Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome assessment – The Factors Man

What is the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome hotel?

First opened in 2002, this 156-room high-end hotel is located on Rue de la Paix, steps from Place Vendome.

It’s an iconic hotel with high cash rates, but is popular in points and miles circles because you can unlock it for a reasonable number of points … at least compared to cash rates (more on that shortly).

The Park Hyatt in Paris is a croissant’s throw from not only Place Vendome but also relatively near the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame Cathedral. You likely wouldn’t want to walk all of that, so it helps that the hotel is very close to several Paris Metro stations, such as the Opera and Palais Royal-Musee du Louvre Metro stops.

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In terms of getting there from the airport, if you take a taxi or Uber, expect to spend about $66 to $88 each way. Alternatively, if you are looking for a more budget-friendly route to/from the airport, you could take the RoissyBus, which is much less expensive at roughly $18. It will not take you all the way to the hotel; you’ll get off at the Paris-Opera stop and walk a few minutes to the hotel from there.

The best way to book the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome hotel

Not surprisingly, for a hotel of this caliber in this part of Paris, everything from the room itself to a drink is expensive.

If you were to book a standard room at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome with cash, rates are typically well above $1,400 per night. Families should take note that the standard rooms here that are bookable with points are only for two people. A family of three or four will have to book two standard rooms with points. That’s not uncommon in Paris, but it’s important to know that reality up front.

Globalist breakfast is absolutely outstanding

The walls are lined with art

You quite literally can’t miss experiencing the art featured at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome. As you enter from the street, you will almost certainly encounter the statues created by French artist Roseline Granet. However, this won’t be your only encounter with the artist’s work, as it also lines the walls of the lobby and even the guest rooms.

This is an interesting touch and provides a nice bit of continuity as you move through the hotel. But at the same time, if you think the statues are a little bit creepy, you’re not alone.

Canvases by American artist Ed Paschke are also featured in the lobby, which really does add to the art museumlike ambience.

Park Hyatt Paris rooms are classic

At first glance, our room looked exactly the same as it did 10 years ago on my first stay … so much so that we recreated a breakfast-in-bed photo from 10 years ago with my now 14-year-old, as this was one of our first big international trips a decade ago.

The kid has now doubled in size, but the oversized gold crown molding, the rich, warm wood on the walls and even the three gold, black and tan throw pillows placed on the comfortable king bed hadn’t appeared to have changed a bit.

In all fairness, I think the rooms have had some tech and other updates since my last stay, but the vibe and look remain essentially unchanged.

Standard rooms measure around 323 square feet. We ultimately had connecting rooms for our family of four — one with one king bed that I believe had been upgraded to the slightly larger deluxe king room category and the other with two twin beds.

The beds are very comfortable for catching up on some jetlag-induced rest.

I love opening the windows to let in the Parisian air and sounds, and there are enough outlets and amenities, such as the stocked Nespresso machine, to keep us quite comfortable and happy.

The unique bathroom was also just as I remembered it.

It’s somewhat hard to even describe the bathroom’s layout, so I’ll let the pictures do some of the talking, but the design sort of combines the bathtub and shower area with an extra sink and mirror. There’s a glass door that helps to keep the water from spilling out into the rest of the bathroom.

The shower itself is great (aside from being a bit of an odd layout), with excellent water pressure and nice toiletries. But it was a weird design a decade ago, and it’s still quite unusual now.

A gold-lined room with art coming out of the walls will never be the preferred vibe for everyone, but I applaud the hotel for being exactly who it is with its decor. However, with that appreciation for a commitment to the theme said out loud, I’d also go so far as to say that if a luxury hotel room looks exactly the same after a decade, right down to the throw pillows, it’s probably past time for an upgraded look.

On-site gym and spa

If you’re looking for a workout while at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome, you’re in luck. The gym is open 24/7 for hotel guests and features an array of machines, weights and mats, along with chilled towels and water.

While access to some of the amenities in Le Spa, such as the steam room, sauna, etc., is included with your stay, when I tried to visit an hour before the posted closing time, it was locked and not available. Unlike during some earlier hours during the day, there was no one in the spa area to ask for assistance when I tried to pop down in the evening. With that in mind, I recommend planning your spa area visit during a more prime part of the day, especially if a dip in the whirlpool is on your to-do list.

Multiple on-site dining options

Paris is not only the City of Light but a city of really good food, and the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome has a slew of on-site dining options ranging from Michelin-starred to one of the nicest breakfast buffets you’re likely to find.

Cafe Jeanne and Terrasse du Park par Jean-François Rouquette

These are the dining mainstays of the hotel and where I dined during my visit. They’re connected outlets and have nearly identical menus, but the former is an outdoor dining area in the hotel’s courtyard.

As mentioned in the section above, Globalists get a complimentary “American” breakfast every morning that can be enjoyed either in-room or at the restaurant. It includes juice, coffee, fruit, yogurt, a breadbasket and your choice of meat, fish and eggs. My favorite part was the pastries — as you’d expect, it’s all freshly baked. The fresh juice was delicious too.

For those who are not Globalists, a continental breakfast at Cafe Jeanne’s costs about $51.

We tried dinner here one night (for research purposes, of course), and while we were pretty thoughtful about sharing a few of the lower-priced items, such as a pizza and some shareable appetizers and entrees to keep the cost down, we still made a strategic ordering error. For an idea of prices, entrees range from about $20 to about $70.

I didn’t spend any time pursuing the extensive beverage menu since I was just going to have water with my meal, so I didn’t really think anything of it when the rest of the family of four each ordered a Coke or lemonade with their meal… until the bill came. Each bottle of soda was $16. That meant we spent a whopping $48 on three sodas, which has to set a family world record. At least no one asked for a refill.

But that’s a good example of pricing at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome and a potential downside of staying somewhere so nice that you otherwise might not be able to comfortably afford it since even those seemingly innocent Cokes with dinner could put a dent in your vacation budget.

The bar in Cafe Jeanne

Inside Cafe Jeanne is a gorgeous bar with design-forward reflective mirrors, an interesting cocktail menu and even some music on Thursday evenings.

Pur’ — Jean-Francois Rouquette

This Michelin-starred on-site restaurant is helmed by chef Jean-François Rouquette and is open Tuesday through Saturday evenings for reservations only. The menu is described as creative French gastronomy, and you can choose from a five- or eight-course dinner with or without wine pairings.

Excellent service

During both of my stays, the service at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome felt a little bit like something out of a movie, at least for those of us who don’t frequent such fancy hotels on a regular basis. We may have bordered on feeling out of place in our very normal shorts and sneakers here, but it wasn’t because of anything the staff did or said. The staff we interacted with all looked, sounded and acted extremely elegant and refined, but in a way that was often warm and helpful.

As an example of this above-and-beyond service, my daughter turned 9 on the morning of our last stay. I had fun things planned for her later in the day, but the night before realized that it might be nice for her birthday to feel like her birthday a little earlier in the day. I texted the hotel from bed at 10 p.m. and asked if they could maybe just write “Happy Birthday” on a plate for her at breakfast. They did way more than that.

By 8:15 a.m. the next morning, with just a simple text request late the night before — and at no charge to us — they had sent up balloons, a cake and a card. I would have never dreamed of asking for all of that, but it was so appreciated and a great example of the level of service at this particular Park Hyatt.

Accessibility

If you need an accessible room, it’s best to reach out directly to the hotel, as limited information is available on the hotel’s accessibility page beyond indicating that they do offer rooms for those with reduced mobility, available upon request — seven bedrooms and one suite.

This page also states that the property’s team is trained to assist guests with accessibility needs and that public spaces — including elevators and hallways with wheelchair dimensions — are fit for those with reduced mobility.

Is it worth it?

I love the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome. It’s far from cookie-cutter, and to me, it’s a truly special hotel. There is an air of hushed elegance that’s fun to experience, even if only for a few days.

I’m not a regular here and never will be. It’s out of my (cash and points) league, and I simply don’t get to Paris all that often. But I surely hope that the at least once-a-decade pattern holds and I again get to visit the hotel some years down the road on a special trip. Maybe we’d even recreate that photo of a once 4-year-old enjoying the room service breakfast at 24 years old a decade from now.

Still — I’d say the hotel, especially within the guest rooms, needs some aesthetic and functional updates at this point that I hope it receives in the coming years. Assuming they keep the bones of the property strong and maintain a high standard for service and food, I’d probably check in here again, even if the room continues to look exactly the same.

But, more importantly, will a stay at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome be worth it to you?

If you are only comfortable in very modern, minimalistic hotel rooms, then perhaps it’s not the best choice for you. If you don’t care all that much about service or the quality of on-site food (or simply don’t have the status benefits or cash budget to eat here), then it also is perhaps not the right fit. Furthermore, if you just want an OK bed to sleep in at night and aren’t going to spend any time at the hotel while in Paris, then, again, perhaps this Hyatt property won’t be worth it for your trip to Paris.

But if you have the Hyatt Globalist perks to put to use, are able to save up the points to pull it off, enjoy a fantastic room service breakfast, appreciate a few days of top-notch service and are OK with resting amid statues and a gold-lined room, then yes, it’s probably worth it.

And in that case, book the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome, start counting down the days and please let me know how you enjoy the bread basket.

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