous attempt at a trip report, finding it too time consuming, and being a very reticent photographer, I feel as though I’m destined to not be an avid trip reporter like some here, but rather one to share my opinions on threads in prose when people ask for it.
However, on my recent short trip to Four Seasons George V, along with my girlfriend – an avid photographer – I decided that this fortuitous match meant I’d give reporting another go, wanting to give back to the value I derive from the board (in particular from reviewers such as JohnRain and SFO777 to name but two).
Key features of the trip:
· BA Club Europe LHR-CDG
· FS George V – Four Seasons Suite (2 nights)
· Les 110 de Taillevent
· Arnaud Nicolas
· Champeaux
· La Régalade Conservatoire
· Le George
· BA Club Europe CDG-LHR
I won’t linger on BA’s ‘business class’ for long, on the outbound I had seat 1A, the extra legroom was nice; but I prefer the exit row in economy. I only really paid for business class to get the last few points I needed for status renewal. Food was an English breakfast, and fairly terrible. The bacon was inedible and the scrambled egg atrocious, I picked at the sausage and ate the mushrooms, and thankfully after that we were already on approach to CDG.
We were met by our chauffer – organised by the hotel, but not one of their limousines, rather a third party company – airport transfers in Paris are very deer. We met CoCo, our driver, at the arrivals hall and were escorted to our car a Peugeot model similar in size to a BMW 5er, the car had some chocolate snacks, water and juice to offer. The ride was very pleasant and CoCo friendly; and we arrived at the hotel 30 minutes later.
At the hotel we were greeted at the car and escorted inside to the reception desk, where we checked in. I was surprised that in room check in wasn’t offered, but check in was efficient, the perks of our rate were explained; and my girlfriend was wished a happy birthday when handing over her passport. We were then swiftly escorted to the room and shown the amenities.
I was a little apprehensive about the décor of the room when I booked the FSGV, as it looked quite old fashioned; but I was very pleasantly surprised, as the room was a lot more modern in person and with good modern technology. I really liked it. Tip of the hat to our own DavidO for negotiating the confirmed upgrade from a Premier room to a Four Seasons suite – we really valued the extra space.
Waiting in the room for us was a bottle of Crémant, and the most divine chocolate cake with a candle for my girlfriend’s birthday. We enjoyed the bottle in the room with a piece of cake each before heading to Les 110 de Taillevent for lunch.
On the way out I stopped at the concierge and arranged for one of the chocolate Eiffel towers to be left in our room for when my girlfriend (a chocaholic) and I returned to the room mid-afternoon.
Lunch was very good, and we had excellent server for lunch the restaurant’s Director, who gave me his card and told me to say he sent me when I visit the London branch, which I promised to do.
I’ll let the pictures of the food speak for themselves, but overall a very lovely lunch, the food and wine were of a good standard, the weak part being the table, which was pinned against the wall opposite the bar; but this didn’t bother us too much.
Creamy Risotto (Alsace Pinot Noir, Luss 2015)
Prime rib of beef (Chateau Des Eyrins 2010, Margaux)
Roasted Sea Bass (with a glass of Deutz Brut, and followed by a glass of the lovely Billecart Salmon Brut Rose)
We declined dessert, but Bob, the lovely Director was having none of it, and brought out a lovely miniature selection of all of their desserts, and sang happy birthday to her. I recommend the Hot Dark Chocolate Mousse.
On the way out I noticed a lovely wine boutique named Vintage & Cie, and couldn’t resist tempting my girlfriend to allow me to go inside. Oh boy am I glad she said yes, I bought a bottle of the 2008 Chateau de Beaucastel, and the lovely attendant invited me into the cellar with him whilst he fetched my bottle. What a treat, supposedly 80% of the stock is from an older gentleman who is selling off his private collection, and it’s quite incredible. Numerous First Growth wines, including some very old vintages of Margaux, including some 6L presentations, and some Petrus – very much out of my league unfortunately! – Apologies for the poor photo quality – light issues and quick snap.
We walked along to the Arc de Triumph and did some shopping, before retiring to the hotel before dinner at Arnaud Nicolas. We enjoyed some of the Eiffel tower together in the room before dinner.
Originally seeking a table at Septime, one of Paris’ hottest spots right now, the FS concierge was unable to secure a table, which was surprising and disappointing at the time, but my gosh am I glad they failed. Arnaud Nicolas was the highlight of the trip, classically French, and described as ‘Gastronomic Charcuterie’.
Italian Delicatessen to start which we shared
Chicken (sorry I can’t remember the specifics).
The Pièce de Résistance, the Pork, Duck Foie Gras and Truffle warm pie, simply other wordly. It is supposed to be for sharing, but my companion didn’t fancy the dish, and I had my heart set on it – so with the waiter’s advice, he said I could probably tackle it alone. Whilst it was a lot of food, it was doable and I enjoyed every last bite.
We washed it down with a nice though not worthy of noting down Burgundy. Had I planned in advance to do a trip report, I would have noted it – but for my personal use I only note down what I would buy again for home consumption.
We retired to the hotel bar, which had a nice atmosphere on a Friday. We each had a Four Seasons gin cocktail, which was very nice; but we didn’t stay long as unfortunately without a prior reservation they could only seat us at the bar as opposed to a more comfortable sofa. I found the drinks prices in the bar to be quite expensive, at €28 a cocktail that makes even the nicest London establishments look cheap!
The following morning we had an early morning breakfast at 8.00am, in a very refined, quiet environment before heading off for some culture at the Louvre.
Eggs Benedict – the eggs were perfectly cooked, but for my liking the muffin to egg ratio was off, more bread was needed to soak up the yoke and hollandaise.
Grapefruit
Croissants – very good, but I didn’t get the hype about French croissants, bad example, or just not that different to those elsewhere in the world?
We arrived at the Louvre at about 8.55am, 5 minutes before opening. They let the pre-purchased ticket holders into the museum first, and we followed about 10 minutes later. We quickly purchased tickets and entered the museum. There was too much to possibly absorb in one visit, but we spent about 3.5 hours here, and could easily have spent considerably longer had we been on a more extended break.
After visiting the museum we headed to Pont Des Arts, which was famed for the padlocks of love it had attached to it, but unfortunately, a section of the bridge collapsed under the weight of what the consultant in me estimated was 45 tonnes of padlocks – my girlfriend was amazed when she googled it that 50 tonnes were removed – what a sad living being a consultant is hey! Nevertheless a few padlocks remain on the lamps in some impressively dextrous positions, helping to retain a small piece of its past character.
After that we headed to Champeaux, where I had been dying to try the Coquillettes jambon, Comte et truffe noire – exquisite.
My companion had the Seared Sea Scallops roasted gourd and tanguy jus, and we each also had a glass of Crozes-Hermitage.
After lunch we walked to Pont Neuf and got on the subway back to George V, where we visited Laduree at my girlfriend’s request. The queue was ridiculous and took about 20 minutes, I never would have waited that long as we can get these things in London for less, and with no queue; but on her birthday weekend, the Princess can do what she wants!
After fetching some macaroons, we headed back to the hotel where I opened the Chateauneuf-de-Pape and made a couple of splashy pours for the wine to breathe for a couple of hours. We then settled down to watch the Six Nations games in the room.
On arriving back in the room, our Eiffel tower had been removed. I rang the front desk and explained I was disappointed by this, and the front desk immediately apologised for the over-zealous housekeeping, and promised to see what she could do. Half an hour later another tower turned up at the room, which we weren’t expecting – I was expecting maybe a small plate of chocolates, as I imagined these towers weren’t cheap. Not only was a replacement tower provided, but I think the tower was also removed from our bill, though I can’t say for sure as it may have been covered by our hotel credit (although I don’t think so, because I thought I’d used a fair bit more than that).
First Ireland-Italy which was a rout, and then a tight England-Wales game, which we enjoyed with a bottle of Dom Perignon 2009 which we purchased in duty free (I’m glad we did because 600€ for a bottle on room service is daylight robbery), before moving onto the Chateauneuf-de-Pape.
For dinner we ordered an Uber to take us across town to La Régalade Conservatoire, which offers a very reasonable Prix Fixe menu.
I started with an Old Fashioned, and my girlfriend a glass of Merlot.
The highlight of the meal, the Pate offered to start
I then had the Creamed Squid Ink Risotto (which was great)
Followed by the Pork belly (overcooked, tough, and dry)
My girlfriend had the Gravlax salmon (which she loved)
Followed by the Roasted Quail stuffed with Foie Gras, salsify, turnip, spinach, and cranberry jus (again which she loved)
Finally we both each had the Soufflé, which was good; but we both were finding the restaurant overly hot in temperature, which meant enjoying such a warm dish was challenging
Incredibly generously the waiter placed two bottles of spirits on the table at the end of the meal and told us to enjoy what we liked. When I joked that he’d regret that and I’d drink the whole bottle he laughed and said ‘as long as you don’t walk out of the front door with it. I had a couple of pours of a very interesting 60/40% blend of Cognac and Cointreau which I’d never seen before, and was very enjoyable. We left a big tip as we appreciated the gesture.
We were looking forward to exploring a more hip and trendy district of Paris, but unfortunately the heavens decided to open, and having worn inappropriate attire to explore in such weather, we elected to retire to the Four Seasons George V bar again.
It was quite amusing to walk back in, and the barman immediately recognised us and jokingly chastised us for not booking a table again (as he’d recommended we do), however fortunately they managed to accommodate us on a Saturday night at a table. There were some incredibly glamorous people in the bar, and I had to be very careful to not let my eyes linger too much.
I enjoyed firstly another Old Fashioned, which actually wasn’t as lovely as the one I had with dinner, followed by a 5cl pour of Remy Martin XO before retiring to bed. My companion had a flute of Champagne.
We woke up a little heavy headed the following morning (unsurprisingly) and made our way down to breakfast at around 11.00, we were disappointed to learn that on a Sunday we’d already missed breakfast in the Conservatorie. We were offered a table in the bar, which unfortunately was a bit too small for the spread and made eating breakfast quite difficult.
I took the American breakfast with Guava juice, and my companion the fruit bowl and French pastries.
Breakfast is great when it’s included in your rate – where you get a 59€ credit per day per person to spend on what you wish, but otherwise it is just a bad joke. €12 for a single cup of coffee, seriously?
We then went back to the room to pack, and requested a last minute late check out to accommodate our 1.30pm lunch reservation at Le George, which the lovely front desk staff were happy to accommodate.
We went for a walk at around 12.30pm before lunch and walked towards the Eiffel Tower (which unfortunately due to our heavy heads, we wouldn’t have time to scale this visit), we returned walking along the south side of the river to the Four Seasons at 1.15pm to our room.
Unfortunately our room key had expired and not been extended, so I had to make a call from the hallway phone to the front desk asking them to send someone up to let us into our room – he arrived around 5 minutes later.
Awaiting inside as requested with the concierge half an hour earlier was a cardboard box, tape, and bubble wrap to allow us to check some wine, which we wouldn’t have been able to bring into the cabin in our hand luggage.
At 1.30pm we headed down to Le George, which was in a word, fantastic. I thought the food was absolutely fantastic value, but the wine pricing was high.
My companion and I both started with a truly fantastic glass of David Duband Chambolle-Musigny 2015, which I will be ordering a case of.
My companion started with the semi-cooked red tuna with truffle pettles, followed by the wood-fired octopus. Both of which were outstanding.
I had the lunch menu, starting with swordfish, then the ravioli del plin with truffle, and the beef tagliata, which was a perfectly cooked medium. All of the dishes were outstanding.
I switched to the Chateau Batailley 5eme Cru Classe 2008 for my beef, which was a mistake. The wine was far too cold and killed the flavour. It was also frankly priced ridiculously – a glass cost not far off what I can buy a bottle for back home, but I did fancy a Bordeaux with my beef. That said, I should have had another glass of the phenomenal Burgundy.
We declined dessert and had an espresso each, but one of the waiters took exception to this, and very graciously offered us a complementary crème brulee with mandarin sorbet, which is actually more like a cheesecake with crème brulee on top. It was sensational. We were also served a handful of smaller sweet treats.
After lunch we went to the reception desk to check out, which was flawless, she handled all our credits in a very timely fashion, apologised for the one service slippage which had been noted; and after settling up, the receptionist then escorted us to the Bellman who had our bags waiting and hailed a taxi for us to CDG.
The taxi took about 30 minutes, and we had some confusion regarding what terminal BA departs from A or C, with my boarding pass saying A and the airport saying C. Turns out its one floor below at location 9 in between terminals A and C. It took us quite a long time to find, is poorly marked for the uninitiated, and left me quite frustrated. We checked in our box and headed through the electronic gates and took the elevator to security, where we were allowed to use the premium lane (I guess due to status as opposed to anything else, as our boarding passes weren’t marked as priority?)
We headed to the Cathay lounge, which was a perfectly nice place to kill a couple of hours (including the 45 minute delay taking off). I had a glass of water and a cappuccino, my companion the same. I also took a shower in the very nice facilities.
Unfortunately on the CDG-LHR flight I couldn’t secure row 1, as it had already been taken by other passengers. Row 2 was cramped, and I’d definitely have preferred the exit row. I took up the offer of the chicken Panini – which was predictably awful, and washed it down with a gin and tonic. The pursuer Jonathan was a lovely, lively chap, and about the only positive thing I’d have to say about the flight.
We arrived at a bus gate and were bussed into T5, but fortunately there was zero queue at the e-gates and I was through in literally 60 seconds. We headed down to baggage claim, where our wine was one of the first off; and then we headed to the tube for the 40 minute ride home.
We arrived home with the take-away driver from my favourite Indian restaurant waiting outside – perfect timing, for a nice relaxing couple of hours of TV before going to bed to start the Monday grind again.
Overall we had a fantastic stay, I cannot recommend the FS George V highly enough. Both the hard and soft products were excellent, and the atmosphere was actually quite youthful and not so stuffy as I have read from other reviewers (and I’m <30). Although as you might have guessed, I took exception to certain elements of the pricing in the hotel. Notably breakfast (if it’s not included in your rate – forget it), and alcohol. That said I felt the food in Le George was exceptional value.
I plan to return to Paris later this year, but ’m not sure whether I will return to the FS. I think I would like to stay nearer the Vendome next time, and will consider the Crillon or the Ritz which I will try to write about in due course.
I hope you enjoyed the report, and thank you very much for reading!
P.S. Apologies for the thumbnails, I will learn my lesson next time - but don't have time to go through again and switch them to be embedded.
However, on my recent short trip to Four Seasons George V, along with my girlfriend – an avid photographer – I decided that this fortuitous match meant I’d give reporting another go, wanting to give back to the value I derive from the board (in particular from reviewers such as JohnRain and SFO777 to name but two).
Key features of the trip:
· BA Club Europe LHR-CDG
· FS George V – Four Seasons Suite (2 nights)
· Les 110 de Taillevent
· Arnaud Nicolas
· Champeaux
· La Régalade Conservatoire
· Le George
· BA Club Europe CDG-LHR
I won’t linger on BA’s ‘business class’ for long, on the outbound I had seat 1A, the extra legroom was nice; but I prefer the exit row in economy. I only really paid for business class to get the last few points I needed for status renewal. Food was an English breakfast, and fairly terrible. The bacon was inedible and the scrambled egg atrocious, I picked at the sausage and ate the mushrooms, and thankfully after that we were already on approach to CDG.
We were met by our chauffer – organised by the hotel, but not one of their limousines, rather a third party company – airport transfers in Paris are very deer. We met CoCo, our driver, at the arrivals hall and were escorted to our car a Peugeot model similar in size to a BMW 5er, the car had some chocolate snacks, water and juice to offer. The ride was very pleasant and CoCo friendly; and we arrived at the hotel 30 minutes later.
At the hotel we were greeted at the car and escorted inside to the reception desk, where we checked in. I was surprised that in room check in wasn’t offered, but check in was efficient, the perks of our rate were explained; and my girlfriend was wished a happy birthday when handing over her passport. We were then swiftly escorted to the room and shown the amenities.
I was a little apprehensive about the décor of the room when I booked the FSGV, as it looked quite old fashioned; but I was very pleasantly surprised, as the room was a lot more modern in person and with good modern technology. I really liked it. Tip of the hat to our own DavidO for negotiating the confirmed upgrade from a Premier room to a Four Seasons suite – we really valued the extra space.
Waiting in the room for us was a bottle of Crémant, and the most divine chocolate cake with a candle for my girlfriend’s birthday. We enjoyed the bottle in the room with a piece of cake each before heading to Les 110 de Taillevent for lunch.
On the way out I stopped at the concierge and arranged for one of the chocolate Eiffel towers to be left in our room for when my girlfriend (a chocaholic) and I returned to the room mid-afternoon.
Lunch was very good, and we had excellent server for lunch the restaurant’s Director, who gave me his card and told me to say he sent me when I visit the London branch, which I promised to do.
I’ll let the pictures of the food speak for themselves, but overall a very lovely lunch, the food and wine were of a good standard, the weak part being the table, which was pinned against the wall opposite the bar; but this didn’t bother us too much.
Creamy Risotto (Alsace Pinot Noir, Luss 2015)
Prime rib of beef (Chateau Des Eyrins 2010, Margaux)
Roasted Sea Bass (with a glass of Deutz Brut, and followed by a glass of the lovely Billecart Salmon Brut Rose)
We declined dessert, but Bob, the lovely Director was having none of it, and brought out a lovely miniature selection of all of their desserts, and sang happy birthday to her. I recommend the Hot Dark Chocolate Mousse.
On the way out I noticed a lovely wine boutique named Vintage & Cie, and couldn’t resist tempting my girlfriend to allow me to go inside. Oh boy am I glad she said yes, I bought a bottle of the 2008 Chateau de Beaucastel, and the lovely attendant invited me into the cellar with him whilst he fetched my bottle. What a treat, supposedly 80% of the stock is from an older gentleman who is selling off his private collection, and it’s quite incredible. Numerous First Growth wines, including some very old vintages of Margaux, including some 6L presentations, and some Petrus – very much out of my league unfortunately! – Apologies for the poor photo quality – light issues and quick snap.
We walked along to the Arc de Triumph and did some shopping, before retiring to the hotel before dinner at Arnaud Nicolas. We enjoyed some of the Eiffel tower together in the room before dinner.
Originally seeking a table at Septime, one of Paris’ hottest spots right now, the FS concierge was unable to secure a table, which was surprising and disappointing at the time, but my gosh am I glad they failed. Arnaud Nicolas was the highlight of the trip, classically French, and described as ‘Gastronomic Charcuterie’.
Italian Delicatessen to start which we shared
Chicken (sorry I can’t remember the specifics).
The Pièce de Résistance, the Pork, Duck Foie Gras and Truffle warm pie, simply other wordly. It is supposed to be for sharing, but my companion didn’t fancy the dish, and I had my heart set on it – so with the waiter’s advice, he said I could probably tackle it alone. Whilst it was a lot of food, it was doable and I enjoyed every last bite.
We washed it down with a nice though not worthy of noting down Burgundy. Had I planned in advance to do a trip report, I would have noted it – but for my personal use I only note down what I would buy again for home consumption.
We retired to the hotel bar, which had a nice atmosphere on a Friday. We each had a Four Seasons gin cocktail, which was very nice; but we didn’t stay long as unfortunately without a prior reservation they could only seat us at the bar as opposed to a more comfortable sofa. I found the drinks prices in the bar to be quite expensive, at €28 a cocktail that makes even the nicest London establishments look cheap!
The following morning we had an early morning breakfast at 8.00am, in a very refined, quiet environment before heading off for some culture at the Louvre.
Eggs Benedict – the eggs were perfectly cooked, but for my liking the muffin to egg ratio was off, more bread was needed to soak up the yoke and hollandaise.
Grapefruit
Croissants – very good, but I didn’t get the hype about French croissants, bad example, or just not that different to those elsewhere in the world?
We arrived at the Louvre at about 8.55am, 5 minutes before opening. They let the pre-purchased ticket holders into the museum first, and we followed about 10 minutes later. We quickly purchased tickets and entered the museum. There was too much to possibly absorb in one visit, but we spent about 3.5 hours here, and could easily have spent considerably longer had we been on a more extended break.
After visiting the museum we headed to Pont Des Arts, which was famed for the padlocks of love it had attached to it, but unfortunately, a section of the bridge collapsed under the weight of what the consultant in me estimated was 45 tonnes of padlocks – my girlfriend was amazed when she googled it that 50 tonnes were removed – what a sad living being a consultant is hey! Nevertheless a few padlocks remain on the lamps in some impressively dextrous positions, helping to retain a small piece of its past character.
After that we headed to Champeaux, where I had been dying to try the Coquillettes jambon, Comte et truffe noire – exquisite.
My companion had the Seared Sea Scallops roasted gourd and tanguy jus, and we each also had a glass of Crozes-Hermitage.
After lunch we walked to Pont Neuf and got on the subway back to George V, where we visited Laduree at my girlfriend’s request. The queue was ridiculous and took about 20 minutes, I never would have waited that long as we can get these things in London for less, and with no queue; but on her birthday weekend, the Princess can do what she wants!
After fetching some macaroons, we headed back to the hotel where I opened the Chateauneuf-de-Pape and made a couple of splashy pours for the wine to breathe for a couple of hours. We then settled down to watch the Six Nations games in the room.
On arriving back in the room, our Eiffel tower had been removed. I rang the front desk and explained I was disappointed by this, and the front desk immediately apologised for the over-zealous housekeeping, and promised to see what she could do. Half an hour later another tower turned up at the room, which we weren’t expecting – I was expecting maybe a small plate of chocolates, as I imagined these towers weren’t cheap. Not only was a replacement tower provided, but I think the tower was also removed from our bill, though I can’t say for sure as it may have been covered by our hotel credit (although I don’t think so, because I thought I’d used a fair bit more than that).
First Ireland-Italy which was a rout, and then a tight England-Wales game, which we enjoyed with a bottle of Dom Perignon 2009 which we purchased in duty free (I’m glad we did because 600€ for a bottle on room service is daylight robbery), before moving onto the Chateauneuf-de-Pape.
For dinner we ordered an Uber to take us across town to La Régalade Conservatoire, which offers a very reasonable Prix Fixe menu.
I started with an Old Fashioned, and my girlfriend a glass of Merlot.
The highlight of the meal, the Pate offered to start
I then had the Creamed Squid Ink Risotto (which was great)
Followed by the Pork belly (overcooked, tough, and dry)
My girlfriend had the Gravlax salmon (which she loved)
Followed by the Roasted Quail stuffed with Foie Gras, salsify, turnip, spinach, and cranberry jus (again which she loved)
Finally we both each had the Soufflé, which was good; but we both were finding the restaurant overly hot in temperature, which meant enjoying such a warm dish was challenging
Incredibly generously the waiter placed two bottles of spirits on the table at the end of the meal and told us to enjoy what we liked. When I joked that he’d regret that and I’d drink the whole bottle he laughed and said ‘as long as you don’t walk out of the front door with it. I had a couple of pours of a very interesting 60/40% blend of Cognac and Cointreau which I’d never seen before, and was very enjoyable. We left a big tip as we appreciated the gesture.
We were looking forward to exploring a more hip and trendy district of Paris, but unfortunately the heavens decided to open, and having worn inappropriate attire to explore in such weather, we elected to retire to the Four Seasons George V bar again.
It was quite amusing to walk back in, and the barman immediately recognised us and jokingly chastised us for not booking a table again (as he’d recommended we do), however fortunately they managed to accommodate us on a Saturday night at a table. There were some incredibly glamorous people in the bar, and I had to be very careful to not let my eyes linger too much.
I enjoyed firstly another Old Fashioned, which actually wasn’t as lovely as the one I had with dinner, followed by a 5cl pour of Remy Martin XO before retiring to bed. My companion had a flute of Champagne.
We woke up a little heavy headed the following morning (unsurprisingly) and made our way down to breakfast at around 11.00, we were disappointed to learn that on a Sunday we’d already missed breakfast in the Conservatorie. We were offered a table in the bar, which unfortunately was a bit too small for the spread and made eating breakfast quite difficult.
I took the American breakfast with Guava juice, and my companion the fruit bowl and French pastries.
Breakfast is great when it’s included in your rate – where you get a 59€ credit per day per person to spend on what you wish, but otherwise it is just a bad joke. €12 for a single cup of coffee, seriously?
We then went back to the room to pack, and requested a last minute late check out to accommodate our 1.30pm lunch reservation at Le George, which the lovely front desk staff were happy to accommodate.
We went for a walk at around 12.30pm before lunch and walked towards the Eiffel Tower (which unfortunately due to our heavy heads, we wouldn’t have time to scale this visit), we returned walking along the south side of the river to the Four Seasons at 1.15pm to our room.
Unfortunately our room key had expired and not been extended, so I had to make a call from the hallway phone to the front desk asking them to send someone up to let us into our room – he arrived around 5 minutes later.
Awaiting inside as requested with the concierge half an hour earlier was a cardboard box, tape, and bubble wrap to allow us to check some wine, which we wouldn’t have been able to bring into the cabin in our hand luggage.
At 1.30pm we headed down to Le George, which was in a word, fantastic. I thought the food was absolutely fantastic value, but the wine pricing was high.
My companion and I both started with a truly fantastic glass of David Duband Chambolle-Musigny 2015, which I will be ordering a case of.
My companion started with the semi-cooked red tuna with truffle pettles, followed by the wood-fired octopus. Both of which were outstanding.
I had the lunch menu, starting with swordfish, then the ravioli del plin with truffle, and the beef tagliata, which was a perfectly cooked medium. All of the dishes were outstanding.
I switched to the Chateau Batailley 5eme Cru Classe 2008 for my beef, which was a mistake. The wine was far too cold and killed the flavour. It was also frankly priced ridiculously – a glass cost not far off what I can buy a bottle for back home, but I did fancy a Bordeaux with my beef. That said, I should have had another glass of the phenomenal Burgundy.
We declined dessert and had an espresso each, but one of the waiters took exception to this, and very graciously offered us a complementary crème brulee with mandarin sorbet, which is actually more like a cheesecake with crème brulee on top. It was sensational. We were also served a handful of smaller sweet treats.
After lunch we went to the reception desk to check out, which was flawless, she handled all our credits in a very timely fashion, apologised for the one service slippage which had been noted; and after settling up, the receptionist then escorted us to the Bellman who had our bags waiting and hailed a taxi for us to CDG.
The taxi took about 30 minutes, and we had some confusion regarding what terminal BA departs from A or C, with my boarding pass saying A and the airport saying C. Turns out its one floor below at location 9 in between terminals A and C. It took us quite a long time to find, is poorly marked for the uninitiated, and left me quite frustrated. We checked in our box and headed through the electronic gates and took the elevator to security, where we were allowed to use the premium lane (I guess due to status as opposed to anything else, as our boarding passes weren’t marked as priority?)
We headed to the Cathay lounge, which was a perfectly nice place to kill a couple of hours (including the 45 minute delay taking off). I had a glass of water and a cappuccino, my companion the same. I also took a shower in the very nice facilities.
Unfortunately on the CDG-LHR flight I couldn’t secure row 1, as it had already been taken by other passengers. Row 2 was cramped, and I’d definitely have preferred the exit row. I took up the offer of the chicken Panini – which was predictably awful, and washed it down with a gin and tonic. The pursuer Jonathan was a lovely, lively chap, and about the only positive thing I’d have to say about the flight.
We arrived at a bus gate and were bussed into T5, but fortunately there was zero queue at the e-gates and I was through in literally 60 seconds. We headed down to baggage claim, where our wine was one of the first off; and then we headed to the tube for the 40 minute ride home.
We arrived home with the take-away driver from my favourite Indian restaurant waiting outside – perfect timing, for a nice relaxing couple of hours of TV before going to bed to start the Monday grind again.
Overall we had a fantastic stay, I cannot recommend the FS George V highly enough. Both the hard and soft products were excellent, and the atmosphere was actually quite youthful and not so stuffy as I have read from other reviewers (and I’m <30). Although as you might have guessed, I took exception to certain elements of the pricing in the hotel. Notably breakfast (if it’s not included in your rate – forget it), and alcohol. That said I felt the food in Le George was exceptional value.
I plan to return to Paris later this year, but ’m not sure whether I will return to the FS. I think I would like to stay nearer the Vendome next time, and will consider the Crillon or the Ritz which I will try to write about in due course.
I hope you enjoyed the report, and thank you very much for reading!
P.S. Apologies for the thumbnails, I will learn my lesson next time - but don't have time to go through again and switch them to be embedded.
Feb 16, 2018, 12:26 pm
#7
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Long Island, NY
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Gold
Posts: 732
Great foodie review. HBD to your lucky GF.
A good 1* Michelin restaurant is "Ze Kitchen Galerie", I was really impressed when I went there.
https://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Re...rie-5954-41102
A good 1* Michelin restaurant is "Ze Kitchen Galerie", I was really impressed when I went there.
https://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Re...rie-5954-41102
Feb 16, 2018, 9:50 pm
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2008
Location: San Francisco
Programs: GM on VX, UA, AA, HA, AS, SY; Budget Fastbreak
Posts: 27,605
Great great TR! We had supper at Taillevant in 2005 a few hours before I proposed to my wife. We later returned to Paris 3 times together but our last visit was in 2012 with our child.
Feb 19, 2018, 10:47 am
#12
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,181
The problem is that your room is so gorgeous I would never want to leave the room. My father 50 years ago stayed at the Bristol which he said was the most extraordinary hotel he had ever stayed at. His secretary had booked it without warning him of the price. He told her next time to check with him the rates first. This is a hotel in Paris I would like to go to at least for 1 night.
Feb 19, 2018, 11:21 am
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Germany
Programs: Some
Posts: 11,521
The problem is that your room is so gorgeous I would never want to leave the room. My father 50 years ago stayed at the Bristol which he said was the most extraordinary hotel he had ever stayed at. His secretary had booked it without warning him of the price. He told her next time to check with him the rates first. This is a hotel in Paris I would like to go to at least for 1 night.
Feb 21, 2018, 3:43 pm
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 109
Cheers.