My review of InterContinental Paris Le Grand

My IHG free night voucher from the Creation card was expiring in December, and there was no high-end hotel left in the UK for me to try. For practical reasons I redeemed it at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand, although at hindsight I probably should have chosen the Kimpton instead, which is a new hotel with a swimming pool.

The hotel is next to the Opera metro station, and just five minutes’ walk to the La Fayette department store. The proximity to the Opera is one selling point of the hotel.

The moment I entered the hotel, I was stunned by its beauty.

I’ve seen other properties of the same genres, e.g. Hotel Bristol in Vienna, but it’s the very first time I find one that demonstrates its abundant history and elegance, but doesn’t show a single sign of age.

The hotel is so huge that you can barely see the end of the corridor.

I’m upgraded to a King Premium Room, which is the largest non-suite rooms. However there are so many rooms at this hotel, and they vary a lot in shape and size even when belonging to the same category.

Entering the room, the first thing I see is the waldrobe.

Bathroom is on the right, with both a shower and a tub.

Bedroom is on the left.

The room is neat, but unfortunately after seeing the other areas of the hotel my expectations were very high. Although probably quite big in size, it feels like a lot of the space is just wasted.

As an Ambassador welcome gift, I’m offered a box of biscuits and some strawberries. There are three large bottles of mineral water to keep me hydrated!

There’s no espresso machine and I was just going to make peace with instant coffee, but then I couldn’t find anywhere a kettle…

I finished my toothpaste so requested one in the afternoon. It wasn’t in the room when I came back in the evening so I asked again, and still nothing arrived after one hour. I called again, and this time they finally sent someone.

At €45 per person, the breakfast price is very steep so I gave it a pass. For Ambassador members, Club Lounge access is sold at €120 per room (2pp) which I think is more than reasonable, as it includes breakfast, afternoon tea and happy hour (they’ve been serving oysters and prawns recently :)).

Spire members can choose between 600 points and a drink voucher. I asked for the latter and had a beer at the bar of Cafe de la Paix, which is the hotel restaurant.

Ambassador members also have €15 credit to use towards the bill. Before check-out I came again for a cup of coffee and a coke zero, which worked out perfectly at €15.

The hotel doesn’t have a swimming pool, and shockingly its gym is simply two interconnecting rooms put together…

Besides the toothpaste incident mentioned above, the front desk agent also made no mention of welcome drink, €15 credit or late check-out, and they very often had to confirm with colleagues to know how to do something. The staff don’t seem properly trained to me, at least not for the IHG program.

Quality of the guest room also doesn’t reflect the hotel rate. I do admire the beauty of InterContinental Paris Le Grand, but purely from an accommodation perspective I like the Renaissance Republique hotel more, evening before factoring in the price difference.

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