The Deal Mommy

It’s ok, Deal Kid. I think it’s nail polish. Equally unacceptable, but not quite as gross.

Hyatt Paris Etoile Review Part 1: The Upgrade that Ruined My Vacation

When we last left our story, we had checked into the cavernous, but wrong direction facing, Ambassador suite. After a good nights rest, the Deal Kids and I came down to the lobby to chat with the Front Desk Manager about switching rooms. The Duty Manager the day before assured us that plenty of turnover would be taking place and we’d have no problem securing a view the next day. I was pretty skeptical considering most people were there for Bastille Day as we were, but he told me he made a special note and the morning manager would take care of us.

I’m sure you’ve already guessed that the morning manager had no idea what I was talking about! She also had no idea why I would want to leave such a room as the Ambassador Suite, as if having a view of the Eiffel Tower fireworks was no big deal at all in comparison with the giant living room.

The kids are standing there with me, the clock is ticking away on my already limited time in Paris (now nearing an hour standing there at the front desk) and the manager finally manages to find a room available with an Eiffel tower view and offers to move us into it. She does say “Madame, I’m afraid it is a bit petite…”

So to review, we were staying here…

And she shows us this room…that does have an Eiffel tower view.

Room 1908, July 14, 2013

What would you do? I’ll share what I did in Part #3 of the Review.

Rooms Review:

Ambassador Suite Size: HUGE. Almost Comical. This photo of the living room doesn’t even cover 2/3 of it. Behind me in this photo there’s a 6 seat dining room table, and the bar extends at least another six feet off to the left. However the layout (I was in suite 3301) was really awkward, like two mini-suites had been mish-mashed together to make a behemoth for big-wigs. A looooong narrow hallway separated the living room from the bedroom (below) and there was a bathroom with a toilet/bidet and shower(as Deal Girl discovered) and across the hallway another with only a bathtub and a vanity. The bedroom was a reasonable size, with a king sized bed and enough room for the Deal Kids to build a fort in the windows.

Ambassador Suite Condition/Amenities: Again, just a bit lacking for what I expect from a Hyatt property. The photo above was NOT from the Ambassador Suite, but the walls had scratches, the tub had marks, and the toiletries were Canadian (in Paris?).

Standard Twin Size: It’s a standard Paris hotel room. No more, no less.

Standard Condition and Amenities: Yikes! If the Blood/Nail Polish all over the carpet wasn’t enough, check out the charging station:

Totally disintegrated when I tried to touch it.

And forget what I said about the Canadian toiletries in the Ambassador Suite. The Concorde leftovers in this room made me long for the good old days of Portico Ginger.

But you know what? For a paid stay, I would still recommend the Hyatt Etoile.

Why? Because it’s now a Hyatt. And I trust Hyatt will work out the kinks and get it right, and in the meantime it’s a heck of a bargain for a convenient location and a showstopper of a view.

Stay tuned for post #3 in the series, where I’ll talk about how we got to see the fireworks and lessons learned.