InterContinental Paris - Le Grand by IHG — Hotel in Paris

I cannot express my disappointment and frustration with IHG customer service and hotel.

We booked two rooms at the Le Grand Intercontinental Hotel back in January of this year for our trip in June (June 14-18). We were told we could only book queen rooms with points; we requested one be changed to a king, as my husband and I are tall people and used to sleeping in a king bed, as well as being Platinum Elite members and requested that the other be changed to two separate beds, as our adult children, who are different genders, could share the same room, but obviously not the same bed. My husband and I called the toll free number numerous times, where we were on hold in excess of forty-five minutes waiting for a representative, who when we finally spoke to one, we had a terrible connection where we could only hear every other word they were saying. When we finally spoke to someone, they told us that the room changes would merely be a request and could not be guaranteed, even though we are platinum elite members and even though we made the request six months in advance.

In the end, my husband ended up emailing the hotel directly, where he was told we could upgrade to a room with two beds, for an additional charge. My husband clearly explained that this room would be for our adult children, a male and a female and requested separate beds. We were willing to pay the charge, as we wanted the guarantee and didn't want to have them together. Needless to say, when we arrived at the hotel on June 14, there were two twin beds pushed together. The hotel said that's the only way they could be, that they were sold out, could not change the room, and could not switch my husband and I to a king room. We were extremely frustrated and upset. We were also told that, even though we are platinum elite members, that we did not have access to the concierge lounge. We are platinum members with another hotel chain and always have access to the lounge.

After we left Paris, we went to London, stayed at another hotel and they were able to honor the request of two SEPARATE beds with no issues

We also had poor housekeeping service, with them missing the bathroom a couple of days as well. The staff at the front desk and the front entrance were not friendly. There were no hellos/bonjour when we entered, no asking if they could get us a car when we were leaving...nothing. The only good thing I can say about the hotel is that Vincent at the lobby bar is friendly and fabulous.

Upon our return home, I called IHG customer service again to report these issues and spent ninety minutes on the phone with someone named Amy who created two case numbers although as I look at my notes now, the numbers she gave are the same! She told me that it is up to the hotel to rectify these issues. I asked why, as it is IHG that is the parent company and should be there to help the customer. She told me to wait for a call from the hotel. I explained to her that Paris is nine hours ahead of me and I would most likely miss their call. I asked her to have them try to call, but also to email my husband since the account is in his name. She told me it would take up to 48 hours. Well, it has been 48 hours and we have not received a call or an email.

Why can't IHG corporate help? The hotel is not a franchise where they are run separately. Why have I had to spend an exorbitant amount of time on the phone with customer service reps who are in another country and have bad connections with me? Why is nobody willing to help and pushing everything off on the hotel? I have never had an experience like this before.

At the very least, I am requesting a refund of the extra that we paid for the room with two beds, as we did not get what we paid for. I do have the email that shows what my husband asked for and the response from the hotel directly. Amy offered me points, but we have a ton, and I am so disenchanted with IHG that I am not sure we ever want to stay at one again.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions. I hope I get a response to this email, considering my past communications. This is not at all what I would expect from a five star hotel, or a company like...

The disappointment I got from Intercontinental Le Grand has ruined my first day of holiday….

I want to bring this to management’s attention and kindly do something about it as I am currently feeling guilty for choosing this hotel for our stay and not going somewhere else… the IHG service standards in this property are lower than I have ever seen anywhere….

It started from when I arrived to the hotel by taxi and the concierge took my luggage.

I checked in yesterday with my partner and I was given a room on the first floor with the Bd des Capucines view which was extremely noisy, no Opera building and Five guys infront of me.

It’s been 20 minutes since I checked in the room and had no luggage delivered to me still and I also asked for the wrack to put the suitcase which was also missing.

I asked to change my room to the quieter place and I was given a different room. I reminded the receptionist that I am still missing my luggage and she told me it will be send straight away.

The room I got was something I haven’t seen even in 3 stars… I had dust on my bedside table, the leftover water in the coffee machine, only one bathrobe, one set of glasses and no water in the room (the previous room had 2 water bottles). The toilet didn’t have a sink next to it, so in order to wash your hands you need to open two doors and only then you would have a sink to do it. Also, you can not switch on the light in bathroom/toilet without switching it on from the bed and light in the whole room, so at night/in the morning you can not visit bathroom without waking up your partner with a bright light and also reaching the switch on the other side of the room.

Its been more than an hour I waited for my luggage to come to my room and I couldn’t change my clothes to go to dinner. Finally, after one more call I got it (after total wait of 1 hour and half and reminding 3!! times about my suitcase). It would have been easier for me to take it myself.

The next issue was a luggage wrack. I also had to ask for it twice. It took 1 hour to arrive and the housekeeper was placing it on top of my Christian Dior shoes can you imagine???? He didn’t care at all in what he was doing and I was just speachless….

Later we tried to connect HDMI cable to the TV to watch a movie… it was also a challenge as the plug was located at the back of TV and we had to lift it and find with a torch in the area that was probably never cleaned, full of dust. Very inconvenient, TV is old and works only with Windows, doesn’t support apple tv or bluetooth….

In the evening we placed DO NOT DISTURB sign on a door handle but still got a call in the morning if they can come in.

The receptionist didn’t tell us anything about breakfast availability and timing, no spa opening hours and facilities… I didn’t expect that from 5 star hotel with an over €500 per day fee. Not mentioning that the walls in both rooms were scratched as well as furniture… I understand it is a historical building but this shouldn’t be acceptable in 5 stars….

In the afternoon we got a room service with one pizza and carbonara. The room service lady on the phone couldn’t say the size of the pizza in the menu, the time it arrived was 15 minutes longer than she told us and they charged €8 for a hot milk pot… Carbonara wasn’t tasty and pizza was with a base similar to the frozen one from supermarket…. It was also almost impossible for 2 people to eat in the room as it was so tiny. We already paid for one more night here, otherwise I would have moved to another...

I used my IHG Ambassador Club points to take my mother to Paris for six days to celebrate her 74th birthday. We had a wonderful stay and loved our room and the hotel's location.

When using points, you're only guaranteed a "classic" room and any upgrades are at the hotel's discretion, which is perfectly reasonable. Given that, we were so pleased with our spacious 4th floor room with a balcony overlooking l'Opera. The room is decorated in a style that matches the hotel's period, but the bathroom has been modernized with lots of nice details like a shaving mirror, good vanity lighting, a large tub, a separate, glass enclosed shower stall with top spray and hand-held wand and even a retractable clothes line that can be pulled across the tub for hand laundered items, etc. I always appreciate the use of a bathrobe and slippers - less to pack. The linens were very warm and of good quality.

The street below can be very noisy, so we were impressed with how well the sound was controlled when we closed the balcony doors and heavy curtains. We only heard sounds from a neighboring room once, and that was a small child crying very loudly, which we never heard again. The hotel was full, so the lack of noise was impressive. Even the plumbing sounds were well controlled and only barely noticeable from inside the bathroom - not at all disturbing.

The service was excellent. We we arrived at 8:30 am we didn't expect a room to be ready, but just wanted to check in and drop off our luggage. The front desk kindly gave us passes for brunch at Cafe de la Paix, which was wonderful after almost 24 hours of travel. The buffet was excellent and we enjoyed it again on another morning.

As I checked in I found that my global calling plan was not working - nothing's worse than an inoperable cell phone in today's world - so I really appreciated the efficient help I received from the young woman at the guest services desk. She used her desk phone to place a collect call to the US for me and I was able to resolve my technical problem within minutes. We also had a very nice interaction with the young man who came to service our mini-bar. Of course he said he could come back later, but as we were preparing to leave anyway, I invited him in to complete his tasks. We had a short but very pleasant conversation as he let us practice our French with him.

I was particularly pleased when, on my mom's birthday, room service brought a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, an absolutely beautiful, large mille-feuille pastry from Cafe de la Paix and a handwritten note wishing her a happy birthday, all of which was set up attractively in the room during the afternoon. We were both surprised and delighted and thoroughly enjoyed the treats. She said it was the best birthday cake she'd ever had and the champagne was very nicely balanced. We finished the cake for breakfast before we left for the airport the next morning. The hotel management has my genuine appreciation for such a kind gesture. It made...