Thanks, GG, for the update. I'm right there with you virtually. You must be very French, looking for that separate WC lol. I'd say 2 sinks are an unexpected luxury, esp. as Europe is ahead of us environmentally speaking. Enjoy!
Gourmet Gal - Wow! We were there in 2019 and it was before the big renovation and we had an absolutely enormous room overing the Opera House. The setup was a little strange because at one end of the room was the toilet and at the other end the sink and bathtub. We went four days before the Tauck tour and joined the hotel lounge where we had food and champagne all day long. Also, we had a lovely sitting area and it was a little outdated but we just loved it! My husband just mentioned that we were not assigned a Tauck room due to going four days earlier and we were upgraded. I guess this makes sense.
Also, I love the class but unfortunately my macarons didn't look very appetizing. I hope you have better luck.
We stayed there in the spring of 2019 and thought the hotel, room and amenities were truly grand, just like the hotel's name. Everyone has different expectations and, in some cases, different experiences. I hope the rest of the tour gets better for you.
Don’t get me wrong, the tour so far is great but because this thread is more about the Intercontinental I thought I’d circle back with my impressions. Forgot to mention that we do have a nice view of the Opera House. We’ve been in Paris for almost a week but at a different hotel that spoiled us for sure so this hotel has a tough act to follow.
I think Tauck is limited by which hotels it can use because of the numberof people they have to book rooms for on a river cruise. It has to have the capacity and be fairly near attractions so that the people who arrive earlier can site see more easily.
I think I did warn in an earlier thread that some of the rooms there were small. Ours was small and the only view was the inner courtyard. Last year we were across the street at the Le Scribe. Much bigger room with kind of a funky modern decor, but breakfast was in a basement room so the Cafe de la Paix has that beat easily.
Slightly related so I’ll put a note on this thread. At the end of this cruise we stayed in Lyon at the Intercontinental Hotel Dieu and it was lovely. Room was huge, 2 sinks in the bathroom, huge shower plus a separate WC. Service was excellent and overall a definite cut above the Paris property. It was nice to end the trip on a high note after so many issues on the ship.
I have found over the last few years that Tauck picks maybe ‘better’ or more expensive hotels, but a big downer for us has been that they have been way out of town, our most recent tour within the US with Tauck involved a $50 Uber ride to go for dinner in the city—Palm Springs. Apparently taxis thst are booked often don’t come. The same when we were on a tour that ended in Jackson Hole, the Four Seasons was a half hour taxi ride from the town. I want to be where the action is. The better hotels where quite frankly we spend so little time to enjoy any nicer facilities, are a washing during the actual tours and as I mentioned, if you add extra days at the end, you want to be where the attractions and places for dinner are.
Resurrecting an old thread but this may be of interest to anyone researching Paris hotels that Tauck uses. There is a new fairly extensive review of the InterContinental Paris Le Grand hotel on the Points Guy website. We stayed at this hotel when on our Savoring France river cruise. Here is a link to the article.
Interesting. This was the tour hotel for our very first Tauck cruise so it definitely lives in my memories. Our room was maybe half the size of the one in the review. Huge bathroom but the room itself was so small we struggled to find space for 2 suitcases. We also had no street view but also no street noise. And the breakfast was very good. I enjoyed sipping coffee, looking at the opera house and people watching.
The last 2 Intercontinentals we stayed at were a bit disappointing. Mostly the mediocre breakfast selections and service. Hoping our Rome hotel does better.
I agree with Claudia regarding the rooms being small. The brunch we had there was really good. The location is also good, being close to the Galleria, if you like to shop.
My only time in Paris, we stayed in a small very French hotel near Opera where Oscar Wilde stayed, he never paid his bill. It was charming. Several people we recommended it to have stayed there since. Most Tauckers would probably not find it fancy enough but for three days on a side trip from visiting England it was wonderful and funnily enough out room had a great bathroom.
If you have not had your DNA tested, you probably don’t really know where you are ‘from’. I have an Irish last name, and both my biological, and my stepfather were Irish … mother ‘pure’ Swedish. My daughter gave me a DNA test for Christmas a few years ago, and surprise. I’m 87% ‘Viking’, mostly Norwegian, with the remainder being ‘mongrel’. The mother always knows ‘who’s’ child it is … it’s her’s.
So, not exactly near your hotel. But Paris is a a great city for walking, and cabs are available. This is our favorite small restaurant https://pottoka.fr/ You will find an English menu on the left side of the website. We’ve dined there probably half a dozen times and it would not be Paris without a meal at Pottoka. Sebastian Grave is a master. It’s small, reservations essential. I’m always astounded that they can keep these prices. One night we arrived to find our table had not yet turned over. There is really no place to wait so we were outside when they served us complimentary bottomless glasses of champagne and appetizers.
Thanks for the recommendation, Folsomdoc. We love Basque cuisine, but I must admit I have only had it in northern Spain--pintxos in San Sebastion being our favorite!
The first room they tried to give us was truly a closet with one queen bed (yes, I measured) when we had paid for an upgrade to a king room for 3 days in between tours - it was a mile away from anything, clear to the back of the hotel, down narrow hallways. Fast forward through fighting between one very stubborn woman (me) and a stubborn Frenchman, another tour director from Tauck got involved, a manager got involved, and we finally ended up with a lovely, large room on the 2nd floor with a king bed. After speaking with the manager and showing my measuring tape (he found it funny), it seems this particular room's information in their computer was wrong. We never saw that desk clerk again - hope he got a long vacation.
I arrived at the hotel around 6:30pm and was promptly checked in. My room was nice , average size, but I had a tub /shower combo. I am short and getting in and out of those high walled tubs is dangerous. It was too late to bother to ask for a change. I now request showers only when I book a tour.
John S, thanks for the link. I’d like to point out that the article may not really be a review at all but merely an editorial for the hotel. It’s presenting a rosy view not an actual review. I would not base my hotel choice on that type of article. These forums, Trip Advisor, Cruise Critic and to a certain extent Andrew Harper are much more valuable sources of info.
We stayed at this hotel in September 2018 before joining the Savoring France: Paris, Lyon and Provence. We decided to come to Paris three days before the tour. We also added lounge access for the two nights we were on our own and it was wonderful. We had a very large room including a good size sitting room with a french balcony overlooking the opera house. It was a little quirky as the sink and bathtub/shower combination was at one end and the toilet and another sink at the other end of the room. This was before significant restoration to the hotel including all rooms, lounge, and cafe.
Comments
Thanks, GG, for the update. I'm right there with you virtually. You must be very French, looking for that separate WC lol. I'd say 2 sinks are an unexpected luxury, esp. as Europe is ahead of us environmentally speaking. Enjoy!
Gourmet Gal - Wow! We were there in 2019 and it was before the big renovation and we had an absolutely enormous room overing the Opera House. The setup was a little strange because at one end of the room was the toilet and at the other end the sink and bathtub. We went four days before the Tauck tour and joined the hotel lounge where we had food and champagne all day long. Also, we had a lovely sitting area and it was a little outdated but we just loved it! My husband just mentioned that we were not assigned a Tauck room due to going four days earlier and we were upgraded. I guess this makes sense.
Also, I love the class but unfortunately my macarons didn't look very appetizing. I hope you have better luck.
We stayed there in the spring of 2019 and thought the hotel, room and amenities were truly grand, just like the hotel's name. Everyone has different expectations and, in some cases, different experiences. I hope the rest of the tour gets better for you.
Don’t get me wrong, the tour so far is great but because this thread is more about the Intercontinental I thought I’d circle back with my impressions. Forgot to mention that we do have a nice view of the Opera House. We’ve been in Paris for almost a week but at a different hotel that spoiled us for sure so this hotel has a tough act to follow.
I think Tauck is limited by which hotels it can use because of the numberof people they have to book rooms for on a river cruise. It has to have the capacity and be fairly near attractions so that the people who arrive earlier can site see more easily.
I think I did warn in an earlier thread that some of the rooms there were small. Ours was small and the only view was the inner courtyard. Last year we were across the street at the Le Scribe. Much bigger room with kind of a funky modern decor, but breakfast was in a basement room so the Cafe de la Paix has that beat easily.
Slightly related so I’ll put a note on this thread. At the end of this cruise we stayed in Lyon at the Intercontinental Hotel Dieu and it was lovely. Room was huge, 2 sinks in the bathroom, huge shower plus a separate WC. Service was excellent and overall a definite cut above the Paris property. It was nice to end the trip on a high note after so many issues on the ship.
I have found over the last few years that Tauck picks maybe ‘better’ or more expensive hotels, but a big downer for us has been that they have been way out of town, our most recent tour within the US with Tauck involved a $50 Uber ride to go for dinner in the city—Palm Springs. Apparently taxis thst are booked often don’t come. The same when we were on a tour that ended in Jackson Hole, the Four Seasons was a half hour taxi ride from the town. I want to be where the action is. The better hotels where quite frankly we spend so little time to enjoy any nicer facilities, are a washing during the actual tours and as I mentioned, if you add extra days at the end, you want to be where the attractions and places for dinner are.
Resurrecting an old thread but this may be of interest to anyone researching Paris hotels that Tauck uses. There is a new fairly extensive review of the InterContinental Paris Le Grand hotel on the Points Guy website. We stayed at this hotel when on our Savoring France river cruise. Here is a link to the article.
Timeless elegance in the heart of Paris: The InterContinental Paris Le Grand
Interesting. This was the tour hotel for our very first Tauck cruise so it definitely lives in my memories. Our room was maybe half the size of the one in the review. Huge bathroom but the room itself was so small we struggled to find space for 2 suitcases. We also had no street view but also no street noise. And the breakfast was very good. I enjoyed sipping coffee, looking at the opera house and people watching.
The last 2 Intercontinentals we stayed at were a bit disappointing. Mostly the mediocre breakfast selections and service. Hoping our Rome hotel does better.
I agree with Claudia regarding the rooms being small. The brunch we had there was really good. The location is also good, being close to the Galleria, if you like to shop.
My only time in Paris, we stayed in a small very French hotel near Opera where Oscar Wilde stayed, he never paid his bill. It was charming. Several people we recommended it to have stayed there since. Most Tauckers would probably not find it fancy enough but for three days on a side trip from visiting England it was wonderful and funnily enough out room had a great bathroom.
If you have not had your DNA tested, you probably don’t really know where you are ‘from’. I have an Irish last name, and both my biological, and my stepfather were Irish … mother ‘pure’ Swedish. My daughter gave me a DNA test for Christmas a few years ago, and surprise. I’m 87% ‘Viking’, mostly Norwegian, with the remainder being ‘mongrel’. The mother always knows ‘who’s’ child it is … it’s her’s.
So, not exactly near your hotel. But Paris is a a great city for walking, and cabs are available. This is our favorite small restaurant https://pottoka.fr/ You will find an English menu on the left side of the website. We’ve dined there probably half a dozen times and it would not be Paris without a meal at Pottoka. Sebastian Grave is a master. It’s small, reservations essential. I’m always astounded that they can keep these prices. One night we arrived to find our table had not yet turned over. There is really no place to wait so we were outside when they served us complimentary bottomless glasses of champagne and appetizers.
Thanks for the recommendation, Folsomdoc. We love Basque cuisine, but I must admit I have only had it in northern Spain--pintxos in San Sebastion being our favorite!
The first room they tried to give us was truly a closet with one queen bed (yes, I measured) when we had paid for an upgrade to a king room for 3 days in between tours - it was a mile away from anything, clear to the back of the hotel, down narrow hallways. Fast forward through fighting between one very stubborn woman (me) and a stubborn Frenchman, another tour director from Tauck got involved, a manager got involved, and we finally ended up with a lovely, large room on the 2nd floor with a king bed. After speaking with the manager and showing my measuring tape (he found it funny), it seems this particular room's information in their computer was wrong. We never saw that desk clerk again - hope he got a long vacation.
I arrived at the hotel around 6:30pm and was promptly checked in. My room was nice , average size, but I had a tub /shower combo. I am short and getting in and out of those high walled tubs is dangerous. It was too late to bother to ask for a change. I now request showers only when I book a tour.
John S, thanks for the link. I’d like to point out that the article may not really be a review at all but merely an editorial for the hotel. It’s presenting a rosy view not an actual review. I would not base my hotel choice on that type of article. These forums, Trip Advisor, Cruise Critic and to a certain extent Andrew Harper are much more valuable sources of info.
We stayed at this hotel in September 2018 before joining the Savoring France: Paris, Lyon and Provence. We decided to come to Paris three days before the tour. We also added lounge access for the two nights we were on our own and it was wonderful. We had a very large room including a good size sitting room with a french balcony overlooking the opera house. It was a little quirky as the sink and bathtub/shower combination was at one end and the toilet and another sink at the other end of the room. This was before significant restoration to the hotel including all rooms, lounge, and cafe.