We stayed at the Radisson Blu Le Dokhan, December 1st-8th, 2011. Once again my wonderful agent Jackie from Absolute Travel, Hillside NJ, recommended and booked this trip for me with passes to the museums etc. in hand. I did not have to worry about any of those things when I arrived in Paris. What an amazing vacation. She knocked it outta the park as usual with this trip. I am already researching another trip for her to book for me.
This hotel is surely a 4 star! I was highly impressed by the level of service, cleanliness and professionalism at The Radisson Blu Le Dokhan. If you want a true old school Parisian experience when you visit Paris, then you stay here! If you want American standards with American service then stay elsewhere. This hotel is definitely where I will be staying on my return visit to Paris. I felt as if I had the entire hotel to myself. It was the perfect accommodations for a great price.
Transportation from airport to hotel: We used Air City service to go back and forth from Charles De Gaulle Airport (30-40minute ride). Be aware that the Parisian driving is something out of an action movie. Make sure to keep your seat belts tightly fasten and enjoy the crazy ride. Air City will send a fax to your hotel 24 hours prior to your departure from the hotel informing you of the time they will be at your hotel for your pick up and return to the airport. The front desk staff at Radisson Blu Le Dokhan is very much on top of this, but it would be the “responsible” thing for you yourself to stop at the front desk and inquire about your transportation to the airport. The front desk staff will also print your boarding passes (if applicable) for you and place in your room at your request.
Main Lobby/Check in Area: Once you arrive to the Radisson Blu Le Dokhan and walk into the hotel the first time, your initial reaction is “hmm, small but quaint”. You will not be too far off on this reaction; the foyer area is clean, neat, open enough where you are not cramped and has seating. Also, they have a strong perfume scent once you walk into the foyer area. As you walk through the foyer you will immediately see a small check-in desk to your right, seats 2 front desk clerks. To your left is a very elegant, comfy seating area that just sings Parisian atmosphere. This was one of my favorite places to be in the hotel and I just feel in love with the small fireplace there. (Great place for tea or coffee and a little snack).
2 gentlemen that you will most likely encounter from the minute you arrive will be Franco or Kerrin(sp?). These guys know there stuff. (Franco struck me as very knowledgeable and extremely professional. Franco is a most “seasoned” employee). At your time of check in they will try to give you as much information as possible with the most helpful map (this map I kept with me at all times) all highlighted for you. Do not be overwhelmed (it can seem that way) but they are just trying to ensure you get the most of a “good thing” immediately.
Your room will most likely not be ready before 2pm so they will take your bags and store them for you. We had arrived around 11:30am there so Franco recommended us to walk (7 minute walk) to Café Trocadero. We ended up frequenting this café during our stay. It helped that our main view was the Eiffel Tower! See more on this café in my food section. Oh by the way, yes, almost everyone speaks perfect English at the front desk!
Rooms: We returned from breakfast/lunch at Café Trocadero and were told our luggage was already placed in our room. I thought this was a nice touch because we did not have to take it ourselves. We got onto the tiny Louis Vuitton lift which will fit 3 people very tightly. If you are on the heavier side, then it “might” fit 2. So not having to take our own luggage was nice.
506 was our room and I just loved the 100% Parisian feel to it. This room was considered an upgrade deluxe. You walk into a tiny area, to your right was the shower and vanity with lovely amenities, and to your left was a tiny room with the toilet (all marble this was a sharp, clean look to me). As you walked into the room, there was another door (this was nice because when one person is in the shower you can close that area out as you stay in the bedroom). The bedroom area was a typical European room. Small (considering this was a Deluxe) but very nicely decorated, flat screen TV (only 2 English channels and they were news), nice work desk (I kept my laptop (wifi included) and phone etc. on this desk.) and 2 chairs with a small coffee table. And my favorite thing in our room was the amazingly huge French glass doors that opened out to a very nice balcony. Beautiful drapes were hung at this magnificent door. This just screamed “Paris” to me. The bed at the Radisson Blu Le Dokhan had to be the most comfortable bed and pillows I have ever slept on in all my travels. It was extremely hard to get out of bed every morning. This was a dangerous thing; it was like lying in heaven. I would go on and on about this bed but I hope you got the idea. So, good luck getting out of it. We had 3 pieces of luggage, so we emptied one and stored some sweaters in the closet and hung a few other pieces of clothing. One luggage was on the stand(comes with every hotel room) in the corner by the doors leading to the balcony and the 3 luggage fit snug on the opposite side of the bed in front of the large mirror on the floor. I hope this will help you understand how to situate your items for your trip.
The Radisson provides 2 very nice robes with slippers for convenience, one in the shower and the second in the bedroom closet. On our first night with Radisson, we also received a “welcome” gift of cookies and sweet treats. A very simple touch that makes guest feel special.
Turn down service is nice and they leave you little sweets in your room.
Laundry: I am a traveler who hates to fly with dirty clothes so when we arrived at the Radisson and I noticed directly across the street (small streets so about 10 steps away) was a laundry facility, I was thrilled. The day before we had to leave we took all our laundry and (now do not laugh) Kerrin from the front desk. (Poor guy, super sweet to walk over to help us). He helped us to understand how much money was needed and how the soap etc. worked. It was very easy once Kerrin showed us what each item meant in English. I highly recommend taking advantage of this convenience.
Champagne Bar: If you are reading this review then it means you are semi familiar with the Radisson Blu Le Dokhan and have heard of their famous Champagne Bar. This room is just past the reception desk on your right. This is a small, elegant very old school/rustic Parisian influenced room. We were at the Champagne Bar every night and even booked the Champagne and Caviar tasting one night. There were two gentlemen working there but the one we had the pleasure of meeting every night and interacting with was Anthony Gomes. This young man has a bright future ahead of him the in the Culinary and Champagne world. I do not know much about champagnes but after listening to Anthony, you cannot help but leave there feeling properly educated. The one regret I have is that I did not approach him sooner about taking us on a day trip to a champagne region of his choice. But now I know for my next trip to Paris and Radisson Blu to talk to Anthony about this. I noticed a few clients came into the champagne bar and in my opinion was a bit rude when he would explain to them about the champagne they were about to have. People, this is not a pub, this is an elegant well rounded Champagne Bar where you come for a great experience and a lesson in what you are consuming. It is not just a place for a drink. You can go to a local pub for that. Certain nights they will have live entertainment there so be sure to ask for a schedule.
Food: We ate at Café Trocadero-tip on café’s like this one. There are 2 types of seating. The one on the inside is a different menu than the tables you see around the café on the outside. We learned this the hard way. It does not matter that it is the same Café, they will not serve you from the other menu on the table outside. Our first time there we wanted something along the line of breakfast. We went inside to sit and they give us a lunch menu, I looked at the person sitting one table away from me having coffe and eggs with a baguette. When I asked for that menu I was told “No, this is lunch”. Hope you get the point. In the winter time, it really is not too bad to sit outside some of these café’s because they have the best heat lamps. Keeps you nice and warm. Plus when you sit outside, you can people watch as well as watch the crazy driving in front of you. Café Trocadero and Café Kessler were perfect for this. The Eiffel Tower was the main site in front of these 2 café’s so how could you not hand out there?!
Louise at our hotel front desk also recommend a restaurant (10 minute walk) on Victor Hugo called Brassiere Le Stella, this place had great food, great seafood towers yummy escargot etc. We ate there twice. At the end of the day we would always stop at a local street stand/vendor and get a nutella crepe and during the day hot dogs (very yummy). You cannot beat the local street vendor cuisine for a true local Parisian experience.
Room service at the hotel was not a bad thing either. Breakfast and Dinner was very nice. Not as good as the restaurants on the outside, but not bad either.
Location of hotel: Radisson Blu Le Dokhan is “PERFECTLY” located in the 16th arrondissement! This hotel is surrounded by restaurants and café’s. But it is the ultimate location for walking to the Eiffel Tower (7-11 minute walk) and to Arc De Triumph/Champ Elysse (10-12 minutes). At the time we were there the Christmas markets were just opening up. The ones at the end of the Champ Elysee were wonderful. The ones buy the Eiffel Tower and the St. Germain area was opening the day we left (12/8/11). So that is a tip for you if you plan on doing a Christmas trip to Paris. The second week of December seems to be the best time to see it all.
Staff: The staff members that stood out to us were Louise, Kerrin, Franco and of course Anthony Gomes. There was one other gentleman at the front desk that worked the early shift with Franco and I am sorry to say I forgot his name. These staff members were like friends to us and not just hotel employees. Louise was a great conversional person. We loved speaking with her. Franco was like your protector and overseer, he was fabulous. Kerrin, well this kid helped us with our laundry across the street, I mean it does not get any better. Anthony, my Champagne sommelier, we loved chatting with him and learning from him. You can see he has a shy side but once you get to chatting with him, it is like an old friend. The housekeeping staff was just so polite and very sweet.
Tips: The shower at this hotel has a “dial” looking device between the water nozzles. This is the temperature control for the water. So try not to scold yourself with the hot. We did that in the beginning, which is how we learned what that dial was for. The slightest turn on that dial drastically changes the temperature.
There is a small grocery store 1minute walk from the hotel on the same street (they are actually everywhere) where I recommend you go get some bottle water, sodas, wine etc for your room. This will help with your expense.
I do have a few tips on the Eiffel Tower and best way to get up and not have to wait in line as well as Taxis. But it is way too much to type on here. So if anyone is interested, feel free to contact me through Trip Advisor. For any other tips, same advice, just contact me.
Room Tip: 5th floor and up is the way to go.
See more room tips
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
