Aaron S.
Yelp
Hilton Paris Opera is generally pretty expensive and can often reach €200-300 per night, but in the aftermath of the pandemic it became much more affordable, so I decided to stay here during my time in Paris and I was impressed with the conversion of such an old building into a stunning hotel which embodies the true spirit of both France & Hilton Hotels.
The hotel let me knew everything I needed to know before my arrival in a welcome email, from Hilton Clean Stay to the COVID precautions in place. While the restaurant and Executive Lounge were closed, I'd still be able to enjoy my Honors benefits with a beer/wine in the Bar per day, soft drinks, tea or coffee, and breakfast in the morning. They also had no problem cleaning my room daily even though it is usually on request due to Covid-19. The beautiful lobby bar, Le Grand Salon would act as my de-facto lounge during my stay.
I was upgraded to a Junior Suite and it was one of the best hotel rooms I've ever had. It was stunning, offered great views of the square featuring Gare Saint-Lazare, considering it was on the first floor it was tremendous how it offered great views and was quiet most of the time.
I also loved the Paris themed decor and hand-drawn art on the wall. I liked the location too, it was in Opera, close to train and bus services and within walking distance of many parts of the city. You might want to take the 42 bus; which stops close to the hotel and goes to the Champs Elysee and Tour Eiffel.
I loved the comfortable bed, numerous phones in the room as well as USB and local European plug sockets. They also had a fridge in the room, and one of the smartest safe's I've ever seen in a hotel. The Nespresso coffee machine came pre-loaded with water which was a simple yet amazing gesture.
All the staff in the hotel seemed friendly and happy to help, most spoke great English. I was given a tasty cocktail on arrival with Passionfruit and rum, and I was told that in lieu of the executive lounge I would still get breakfast and one alcoholic drink of my choice at night, which was perfect. It really didn't feel like reduced services due to COVID at all, other than having to wear masks in public areas which are compulsory in France. As well as the welcome cocktail, I was given a welcome basket after a quick and simple check-in. This included water, pringles, wet towels and a few snacks.
The hotel is like a maze especially at first, it's so easy to get lost in the corridors with many different lifts and cut-throughs.
They just seemed to go above and beyond, I even had this amazing staff member come outside with me to help make sure I got in the station across the way, as it was late at night and many of the stations' entrances were closed.
On the first morning, I was woken up by a banging noise, it became so unbearable I couldn't even remain in my room, it seemed upon checking with other staff members this was building work going on outside of the hotel, I've heard building work before in hotels and I've even had my house extended recently, and the sheer thudding is something I've never seen the likes of before. I was offered the chance to change rooms to a room at the back, I opted against it as it was a lower grade room and the noise was only slightly less.
The Breakfast area is only accessed via steps at the minute, this is because the construction blocks the street entrance. People who can't handle the steps can request breakfast in their room (even though they don't normally do room service) or can eat in the lobby, again so much difficulty caused by construction which isn't even for the hotel.
My breakfast was one of the best I've had outside of the UK, the omelette was cooked perfectly, the orange juice was fresh, the scrambled egg might have looked messy but was seasoned perfectly, so were the potatoes and the beans were pretty good considering how abysmal they can be outside of the UK.
The second night of my stay was much better - not only was I not woken up by the construction noise but my pre-ordered Breakfast in bed was served on-time, it wasn't fully hot although they did an excellent job remembering my order and getting everything right, they kept my GF food separate from my friend's too, and considering they don't normally do room service and never have - that was a pretty good attempt.
I also liked how 24 hours' notice was given ahead of a fire-drill with signs all around the hotel, it was planned at 12pm too so that is a reasonable time. They also had no problem in letting me have a generous late 2 pm checkout and the bar staff made me an excellent fresh ice tea when they ran out of the Fuze Tea bottles.
This truly is one of the finest hotels I've stayed in and I can't think of many places more deserving of a five-star rating. Apart from a few small flaws, everything was immaculate from the service to the room. To be able to get five nights here for free, using my HHonors points is truly a blessing.
