SO/ Paris

Ok WOW! None of us had stayed here before and it was by far our favorite hotel experience of the trip. Location: PERFECT, Le Marais right by the river. Rooms: LUXURIOUS. View from restaurant/breakfast: UNBELIEVABLE. Best view in the city we didn't even go to the Eiffel tower because we could see it from our hotel every morning and night. LOL. Seriously though this is a special hotel and reasonably priced too.

We booked this fine hotel and resort through american express. The mattress in our room was so defective that the hotel manager had to install boards under our mattress to try to alleviate the huge divets on the mattress. He offered to move us but said all the mattresses were of the same company so we figured he would try to do the boards. NOT a good start. The next morning we went to breakfast, where my wife walked into an EXTREMELY poorly marked glass wall. Paramedics came and hotel management. She banged her head very hard and took over 2 weeks to feel more herself. This incident really caused a problem for our 3 day stay in paris as she was in pain the whole time. The glass wall was so barely marked that it a REAL problem. One of the staff members mentioned off the record to us that this wasnt the first time!!!! The hotel offered a truly minimal reimbusement for our accident, (really small) and it took over 2 weeks between amex and hotel to get this officially done. Awful! The bar upstairs is nice, except for the music BLARING in your ear if that's something you enjoy - we did not. Lastly, the the toilet area in the room has a hugely heavy metal door that is very hard to open and slams shut every time making that a truly unpleasant experience!

The location was fine—near the Seine and safe enough—but that's the bare minimum. The atmosphere was mediocre at best, and while the staff were "ready to help," that didn't make up for the rest of the disaster. Let’s talk about the "Junior Suite." What a joke. It was essentially a cramped bedroom. In what world is a tiny room considered a suite? For a staggering $1,200 a night, I expect actual space—a sofa, a desk, something! Instead, I paid a premium to stay in a closet. To make matters worse, this was our 30th wedding anniversary, and the hotel knew it well in advance. We've stayed at four hotels recently, and every single one of them had the decency to provide a special greeting. This place? Nothing. You'd think in the "City of Love," they'd understand that a spouse is going to notice when a milestone is completely ignored. When I finally pointed out their failure, they scrambled to throw some battery-operated votive candles, a note, and some chocolates on the bed at the last minute. It was far too little, far too late. Save your money. I wouldn't return to this place if you paid me, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

We stayed at SO/ Paris through Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts and, unfortunately, the service was nowhere near what I would expect from a five-star hotel, especially at more than $1,000 for the night. We arrived around 2 p.m. and asked about early check-in through the Amex FHR benefit. We understood that early check-in was based on availability, so it was completely fine that the room was not ready. Standard check-in was at 3 p.m., and the front desk told us they would let us know as soon as our room was available. We spent a few hours shopping around Paris and came back around 5 p.m. We had never received any notification, even though the room was ready and standard check-in had already passed by two hours. When a staff member walked us to our room, he tried to get the speaker to work and could not. We had not even realized there was an issue with it. He was the one who noticed it, told us it was broken, and said he would have it replaced right away. Bonnie has a separate restaurant and bar, and that evening we went to Bonnie Bar for our 7:15 p.m. reservation. We ordered a drink right away. After we finished that drink, we sat for about 45 minutes without anyone coming back to take another drink order or our food order. We finally had to get up and track down a server ourselves just to place an order and get another drink. We wrapped up around 10 p.m. and returned to the room. The speaker still had not been replaced, so I called downstairs and asked about it again. Even after following up, it was never replaced during our stay. The room itself was very nice, but at this price point, the service matters just as much as the room. At check-in, the hotel also asked whether we would like something prepared for us in the morning since we were leaving for the airport at 6 a.m. We had already assumed we would simply miss breakfast because we were leaving so early. They were the ones who offered to have something ready for us, so we asked for only coffee and yogurt. At 6 a.m., neither was ready, and we had to leave for the airport without either. I understand that service culture in Paris can be different from what some travelers are used to, but that is exactly why this was so frustrating. Why offer these things if there is no intention of following through? We did not ask them to discover and replace the speaker, and we did not expect breakfast at 6 a.m. They offered both. What was most frustrating was the complete lack of follow-through. During a one-night stay, they made three specific commitments to us: notify us when the room was ready, replace the broken speaker, and have coffee and yogurt ready for our early departure. Zero out of three were completed. On top of that, we had to track down a server ourselves after sitting at Bonnie Bar for 45 minutes without service. Any one of these things on its own would have been minor. Taken together over the course of one night, they reflected a consistent pattern of poor service and no follow-through. I cannot understand how this level of service meets a five-star standard. The property itself is beautiful, but the service was the worst I have experienced at a five-star hotel.

Recently stayed at the SO and it was a wonderful experience! The location was great to explore the local neighborhood with several restaurants nearby and the river. Close to Notre Dame as well. All of the staff we interacted with was fantastic, but our favorite was Lorenza in Bonnie. He was extremely pleasant, made great drinks, fun to talk with, and remembered us each night we came back. Going to the bar at the end of the night to see him became a highlight of our trip! We also had an amazing meal in Bonnie. After spending 12 days in France, Bonnie was still our favorite meal! The service was fantastic, the view of Paris unmatched, and all the food we ate was delicious. Photo is our view from dinner. The room was very spacious for two adults. Since we were there during a heat wave, the AC was of good quality so we were very appreciative! If we ever return to Paris, I would stay again at the SO.