The Peninsula Paris

I've waited a few weeks to write this and it may be a little tough. My wife and I stayed here the first week of June 2024. A couple of qualifiers: this isn't the first Peninsula we've stayed at. In fact, the previous stays at other Peninsulas (Chicago, Beverly Hills, etc) was the main reason for wanting to stay here at the end of our trip. Second, my French is pretty good, and I always start the conversation in French while in France, lest you think I am being an arrogant American. ||This was a very very very nice hotel. BUT, compared to other Peninsulas, it just wasn't up to snuff. Now, that may be unfair because the Peninsulas have set such an extraordinarily high bar, but for the price we paid per night, this was disappointing. I will start with the bad: the first day there the wi-fi didn't work. Normally, this wouldn't have mattered save for my wife and I needed to work from the room that day. After several hours, and a couple of guys in our room replacing the entire wifi/modem unit, it worked. Not a great start. They, of course, were very polite and professional. Second day, none of the iPads worked in the room. Again, usually wouldn't care except everything (lights, tv, curtains) is controlled by the iPads (it's kinda their thing at Peninsulas and usually very cool). A guy came late at night to help fix it, couldn't fix it. So he came back the next morning and it got fixed. This was more of an annoyance, but again, this is one thing they do at Peninsulas to stand out. ||The staff sent up chocolates and a note apologizing the next day, which was very sweet. On our last day, they also checked in and literally asked "What can we do to make this right." We declined anything as we don't feel comfortable asking for something, maybe we're too nice. When we checked out, they gave us a candle as a parting gift, which was cool. ||Couple other minor things: Water. They give you a couple of bottles when you check in. Then, it was hit or miss. One night at turndown, they brought two more. Another day, they didn't. I had to tip the butler and write a note (in French) explicitly asking for more bottles. I know this is an American thing, but the weather had gotten warmer and we were walking 5+ miles a day around the city. Finally, on the day we checked out I called down early to get a taxi to take us to the airport. I called about 45 mins ahead of time, and there happens to be a street right next to the hotel where cabs are always lined up. When we got down to the lobby, we had to ask a few guys to grab the taxi and took about ten minutes. By then we were ready to leave. ||Pros: We booked with Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts so we got a very nice breakfast credit. This may be the most beautiful hotel I have stayed in, from the lobby, to the rooms, bar and of course, the restaurant downstairs. It is gorgeous. Also, be sure to book a reservation at L'Oiseau Blanc (upstairs in hotel) well in advance. Food and wine were amazing as well as the service, and the view is the best in the city. ||It is also right next to the Metro Line 6 (Kleber Station), which is a good connector line. You are about a 10 minute walk to the Champs-Elysees and Lines 1 and 14. You are a two-minute walk from the Arc de Triomphe. They do offer a very nice house car like all Peninsulas ( a Range Rover) that will drop you at the Champs-Elysees if you want to go shopping. The driver said he couldn't pick us up though. I've had different experiences at other Peninsulas where the driver would come and get you so long as you were still within close range of the hotel.||The Staff were incredibly polite and kind. If you call down for things like water/ice, it may take a minute. I got the feeling that maybe they were a bit understaffed, but everyone was so nice. Be warned: everything is very very expensive. But hey, it's Paris and it's a Peninsula. ||My wife and I did a couples massage. It was great, though again very expensive. ||I don't know if I would stay here again. Not cause it was bad, but there are some other awesome hotels nearby and I may want to try those out instead.