Le Meurice

Very disappointing experience with the concierge service of Le Meurice. I originally had a reservation at Loulou Paris and later enquired about moving it to another date. I was informed that a new payment/confirmation link would be sent in order to secure the revised booking. However, this link was never received and no confirmation was ever completed from our side. My trip to Paris was later cancelled, yet despite the revised reservation never being confirmed, a €100 no-show charge was still deducted. I never approved the use of my credit card details for this revised booking and never received or accepted any confirmation link. The most frustrating part has been the handling afterwards. On 30 April and again on 5 May, I was informed that the refund was being processed, yet nothing has been received to date, leaving me still out of pocket and having to chase this matter repeatedly myself. I would never have expected something like this from a hotel of this level. This experience has genuinely changed my opinion of Le Meurice, and unfortunately I would not recommend it to others based on how this situation has been handled.

I return to the Meurice a few times a year. The service from the front door and throughout is so professional, welcoming and polite. A touch of the old-fashioned about their standards and the rooms are fitted to very high standards, beautifully clean and full of indulgent touches which one can expect at their prices, but not always find delivered elsewhere. The location suits us hugely and perhaps the food choices in the general restaurant are not quite as traditional as one would like when trying to ‘feel at home’, but the service is great. Outstanding breakfasts with great staff. Money well-spent I find and congratulations to the management for finding and training such outstanding staff.

Went yesterday for afternoon tea with my daughter. Firstly I must congratulate the staff who were absolutely excellent. Charming, efficient and discreet. However I do have a suggestion that they explain the "menu" a little bit at the beginning of the service. We started with a selection of delicious sandwiches and were then bought a beautiful presentation of sweet and savoury mousses formed into the shapes of fruits or nuts according to their flavour. The advice was to start with the sweet and then continue with the savoury. They really were little works of art and the sweet ones (apple, mango, lemon) were very very sweet... It was enough to eat one and share one each of the others and then a break was needed before trying the savoury (I actually didn't even get that far)... after a while a chef appeared with some (plainer, drier) cakes.. a kugelhof, then some madeleines, a muffin, a cookie... these were all perfectly acceptable and very good to accompany the sweet mousses, if only we'd had them at the same time or understood that they were coming.. It was a shame that I couldn't enjoy eating them after the sweet mousses. I certainly had enough to eat ! I just wish that I'd been given an idea of what to expect so that I could fully appreciate what was on offer ! They had lovely little egg timers to tell you how long to leave the tea bag in the pot depending on the strength you like your tea... word of advice to the British.. leave the teabag in ! And, again, the service was excellent !

I have been to this hotel now twice, and I doubt there will be a third time. It is a lovely sanctuary on one side, with the beautiful bar a sleek service, but it just does not quite catch the mark of some of the other high end places. Decor of the rooms was historic style, which is fine, but I do wish to have a nice warm shower, and that was not quite possible without standing in a tub spraying the whole (quite large) bathroom soaking wet. What prompted me for the review however, was how on both times my breakfast was charged a bit whatever style, with all kinds of items we did not order. Same with the room service and minibar. It really leaves a foul taste when you need to double check your bill. Not about the few euros, but the principle. Sleep quality was excellent and bed magnificent.

Le Meurice embodies Parisian refinement through its artistic decor and bright, luxurious rooms, and the overall experience felt both grand and welcoming, especially thanks to the courteous and professional staff.