Planning & Booking
British Airways 747-400 First Class Denver to London
British Airways Concorde Room LHR
Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam
Andaz Amsterdam
Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome
Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class Frankfurt to JFK
The Thalys train from Amsterdam Central to Gare du Nord took a little over three hours. There was wifi (although it was barely useable) and a couple of light meals and beverages (including wine) throughout the journey. We passed the time eating, drinking, figuring out our Paris itinerary and watching movies on our computers. We had paid a little extra (~20 Euros each) for Thalys "Comfort One." One of the amenities is a taxi reservation upon arrival enabling you to skip the taxi line. Reading the fine print, this was going to cost us another 12 Euros so we decided to take our changes with the queue. We walked out of the station and found a taxi within about 7 seconds - so I wouldn't recommend paying the extra money for a taxi reservation - although nearly everyone in our train car chose to do so.
The taxi to the Park Hyatt took about 15 minutes. It was a weekday afternoon and it had just finished raining and Paris was clogged with cars and people.
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| Paris is pretty |
The Park Hyatt is located in the 1st Arrondissement (Louvre) which is basically right in the middle of the city on the Right Bank of the Seine. Being centrally located is a double edged sword. While the hotel is located right next to multiple metro stops, Place Vendome, Louvre, Tuileries, etc... you're also in the middle of tourist hell. Which in Paris means lots and lots of people. While we loved this hotel, next time we would definitely like to try something a bit more removed from the chaos. On to the review...
Upon arrival our bags were whisked away and we were shown to the registration desk. Our room was not ready yet although we were assured it would be ready in 15 minutes. We were invited to sit in the seating area immediately to the left of the check-in desk for a complimentary coffee. We enjoyed relaxing for a bit but after 30 minutes were eager to get in our room so we could put our things away and explore. We checked again and we were promised our room would be ready "shortly." 20 minutes later our room was in fact ready and we were escorted up to our "upgraded" 6th floor King (from a Queen) room.
While not our style, the room is gorgeous. Decked out in a ton of gold we could have easily been in a Trump hotel room somewhere in NYC.
Double closets.
Bathroom with an odd tub/shower/sink/mirror (sink was in the shower) combo. Which was totally weird but I kind of liked it. It made shaving the shower real easy.
There was a really cool scale.
And a large selection of Blaise Mautin toiletries.
And a super comfortable King size bed.
Perhaps the best part of the room was the windows that opened up to the hotel courtyard.
On the first level, there is a nice outdoor restaurant.
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| Park Hyatt Paris entrance and celebrity stalkers |
We didn't get a chance to try any of the hotel's bars/restaurants as we prefer to explore the city. But looking at menus, everything looked very expensive. Even for Paris. The complimentary wifi worked well in our sixth floor room. The French Open started the day we left so we got a chance to see both Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki in the hotel. Keeping our celeb streak intact.
After a great four days at the Park Hyatt, we were off to Frankfurt to catch our flight home to New York. We checked out and grabbed an UberX to the airport.
The Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome is a fantastic hotel. It is incredibly expensive, (paid rate example below) luxurious, and very well located.
But we have stayed in better hotels. The Park Hyatt Istanbul, Grosvenor House Dubai, and Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam come to mind. But if you are headed to Paris and have a stash of Hyatt point, Chase Ultimate Rewards nights, or 2 free nights from the Chase Hyatt Card, this makes for a very valuable redemption.
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