Waldorf Astoria Versailles - Trianon Palace

Okay so I’m going to start by saying Maxim on the front desk was nothing but a true gent - helped us out with questions, with some issues we had and went over and above as did the hotel manager. Checked in and we were staying in the pavilion across from the main hotel - be warned readers the pavilion is not in anyway attached to the main hotel unless you go through the underground hallway. Room was okay - the pavilion is labelled as a 4 star accommodation, sadly I would disagree. The room smelt musty and was dusty, the hotel has plugged in air fresheners so I thought let’s just crack on and have a good time. Our bathroom - bath didn’t drain well so if you had a shower you had to be quick as it would fill up, light bulbs not working and neither was the extractor fan so the bathroom filled with steam so we got ready in the main room using the mirror which behind is where you find the mini bar and tea and coffee making machine. The bed was SO comfy I will say and the housekeeping team did a good job each day at making up the rooms. We dinned only once in the hotel - on the terrace. Order was taken by some guy who worked there. All the terrace workers seemed more interested in talking to each other and we had to ask for menus, more drinks etc - this is in the 5 star part of the hotel, not good enough. We ordered our meals and after an hour and 10 mins had passed asked where our burgers were, obviously the guy didn’t put our order in and shot off quickly. He did give us some free drinks, but when the mains turned up it was 9:45pm. We came back one day and were locked out of our room as the key cards had stopped working, so off we walked back over to the main hotel for it to be fixed and then the wifi went down for the evening- no wifi isn’t the end of the world I know but it was just as I was sending emails for work. Looks wise yes it looks 5 stars as you pull into the ground, but I think there’s some work to do overall on the team, maintenance & experience of guests. If you go to the pool - the lady lifeguard is strict and tells you the rules before you get in the pool. I’m 36 years old not a child, I didn’t need to be told anything when it comes to swimming!! Also what is up with the no plug sockets next to the beds? You have to hunt them down and we had devices plugged in all around the room, most bizarre!

We stayed a night to see the Versailles fireworks as the entrance gate is right next to the hotel. Summer construction on surrounding train lines meant general chaos at the end of the show with very limited service back to Paris at 11:30 pm. We guessed right. By no means inexpensive at $500 Euro a night (without breakfast) we did expect an elevated experience. What we got was a stay in the smaller outbuilding with dim lighting and no information on how to get to our room. The view looks to a wall. Not the glamorous offering we expected. We stayed here because of my wife's limited mobility. So naturally walking away from the hotel down the slope to the annex was not in our plans as I explained at check in. The room was fine. But at no point were we told ahead of the booking that we would be in an annex building. Nor were we informed ahead of time that the Gordon Ramsey restaurant was temporarily closed when we made the booking. We had an issue with our booking and requested assistance from the staff to which we were told "that it was not possible" to change. In all our worldly travels with the Amex Centurion Black card, that's never happened. If you know what this card represents then you know what I mean. At no point did anyone offer to adjust anything or add any complimentary services based on, what we considered to be, very misleading marketing and accommodations. Service is courteous but not outgoing in any way whatsoever. Frankly, our stay at the Marriott Rive Gauche in Paris is better on all points. I'll review that shortly. When you're playing at this worldly level and advertise as such, you expect the best. We've visited some of the finest hotels in the world. Unfortunately the Versailles Waldorf Astoria did not deliver in any category. Sadly, it wasn't even close which is a shame considering the history this hotel has.

The main building is beautiful. But little did we know when were booking that we wouldn't be in the main building. We were in the AWFUL second building. There was no decor. It reminded me of a second-rate conference hotel. The odor in the hallway was awful - as if it had dogs, etc. then got wet. The room odor was different and still offensive. The breakfast was ridiculous expensive. The concierge was very helpful. The grounds are lovely. When I told the reception at check-out about our experience she said, "well that's a 4-star hotel. The main building is a 5-star." I said, there is no way that second building is 4-star. It was terrible.

This is a beautiful hotel in very close proximity to the Chateau du Versailles, 5 star in every way, with a fascinating history. Built as a hotel in the early 1900’s, it served as a hospital for British troops during the First World War and in 1919 world leaders convened to formulate the Treaty of Versailles. A plaque marks the place in the ballroom. We arrived very early so our luggage was safely stored away. The grounds of the hotel are beautiful and were in bloom when we were there. There is a newer addition, called the Pavillion, but we were happy that our beautiful room was in the historic building. Staff was wonderful, breakfast was excellent and it was a lovely place to stay. Highly recommend!!

First time visiting France and so far it has been a disappointing experience. We booked two rooms for 5 people. Checked in at 3:30pm after a red-eye flight and rooms were not ready. We were told to wait 30 minutes and that turned into a 90 minute wait. After several attempts to obtain the keys we were handed two sets of keys. One room 1201 was nowhere to be found and once we found it at the end of the corridor behind two doors and it not made. The town room 1336 AC does not work. We had voiced our concerns to the front desk and were told that the Pavilion AC is at capacity and that they are fully booked. We are on our second night of 4 nights and trying to find a hotel in Paris Center. Customer service is one of the worst I have ever encountered and the amenities are terrible. The housekeeping person left our guest room impregnated with their body odor and since the AC does not work I had to step out to use the lobby restroom. It is unsanitary for guests to have body sweat over the bedding and touching personal items left in the restroom. The smell is unbelievably strong. We were never shown the premises upon arrival and today when we tried using the pool were turned back because we didn’t have our bathrobe and sleepers on. We did not know about that rule. It is 102 F degrees in France and they wants us to walk back to the Pavilion building which is separate from the main building to wear a bathrobe to go back to the pool. Breakfast selection is good and drinks are good. I will not have this property as an AMEX FHC.