Hotel Review: Radisson Blu Champs Elysees, Paris

My family was just in Paris for a wonderful week. We stayed at this hotel for two nights, sandwiched in-between stays at the Radisson Blu Le Metropolitan, which was one metro stop away (or a short walk).

Our stay was completely free, because both Josh and I have Club Carlson Visa cards (which each feature an 85,000 point sign-up bonus and a 40,000 point annual renewal bonus, plus a “buy one, get one free” award night feature); we were also able to take advantage of a few very lucrative Club Carlson promotions in 2013. In addition, we booked our stays before the rates went up earlier this year. All of this meant that we got two rooms for six nights, for a total of 300,000 Club Carlson points (at the current rates, you would need 420,000 points).

Our experience at this hotel was good. We showed up at 10 am not expecting our rooms to be ready for another several hours. Our plan was to simply leave our bags at the front desk, go out for the day, and move into our rooms after dinner. To our surprise and delight, they told us that if we would be willing to wait twenty minutes, they could clean our rooms and we could move in right away.

While we waited, we decided to order coffee and hot chocolate at the bar. Our server, Alain, was incredibly friendly.

He presented us with a complimentary basket of pastries to go with our drinks.

By the time we were finished with our snack, our rooms were ready. We had requested connecting rooms ahead of time, and that was exactly what we got. The rooms at this property were significantly larger than the ones at Le Metropolitan. They were also more generic than the rooms at Le Metro, which had a very boutique-y, modern vibe.

The neighborhood was very touristy, with busy streets and lots of people. This is because the L’Arc du Triomphe is right outside the door.

Here is a vide of our room so you can get a better idea of the layout:

Each of our rooms had a king-size bed (actually twin beds pushed together and connected by a king sheet).

Each room also featured a nice big window that opened onto the street. We didn’t notice any super loud street noise; the rooms were actually fairly quiet.

One room had a separate tub and shower, while the other had a shower over bath.

Oddly, the selection of teas and hot chocolates was high-quality (Mariage Freres and Suchard), while the coffee was not good at all (Maxwell House).

There was a mini-fridge in each room, which was filled with beverages that could easily be taken out if you wanted to store your own food and drinks.

The hotel had turn-down service, which we weren’t expecting. The kids loved having little chocolates on their pillows and floor covers next to the beds.

We enjoyed our stay here, but we noticed that everything was a little run down: mostly small things, like dings and scuffs on the furniture, but also mold in the shower, which was very uncool.

However, for the most part, this was a clean, quiet hotel. The staff was all very friendly, and we felt welcomed. I would not hesitate to stay here again, but I did prefer Le Metropolitan to this property.

Have you stayed at the Radisson Blu Champs Elysees? What did you think?