Hotel Le Bristol, Paris

1   Not Recommended
September 12, 2014 by EXPERT

 Map | 4 Reviews | 50% Recommended
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Hôtel Le Bristol Paris
 Map | 4 Reviews | 50% Recommended

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Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
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This stay of two nights including breakfast was a complimentary stay offered to me by the General Manager of the hotel due to two consecutive poor stays in the past due to some technical issues (non-functioning a/c in the summer making the room hotter than outside; the keys not working, etc) and many many service blunders.

This was a very generous offer and the hotel management appears very committed to offering the highest levels of service. I accepted the offer and decided to use the two nights when I was in Paris at the very beginning of this month. 

In short, the stay was the best thus far. However, the commitment to superior service held by managers and above have not filtered down to the all of the front of house staff members. There are still too many service gaffes. 

I was invited back to the hotel in a "Garden suite" for 2 nights including full breakfast for two people. The General Manager himself handled the booking and I assumed I would receive a Deluxe Junior suite with a view of the Garden courtyard.   

Room

Upon arrival I was informed I had been upgraded to one of their Terrace Suites. The Terrace Suite is a large suite of about 100 sq. meters or 1100 sq. ft. with 2 full bathrooms, a huge parlour with 2 distinct sitting areas, 2 entrances, a master bedroom, and a huge 50 sq. meter or 550 sq. ft. terrace.

There are two Terrace suites at the hotel, one on the 5th floor and mine directly above it accessed by a private staircase. The two Terrace suites can be combined into one Mega Terrace Suite. Oddly, the 5th floor rooms on the "VIP" wing, as I like to call it, which is the part of the hotel behind the fountain in the garden courtyard are numbered in the 800s and my room was in the 900s. As you walk up the private staircase, you reach a small landing of which directly in front of you are the double doors to the living area, and to the right, a separate door directly to the bedroom, allowing the hotel to sell the bedroom separately from the parlour.

As you enter the suite, you are immediately at the first sitting area which is more formal, with Louis XV (I think) chairs and a small sofa. On the glass table was one of several flower arrangements in the suite, a large plate of petit fours, and a bottle of chilled Deutz. Very impressive welcome amenity!!

Directly in front of you, perpendicular to the outer wall which faces the courtyard is a large work desk, with fax/copier and internet connection. To the left is the second sitting area which is more relaxed and comfortable with a large cushy sofa and two large arm chairs which were remarkably comfortable. On the glass table was a huge fruit platter. Just behind the "informal" sitting area is a dressing room and the full guest bath with separate WC, separate shower stall, double vanities and large soaking tub. Toiletries were a mix of Anne Semonin and Hermes.

By the "informal" sitting area was a Loewe LCD TV with integrated CD/DVD player and a pedestal with a huge spray of flowers. There are two small stairs leading up to the double doors which grant access to the large terrace. At night, strategically placed lights add a nice effect; during the day it is quite nice. Too bad that in November it was too chilly to spend prolonged periods of time outside. Still it was great to step outside periodically to get some fresh air while spying on some other nice suites in the building facing the Faubourg St. Honore.

By the "formal" sitting area near the entrance is a doorway which leads to the bedroom. The bedroom has an antique make-up desk, which doubles as a work desk, tons of closet space, another Loewe LCD TV, an arm chair with ottoman, and another full bathroom.

The suite is very tastefully decorated, a far cry from the room we were allocated last time which was, at best, half decorated. There was a lot of creams, greens, taupes, and some splashes of red. It was a very nice pied a terre. The nightly rate in the off-season was 2800 Euro. In the summer I would imagine the rate goes up considerably. Again, this was an extremely generous offer and a tremendous upgrade. 

Service

One of the problems I have always had at Le Bristol was the friendliness of the staff. On my first visit, only 1 out of 5 staff members we passed by while in the hotel bothered to greet us whereby at other hotels, even the Le Grand Inter-Continental or Hilton we would experience more greetings. This translated into only 1 out of 5 staff members offering any assistance should we need any, like gaining access to a locked Business centre, or trying to find a toilet. Our last visit last year, this ratio improved to about 2/5 and this year to 3/5. 

The breakfast service has been a weak point of this hotel. While the quality of the food is very high the service is still weak, especially when the Maitre d'Hotel is not in the room supervising the staff. One has to ask for everything, from more coffee, tea, or juice, to butter, preserves and even cutlery. Going to the buffet, you return to find your old plate still on the table. Or, you come back to find a new plate but no cutlery. Replenishing food on the buffet is also slow with many guests asking for dishes to be replaced. At least, the quality is high, which is expected when a continental breakfast goes for 34 Euro and the full breakfast for 49 Euro.

The Concierge service here is also very weak. Perhaps I have been spoiled by the Concierge team at the George V but the one at Le Bristol simply cannot compare. On 1 November was a National Holiday and quite a few stores were not open. I asked the Concierge if the Marriage Freres and La Maison du Chocolat in the Faubourg St. Honore were open, they did not know. That was their answer. After asking them to find out, we went for breakfast. After breakfast, I was informed that both were open the whole day. In the afternoon, I walked to both stores (since they are across the street from eachother) to find out that La Maison du Chocolat was CLOSED. Marriage Freres was, however, open. The Concierge did valiantly try to get me into Guy Savoy but alas it was not possible. 

In trying to get restaurant reservations prior to my arrival, it took 3 weeks to get 3 restaurants booked. The reason for this delay was that the first set of restaurants I requested were closed due to the national holiday and the school mid-term holidays. However, when informing me my first choices were closed, they did not offer me any alternatives. I then sent off another e-mail asking about the availability of Hiramatsu and L'Astrance, I got a similar response telling me that Hiramatsu was open but L'Astrance wasn't. The third e-mail I asked for furthersuggestions. The Concierge response was that they have many suggestions, but what would I like to eat? Finally, I had to ask them book Chiberta one night, Hiramatsu for lunch, and then to find me a good quality bistro, but not too expensive, for another dinner. A week later I hear that all have been booked and the bistro they booked me into was Benoit, a Ducasse Group restaurant, which, by the way, was outstanding but also cost a small fortune. 

One time after some shopping I returned to the hotel to drop off my bags and we asked the porter to deliver the bags to my room since I was heading out immediately. Upon my return, when I go to pick up my key, I am handed all of my bags. Language was not an issue since my friend, a native Parisian, corrected my french and reconfirmed the request. After getting my key and all of my bags I went to the front desk (since they were not busy as opposed to the Concierge desk) to ask for some hot water and salt to be sent up to my room due to a sore throat. The Front desk agent told me, in a most condescending way, to phone room service, extension 17, when I got to my room. Unbelievable!! 

When the GM asked for any room preferences I asked that the temperature be set at 21 celcius, that a humidifier be placed in the bedroom, and the sheets be untucked at turndown. The sheets were not untucked a turndown both nights. 

Service is key and the service here as been disappointing all three visits. This hotel, it seems, just simply cannot get their act together which is such a shame. It is a beautiful hotel and the location is good. Without a doubt, the George V is simply in a class of its own.  

Overall

The hotel is currently expanding to the corner of the block. This new addition is supposed to add 23 new rooms, and 4 suites, including one signature suite with a direct view of the Tour Eiffel. It seems a Tour Eiffel suite is de rigeur for top hotels in Paris now, since the Plaza Athenee recently unveiled their Eiffel Suite, which may have been shown in the movie "Devil Wears Prada" (I am not certain, however.... can anyone confirm?). In addition, there will be another restaurant with an open kitchen serving more modern cuisine. Apparently, the hotel will close entirely early in the new year for a few months to facilitate the addition. The new rooms and suites are expected to be available summer 2007. 

I should add that what was most disappointing was that the hotel had an opportunity to impress me. They most certainly did with the suite upgrade and the classy choice of Deutz chilling in the room. That same spirit, unfortunately, was just not carried through with service levels to match.

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