Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile, Part 1. Athens & Paris For Dollars A Day
Welcome to my multi-part review of our summer vacation. We spent 12 days abroad, predominately in Athens and Paris (and a half day in Amsterdam before heading home). Happy to answer questions as I finish up the series. We traveled in mid-July, so right in the middle of the Athens financial crisis. Here’s most of what I expect to cover, including links to posts I’ve already completed:
- Planning Our Summer Vacation!
- British Airways First and Business Class Lounges at Philadelphia Airport
- US Airways Business Class from Philadelphia to Athens
- A Speed Bump Upon Arrival At Arion
- Arion Guest Room Review
- Arion & Westin Amenities
- Arion Restaurant Reviews
- A Quick Trip To The Acropolis And Parthenon
- Athens Metro System
- Temple of Poseidon at Sounio
- Swimming With The Fishes
- Restaurant Review: Garbi (Seafood)
- Restaurant Review: Kiku
- Our Two Favorite Restaurants In Greece
- Tips On Getting Around Athens Airport
- Flying From Athens To Paris
- Hyatt Regency Etoile Paris
- Eiffel Tower
- Arc de Triomphe
- Disneyland Paris
- A Study of Macaroons
- Various Restaurant Reviews
- Taking The Train From Paris To Amsterdam
- Sheraton Schiphol Airport
- US Airways Business Class from Amsterdam to Philadelphia
One of the nice things about Paris is that the major hotel chains generally have more than one property in town. In many instances, there are 2 or 3 properties at different price points with decent locations.
We had a very enjoyable stay at Park Hyatt Place Vendome during our last trip to Paris. While we considered it for this stay, our total of 5 people and a need for connecting rooms made that more complicated. While we considered a few SPG properties (Westin Vendome and Le Meridien Etoile), I settled on Hyatt Regency Etoile because neither of the SPG properties could guarantee connecting rooms.
The Hyatt Regency is located on the “other” side of Arc de Triomphe from Vendome in the 17th arrondissement, about a 10-minute walk from the Arc. The hotel is attached to a mall and a Metro stop. This made for a convenient way for us to get around town.
We considered taking the train to Gare du Nord and grabbing a cab from there, something we did last time. We were arriving later in the evening so time was a bit more of the essence in getting the kids to bed. We opted for Uber after verifying there was little traffic and were at the hotel less than 30 minutes later.
The lobby was busy when we arrived, though the high ceilings minimized any noise. The check-in process was efficient. The manager on duty came out to greet us and informed us we had been upgraded to the Presidential Suite!
The suite was located on one of the top floors of the hotel (there’s a bar on the very top of the hotel) at the end of a hallway. It consisted of two bedrooms and a spacious living room. The suite is completely self-contained (i.e. not connecting rooms cobbled together), so there was no connecting doors to prop open. It really felt like we had our own apartment in Paris.
The first thing that happened when we walked in the room was the realization by both my 9-year old daughter and our college age adopted daughter Gabby that they had a clear view of the Eiffel Tower out our window. I’m not sure who screamed louder, but my money is on Gabby.
The two bedrooms were a decent size, though not huge. There was enough space in the room for a rollaway bed beside the king-size bed in each bedroom. Most of the storage space in the rooms was closet space but there was enough space to unpack. Each bedroom had wall-to-wall windows letting in plenty of light.
The suite had a total of 2 full baths and one half bath.
The large common room had a living room area with a couch and multiple chairs. There was a boardroom/dining room table that sat our entire group comfortably along with a counter and some stools. As a group of 5, we were literally swimming in space.
While the room had a little wear and tear all of the soft goods (bedding, towels) were great and there were plenty of electrical outlets as well as a refrigerator. It truly was a lovely room to stay in for our 5-day stop in Paris. The views on a clear day were brilliant.
The Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile is the most affordable Hyatt downtown from an award room standpoint. It’s a category 4, which means 15,000 points a night. When you consider that the Park Hyatt is twice the points, this property can be a real value, and still well located.
The hotel is supposed to be starting renovations this year. I saw a sneak peek of the model room when I was there, but I wasn’t allowed to take pictures. In short, I loved the concept for the new rooms. Great use of space, very open floor plan, all the essentials you would expect from a modern hotel. If you knew you were getting a renovated room at this property, there’s no doubt this should be most folks’ first choice in Paris.
I’ll be sharing some pictures of the club lounge (for elite folks), rooftop bar and fitness center in a future post shortly, but happy to answer questions about the hotel in the interim.
The post Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile, Part 1. Athens & Paris For Dollars A Day was published first on Pizza In Motion.
Arent they both your daughters? Why differentiate which is adopted?
Jo, no. The older is a girl who my wife taught in her first year as a school teacher. We’ve stayed in touch and she’s become a part of our family. No legalized adoption, just a great kid (well, not a kid so much as she graduates college this year). 🙂
We were in 3312 (junior suite) over valentines week. Good room with great view, exactly as your picture captures. Weekends were a nightmare with loud thumping music from the club above our roof. Weekdays 10-6 was renovation time which didnt bothered us the fist night as we tried to get over our jetlag. Hotel has confirmed that “senior management has made a decision to not put a renovation notice on web and inform the guests of it at check-in”. The lounge – looking forward to you review but in my opinion was the worst I have experienced, both food and condition of the lounge. The staff at the hotel is amazing though, incl lounge.
Currently in process of working out a compensation with management over my sleepless wknd nights.
Cheers!
Bling, really surprised to hear about the lounge staff. Glad to hear they’re renovating but surprised there would be that big a drop-off in lounge quality.
Ed, when u asked for connecting rooms I assume u paid for both? When they upgraded u to a presidential suite at check in, do they refund the cost of the other room, or u didnt even bother since it was a presidential suite? We also have 2 kids that’s why I was curious.
Din, I’ve been in this situation a handful of times. In this case, it was an award redemption for two rooms. Given how tough connecting rooms can be, whenever a property upgrades me to a suite I find acceptable, I never question whether one room should be refunded. It’s a primary reason for my Hyatt loyalty. SPG frequently tells me that connecting rooms are subject to availability even though I’ve had an Ambassador for 100+ nights the last few years. Hyatt is quick to work with a property to confirm my requests ahead of time. I find a ton of value in that. YMMV, but when properties are nice enough to go above and beyond, I stay quiet. 🙂
Thanks for this review. I am looking at my options for Paris and this is the most affordable, your review might have just persuaded me.
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Elena, this property exceeded my expectations in just about every way. It’s not that I didn’t love Vendome (who wouldn’t?). But, as you say, this property is sneaky cheap at certain times of the year, both for cash rates and award redemptions. Good luck! One of the commenters below seems to indicate that the renovations have started, which conflicts with what the property told me recently. I’m going to reach out again to see if they have. A renovated room here would absolutely be an additional plus for you.
Actually Ed, I am pretty indifferent to the PH. We stayed there two nights and last month and while everyone was very polite, and breakfast was very nice; I wasn’t completely sold on it. We went back a couple weeks ago and stayed at the hotel du louvre (a Hyatt hotel) and, while obviously on a different level, liked that one more (in terms of value and charm).
I got a chance to tour the renovated “test room” there and am looking forward to going back after they get some of those rooms renovated. I’ll check out the Etoille next trip. Thanks for the review.
Aarash, glad you liked Louvre. We considered it as well. Sounds like we had a better experience at PHV than you. They doted on our daughter.
I mean, It wasn’t TERRIBLE (We were Vendoming hard!), but comparing it to PH Vienna, The PHV just doesn’t have it anymore. Etoille and Louvre seem to be the best value in redemptions in Paris (especially so after the two upcoming renovations). PHV just didn’t “wow” me, I suppose. Were my expectations too high?
AF, I’m still a Vendome fan. But you can’t argue the value at Etoile and Louvre.
Great report! How did you get such an amazing upgrade? Did you proactively contact them about that or they just surprised you? Did you pay with cash, points, or points and cash? Thank you!
Jenelle, thanks! We did contact the property beforehand but we weren’t told of the Presidential upgrade until we got there. They did confirm connecting rooms ahead of time. We used points to book our reservation.
I really appreciate the review. I booked an award stay at this hotel in October and you cannot beat the value for the location. I am just hoping that Platinum status will result in an “upgrade” to a bed that a husband and wife can both fit in. It is disheartening that all award rooms at this hotel are two twin beds a la 1950s sit com. It makes for an interesting conversation with your spouse when you tell her the exciting news that we will be visiting one of the most romantic cities in the world while at the same time explaining that she will have her own bed.
BDMNL, hopefully the property will have some renovated rooms when you get there. My understanding is they were considering bigger beds in more time with a combination couch/day bed against the window wall. Not sure if that was what they finalized but I think this would be a great option for families traveling with one child.
I had this hotel booked based on your suggestion and was even using a DSU, but being that I’ll probably go to Paris this one time (my second visit) I caved and booked the PHV for 3 nights. It’s like PH Tokyo. I’ll regret it later if I don’t check it out. Two of the 3 nights are using my wife’s two free night certificates from the credit card, and I proactively reached out to them and they graciously agreed to my request to extend my Diamond benefits to her two nights, so looking forward to it. I don’t really care about suites when it’s just my wife and I but just the free breakfast along at PHV is a homerun so I’m happy. They’ve been very nice so far, so I can’t wait to check it out. The construction uncertainty at this hotel always worried me. Will be in Paris in the fall.
FTG, if you’ve never done Vendome then you’re making the right decision. It’s a great hotel with a great breakfast. Etoile next time.
Sounds like a great property and can’t wait to try it out myself! Just curious as to how much time I have before all these rave reviews cause Hyatt to raise the hotel’s category level 1 or 2 places?
cbax22, the categories are generally based on the hotels average daily rate. It’s a big hotel, so moving ADR isn’t easy. But, a renovation to a better physical product would increase the possibility of a category increase. Still, I’d be betting this hotel stays the same category next year.