We chose this hotel based on 3 factors: first - we stayed at the excellent Melia in Palma de Mallorca last year; second – its location in Paris; and third – price. We didn’t check Tripadvisor first, because having pored over many many options for our February break to Paris, these three factors overcame our usual caution.
It was a 10 minutes walk from Opera down to Rue de Cambon, along impressive shop windows when some rather welcoming windows revealed attractive furnishings within, which we thought was a plush office or maybe a designer showpiece. Very pleasantly surprised to see it was the bar/lounge of our hotel!
Reception staff could not have been more pleasant or helpful. We were offered an upgrade on our room at €40 per night and when we asked what improvement that offered over the standard room we had booked, the receptionist told us the room and the bed would be bigger. I asked her how big the bed would be in the standard room: she looked it up and told us 180cm wide. That was plenty for us, so we declined the upgrade. Upstairs in our standard room we were not disappointed. The bed was plenty big enough, and very comfortable, though firm. The room was compact, but we had enough space, and the bathroom was well appointed, nicely decorated, with marble everywhere, and all the toiletries you need. At minus 3 C outside we were happy to find it very warm, though didn’t manage to reduce the temperature enough during the night for our liking.
Breakfast is what we had expected it to be, based on our Mallorca experience: that is a good buffet with a fine choice of hot and cold food, and decent coffee. It was expensive at €28 a head, and was not included in our room tariff. However, we had been told the price at reception when we checked in, and, importantly, told that if we applied for a Melia club card (loyalty card) breakfast would be half price. We took the application form up to our room and decided this was well worth it, so the card was issued to us on our first night. Too early to say if there will be any spam related downsides to this., but we ticked the no publicity box so here’s hoping not.
All the staff we encountered were cheerful and helpful. The location could not be better for what we wanted: near to the Tuileries Gardens and the Seine, all the places we wanted to visit were walkable. We’ll definitely stay here again the next time we come to Paris.
- Sol Melia Paris
- Paris Sol Melia
