Sofitel Le Scribe Paris Opéra — Hotel in Paris

I don't typically leave many reviews but our most recent stay at Sofitel Le Scribe Paris Opera was just too good; thus, I felt I needed to applaud the staff and service of this hotel and encourage others to consider Hotel Scribe if they're on the fence.

I came across Sofitel Le Scribe while using the American Express travel portal months ago when planning our trip. Note: This trip was a special one as I was surprising my now fiance with a weekend in Paris where I would eventually propose. At the time of researching and booking, there were a handful of 5-star hotel options in Paris that I was considering but Sofitel Le Scribe seemed like the best option based on price, location and other travelers' reviews. My only hesitation is that I had never stayed at a Sofitel property so it felt like a slight gamble. All I can say is that it was the best decision.

After making the booking, I called the hotel see if could provide me a few suggestions for how to make the occasion even more special, and not only were they willing, they went above and beyond. All in all, our email tread over 3 months was over 50+ exchanges. Here's a few things they were able to do for me:

They secured me the complimentary room upgrade via the American Express Hotel Collection booking.

Secured two tickets to Giverny to visit the Monet house since the website kept giving me errors when trying to book on my own.

Hired me a private driver to take us to/from Giverny.

Coordinated a private driver to pick us up from the hotel in Paris (although this is something I ended up not deciding to do).

Planned/executed room decorations right after the proposal occurred (they were on standby on the evening of the proposal and went into our room to set things up right when I messaged them on WhatsApp).

Provided us a complimentary bottle of red wine and snacks that was set up in our room when we first arrived and checked into the hotel.

Gifted us with a hammam (steam room) session to relax during our trip.

Sent me a list of restaurants in Paris and were on hand to call and make dinner reservations on our behalf. There was actually a dinner that I booked on my own and the restaurant had a strict non-cancellation policy where I would lose 50 euro per person but the concierge team called the restaurant and spoke to them in French to get us out of that booking, which was so nice of them.

I know all of that is pretty unique to the special occasion but hopefully that gives you an idea of the level of detail and service this hotel and their staff will go through to make their guests' experience amazing.

Here are a few other details that might be of interest to travelers:

Location: Really great. We loved the area as it felt clean, beautiful, elegant and still very central to all the places we wanted and needed to get to.

Food/Drink: No complaints. We ordered room service one time for some food while we were getting ready for our day trip and also ordered some drinks and appetizers on another evening at the downstairs restaurant, Rivages. Everything was great.

Room: We obviously got a special upgrade given the occasion and that not might be able to happen all the time, but needless to say it was incredible. The rooms (including things like the hallway of the rooms) were super clean and smelled great. The amenities in the room also were a very nice tough with Balmain bath amenities.

Service: 10/10 as mentioned. I can't say enough about the staff. I need to give a special shout out to our Guest Relations contact, Baptiste -- really amazing person and just so helpful overall.

We plan to return to Paris (it was my first time to Paris) many more times and this is the only hotel I will ever stay at based on our experience.

Thank you again to all the staff if they are reading this!! Incredible...

This star rating is based on my latest experience. My previous experience was 5 stars across the board (solo trip) back in March. So I rebooked the hotel while there and decided to return with my husband, two weeks ago. A week prior to my visit I emailed the hotel guest manager with a special request (for the same room or one floor below), as we were celebrating our wedding anniversary. Sadly, our train ride was delayed for over an hour do to an accident that occurred on Paris train tracks. When we checked in I was told I got a double upgrade and that I would love the room. We walked forever to the room on bottom floor, that was dark and on the opposite side of the building from my previous room, not what I requested. I went back and asked for the manager who happened to be the same person who received my email and placed the room for me. I simply asked him if he did his homework and bothered checking my profile to see in which room I stayed in? Then he made excuses, such as the room won't be ready till after 7:30 pm as they had a late check out. So I said I would waste my precious time in Paris by sitting in the restaurant until they clean the room. Then he came back, 30 minutes later and said the room was ready. When we got to the the room, it was evident that the room was prepared for another couple with a very lovely spread of chocolate chip cake, champagne, grapes and bottled water. For American Express Platinum Fine hotels, in the previous room we received, grapes, a bottle of red wine and "double downgrade"... Just saying. A Travel Agent had more "juice" in obtaining a nice welcome for their clients than a return customer with AmExp Platinum benefits. Clair at the restaurant was terrific, simply amazing and brightened our stay with her courtesy and service, so thank you. The other hiccup was with the concierge. We voted she was the worst concierge we had in a long, long time. I was looking for the famous antique market I heard about back in the days, French antiques, chandeliers, lace etc...instead the concierge sent us to a very scary location, filled with homeless, trash and urine, more of a flee market junk (used underwear and tape recorders). My husband was fuming, as he nicely put it, "no one from this type of a hotel should be sent to that location." It was not safe. At the same time we asked her about the tickets for the museums on Sunday as it was only day left for us to tour. She said the museums were opened and free on Sundays, and suggested to go early, and purchase them at the ticket office. Well, we got up early and raced to d'Orsay to find out they were sold out! No free tickets, no paid for tickets. We were told we needed to make a reservation on line ahead which the concierge failed to tell us. We also asked for a dinner menu, and she kept on pointing out the menu stand, we explained her it was a Brunch menu, she kept on walking to it and pointing it out again. It was like a ping pong match. Finally she got the point and found one in the drawer. We did enjoy the room, pleasant staff and service we received in the restaurant. I did miss the tea with orange slices the hotel lobby I had back in March. This time also was cold and rainy, so the tea would be...

Highly overrated and our March-April 2019 stay was largely ruined by the constant banging of hammers, sounds of power saws, power drills etc as renovation is ongoing. From the looks of things, construction will continue throughout much of 2019 so this is one to avoid. Some additional irritants, considerations, issues that lower this hotel's score to a two-star level:

(1) Workmanship across the hotel in ALREADY RENOVATED areas is shoddy, unprofessional, not up to standards -- there are gaps in wall corners adjacent the elevators in so-called finished areas, paint patches (primer only) and discolorations (some areas flat, others semi-gloss) evident on most trim work - frankly unsightly. We experienced poor fitting, sticking doors, including the door leading into our room. In addition, the door to our toilet room would frequently jam upon closure, obvious signs of poor fitment, installation. My wife was upset terribly one evening as she was unable to exit the toilet room, effectively locked in - I had to force the door open from the outside to free her. The bidet wash/spray only delivers uncomfortably COLD water rendering its value questionable. Soap dishes in the tub/shower clog from soap, do not drain properly and there are no provisions in the shower area to hold shower gels, shampoos, etc. Getting in/out of the shower is dangerous as there are no safety handles and the bathtub ledge you're required to step over to get into the shower is very high. I'm 6'5" so it was not a problem, but it was for my wife and would be for shorter persons generally

(2) The ceiling in the center of the yet to be renovated restaurant is a mess - paint peeling, water stains, paint flaking, other noticeable staining; perhaps, given its black, darkened coloring, a mold formation.

(3) Orange juice was heavily watered down on Day 2 of our four-day stay. A member of our party tried the "green colored" juice, found it flavorless, compared its taste to "dish water" (I did not separately verify). I'm not sure what press, filters they're using, but the EXCESSIVE coffee grounds found in most coffee served is clearly a sign of poor quality control, lack of attention to detail. Food, generally, in the restaurant is of slightly above average quality. Breakfast was of average to below average quality for hotel-restaurants of this class.

(4) Service was generally up to standards, but they provide no evening turn down service -- something one would expect from a hotel in this price range.

(5) There was HEAVY police presence right outside the hotel, raising questions as to overall security in this area. On one night there were seven heavily armed police officers, two carrying sub machine guns, standing around to the left of the hotel's entrance.

Our family booked two rooms, both on the 5th Floor (558, 573) and overall it was not worth the money. If you are seeking a 4-star plus level hotel in this area, I'd argue...