There's a lot to like about the InterContinental Paris Le Grand, well located right across from the Opera Garnier with convenient access to the Opera Metro station. The Virtuoso amenities include an automatic upgrade from the lead-in Classic room to a Superior room category, and all Virtuoso guests receive complimentary access to the Club Lounge. Less expensive than the true five star hotels of Paris, IC Paris Le Grand represents a good value in a right bank hotel.
However … I have received poor feedback in recent months, both from my own clients and from those of other Brownell travel consultants. When the hotel is full (Le Grand is a large hotel with 470 rooms), it doesn't seem to be able to keep up with the service requirements of guests.
Long delays checking in — Arriving at the front desk at the normal check-in time of 2 p.m., my clients were told by an indifferent receptionist that their room wasn't ready. In full hearing of my client, the receptionist then phoned housekeeping and requested that they start to clean the room. My client was then informed that it would likely take two hours for her room to be ready. (My Brownell colleague reported that her client was unable to check in until 7 p.m. after an early afternoon arrival).
Indifferent concierge service — In response to a question about English-language tours of the Opera Garnier, the Club Lounge concierge was dismissive. "She replied that we'd have to go down and ask the downstairs concierge," wrote my client. "Couldn't get us away fast enough." After waiting a few minutes in line at the crowded concierge desk in the Lobby, they decided to cross the street to the opera and get the information themselves. Discovering that they had missed the English tour by 15 minutes, she commented that this "probably wouldn't have happened had the first concierge seemed remotely interested in helping us."
Similar concierge failures were experienced with requests for restaurant reservations (not handled in a timely manner) and with a simple request to print a boarding pass (she was told to print it herself).
If you want to pay four-star prices and have four-star expectations, InterContinental Paris Le Grand is a good choice. But if you want true five star luxury in a Paris hotel, there are much better options. Feel free to contact me for suggestions.
InterContinental Paris Le Grand (search here on Google)
copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website. .
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