Park Hyatt Paris Vendome Review

Conveniently located in the heart of Paris  on the world famous street Rue de la Paix only a couple minutes walk from Place Vendome and a short walk from the Louvre, the Park Hyatt Vendome is in the center of Paris’s high-end shopping district.   There may not be any hotel in all of Paris that has a better location, It’s directly across the street from names like Harry Winston and Tiffany & Co amongst other ultra luxury stores.  It’s considered one of the top 5 luxury hotels in the city and features that familiar contemporary classic design that Park Hyatt’s are known for.

The Rooms

While we stayed here a total of 5 nights, we changed rooms after the first night due to a mechanical issue with the air conditioner.  The first night was in the Suite #601/#605 and the remaining 4 nights we stayed in Suite #216.

Park King Deluxe Room #605/#601: 

When they told us we were on the top floor of this hotel we were excited as usually the top floors offer the best rooms & views.  But after settling in I must admit we were more than a little disappointed as it was fairly noisy when it rained.  This was a odd because the building itself is quite substantial and in flawless condition, but hearing each and every rain drop meant there wasn’t much in between our ceiling and the roof.

We were also disappointed  that the room we were given was not a suite as we reserved, but rather a deluxe room attached to a small standard  room.  This did not flow well making nearly half the room unusable.  Someone at the hotel made the judgement call that us not getting the type of room we reserved was okay.  We are Hyatt Diamond members and used our 1 week suite upgrade here and confirmed twice via phone our suite was reserved for us.  Yet the room we were given was not a suite.  It’s very difficult to start a vacation that way and a little sneaky if you ask me, but mysteriously the coming events would solve that.

But all that aside the room was beautifully decorated and clean with the contemporary design familiar to the Park Hyatt brand.  On the very first night at around 3am we were abruptly awakened by a loud crash in our room, the air conditioner vent fell from the ceiling onto the floor.  The staff graciously asked to move us into another room, but we were half asleep.  Instead we asked them to fix it and clean up the mess quickly, so we could go back to bed.  They did so and the next day arranged a new room for us, Suite #216.

Park Suite #216:

What the other room lacked this one fully compensated for.  This was the Park Suite we were always supposed to have, it’s unfortunate an issue with the previous room at 3am had to remind them of this.  I wasn’t aware what we had wasn’t a suite until we moved into #216.  The suite featured a spacious living area and high ceilings decorated with elegant yet contemporary gold & wood accents.  There was more than enough room to be comfortable with a good sized desk, decent sized TV, sitting area and king sized bed in the living area with a large balcony looking down to one of the side streets off of Vendome.  There was a decorative fireplace in the room and the walk in closet was one of the largest I’ve seen in a hotel suite with a his & her side and enough space to lay 4 or more full sized suitcases flat.  The room featured double sinks and a large shower with a large soaking tub and in the shower a sink and mirror.  The room had two toilets, one in the bathroom itself and one in the powder room as you enter.  This room was as expected of the one of the top 5 luxury hotels in Paris simply beautiful and was the nicest of any suite at the Park Hyatts we have been to.

The Location

The Park Hyatt Paris Vendome is located on rue de la Paix known as the premier shopping district in Paris lined with the best of the best of luxury brands.  It is a 7 minute walk to the Lafayette Galeries with 10 floors of shopping and a 15 minute scenic walk to the Louvre & Champs Elysees.  It is also a short distance to the Paris Opera, Notre Dame & Arc de Triomphe as well as many of the most famous sights to visit in Paris.  There is nothing like the convenience of being able to drop off shopping bags at the concierge while on the go.  Surrounded by unbelievably good cafe’s we just didn’t have enough time here to enjoy it all.  I don’t think you can stay in a better location if you’re the type who wants luxury at it’s finest.

The Food

What I love about the food in Paris is that it all starts with the ingredients.  They go to the best market in Paris on a daily basis handpicking the freshest produce.  We got to experience it first hand with a chef and it was an eyeopening experience.  Every morning we looked forward to the “American” breakfast in the hotel that included an assortment of freshly squeezed fruit juices, coffee of your choice, an egg plate with 2 sides, along with a small buffet of cheese & different meats, freshly baked pastries, the sweetest fruits amongst other things.  I highly recommend including the breakfast in your stay or you’ll end up paying 99 Euro for 2 people.

For lunch you have two options Les Orchidées which serves breakfast and lunch as well as La Cheminée which servers lighter foods, both dining options are fantastic the food is some of the best at any Park Hyatt we’ve stayed.  For dinner you can dine at La Cheminée or the Michelin starred restaurant, Le Pur’ which is superb.  It’s my opinion that Michelin starred restaurants in Paris are far better than those found in the states.   Le Pur’ even offers The Chef’s Table by the head chef Jean-Francois Rouquette himself if you want a special experience.

The Service

It’s obvious that the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome only hires the best of the best of service professionals. They stand tall and proud with poise, and I couldn’t help but notice how they have perfected the art of serving.  The staff is confident and extremely competent.  Again some of the best service of any Park Hyatt, but it did fall short in a couple of areas.  Usually at the Park Hyatt Tokyo or Beijing the employees remember your name,  a few times they in Asia they knew our name as we stepped out of our car before checking in.  At the Vendome not a single employee knows your name until you tell them your room number and they check the computer.  Also we did get a few odd responses from the doormen, at this level of hotel a simple “No” is not an adequate response to a question.  One of the days we were there the Taxi drivers went on strike, but there was no notification under our door.  It left only two options, the hotel car or the subway.  With sufficient notice we could have arranged to leave earlier or took a private car.  All my nit picking aside we were blown away by the perfect service we did receive.  Every hotel has their own style of service each with its own quirks, but there was a level of polish at the PHV that we haven’t seen at the other Park Hyatts.

Distinctions and Awards

• One of 8 official palace hotels in France.  Chosen by the French government it is a 5-star classification at the highest distinction.

The Map

Recommendations

• Stay here about a week to fully explore Paris and be immersed in their culture.
• Upgrading your room to a suite for 290 Euro (upon availability) is worth the money.  The standard rooms are quite small.
• Consider purchasing the daily breakfast when booking your room.
• Use the hotel concierge for recommendations to local favorite restaurants.
• Make reservations at the Park Hyatt Paris’s very one 1 Michelin star restaurant, Le Pur.  And for an over the top experience, reserve The Chefs Table.
• There is a free car service from 7pm-9pm for transfer to your restaurant reservation (upon availability).
• 15% tip is included at all restaurants by law, but you can choose to leave more.
• The 6th floor (top) is very noisy when it rains.
• Winter in Paris is cold, but the sights will not be so crowded.
• Taxi transfer from the Charles de Gaulle airport costs 60 – 80 Euro.
• Shoppers:  The Paris winter sales start the first week of January and lasts for 5 weeks.  You’ll find most stores between 3o-70% off!
• Tax Free Shopping:  Don’t forget to ask for the form and you can be reimbursed for the 13% VAT in many stores.  Only for non-European citizens who spent more than 175 Euro in one store.

The Competition

• Hotel Le Bristol
• Mandarin Oriental Paris
• Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris