Sofitel Paris le Faubourg — Hotel in Paris

If you are Le Club Accor member, you know you have benefit to get upgraded to one superior room IF IT IS AVAILABLE AT CHECKIN TIME. It is clear. It is easy to understand. It is an agreement you have with Accor group and all the member hotels.

Its hotels offer an upgrade easily. Straight forward and honest to its customers.

This Sofitel was not like that. I called the hotel to book the Junior suite. I got confirmed at least three time in that call about this benefit that booking a junior suite (the highest of room) I can get upgraded to a lowest type of suite (please note that some hotels don't upgraded across from a room to a suite, so I need to clarify that every time)

I checked in at 15.00 pm. On Le club Accor official application and website, In front of the check-in staff when she said there is no room available- I could see 4 suites available.

The staff went to the office behind the check-in counter then came out and said that there is no room available. Only one available for two nights in the midd of my stay so I have to stay in my booked room for one night, then two nights in the upgraded suite then last night move back. I declined.

I also asked her to clarify why Accor application showed the different information. I even refresh my search for her to show that it is legitimate and updated. Not just a fake screenshot. She went behind the wall again.

Then the female manager came out. Not as friendly as the check-in staff - asking me to show my phone screen. I did. Then she asked me to refresh the application again.

At the same second I refresh my search, she signal her staff to tab one button on the keyboard their computer, right in front of me, I could hear the tapping noice clearly. At that second every available room and suite in the hotel which appeared in Accor club application 1 minute ago was gone. Nothing left- no more vacancies -

The manager looked into my eyes and said that Accor application just didn't updated enough and she didn't know why.

It is that easy. It is that stupid. She lied to my face - I was shocked.

I have never thought that I would experience that from Sofitel. She was so arrogant, so rude and so unprofessional. It was cheap i sult, so dishonest, so unbelievable what she did.

After that she dared enough to offer me to pay 100 eur per night to get another suite which she claimed is one level above the suite I was entitled to get upgraded to. I didn't believe this female manager anymore, but I politely said that I would discuss with my partner first.

I walked back to the counter, a few seconds later, the manager said that she just checked again and there are one suite available now which I could have it. It will be ready in 30 mins. Smiled like everything was fine.

Of course I took it. It was an extremely bad experience. I was not happy, but I would not make a big fight or big drama to get a hotel manager to talk to me and get me a bigger suite considering what I just experienced.

The way that manager handled the incident was low, unprofessional, arrogant, stupid, offensive and insulting, if not illegal for misleading a customer.

She just destroyed my trust on Sofitel, and Accor hotel as a whole. Sofitel used to be a French-proud brand. With this staff-this insulting, offensive treatment, it became lower that a cheapest...

Overall ok stay but there are areas of inconsistencies and improvement. The most memorable is the sole Guest relation officer lady with separate desk, which is key in resolving any guest issue. She was hospitable, friendly, relatable, understanding, explained very clearly, thoroughly, sincerely and quick action to let me have early access to the room. I booked S Class transport from CDG to hotel via concierge and arrives as scheduled, however my room was not ready (I was informed the hotel is full, however I do notice in the website 2 higher categories room are available for booking that day), so I waited for about 2 hours at the sofa reception until I noticed the guest relation officer lady who offered to help me and she did and delivered while in the process making sure I can wait comfortably at the bar while waiting for resolution. I noticed a few staff just walking around the reception area with no offer to help and the guest relation officer is the only one who approached me. Therefore I would say she is key. The other inconsistency and this impacted my image of the hotel is the senior concierge, introduced by check in lady as top concierge with the key broach, which I think is overrated, he is not approachable and has higher than mighty attitude, which actually after conversing with him is not as knowledgeable or as helpful as I would prefer it to be in handling my request for reservation issue via my phone. After trying to engage him with my patience, I suspected it was network issue but he insisted it was me and my phone, which later I discovered myself by simply logging on to third party provider network you can resolve this issue. He kept saying he had years of experience with this issue but I suspected he just want me to get off his back. I know the reservation itself is not under his control but at least he could have shown sincere and genuine effort to help instead of dismissing attitude. As a GM, I would actually challenged how many issues has he resolved and how many guests are actually satisfied. As a Accor Plus Gold member, I did not receive room upgrade (beside my own search in the hotel website/ ALL App showing 2 types of higher category rooms are available for booking). However welcome gift, macarons/ treats, complimentary bottle of drink together with welcome card were delivered to the room after I have entered the room. Condition of room is ok and clean and comfortable, however shower handle holder is loose. Breakfast place is nice and outdoor area is preety, however it could get crowded and feel cramp during busy times, food is good taste wise, love the strawbery croissant. The a la carte Menu was not given so I had to guess what I could order. We had to rely on staff to order and a few times the order did not came or took a long time that we had to remind them and it still didn’t come with no explanation. I would suggest writing an order on cheat sheet would solve this issue? At check out requested assistance to front office to book premium car S7 from G7 to CDG, however the translation did not come across to the bell boy who booked me wheelchair accessible small box minivan to airport. The driver is nice and safe but he opened the window all the way to...

I have been a guest of Sofitel in Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia so am very familiar with the Sofitel brand. I have even worked for the brand in Sydney, Australia years ago. I was introduced to this specific hotel through the American Express Travel website. It was listed as one of 10 in their Parisian "Hotel Collection.” I trust American Express, so knew it would be a nice place, but I had no idea it would be exquisite. Unfamiliar with Paris, I hedged everything on the reputation of Sofitel and Amex. I knew the hotel was in a high-end area next to the U.S. embassy, so was certain it would be high quality. I had no idea until arrival just how wonderful of a location the hotel is in, only 250 meters from Hermes! I picked the hotel based on the high fashion design I saw in the photos on the Sofitel website. I can’t tell you how many times I showed the video of the hotel on the website’s home page, to my friends before we left for the trip.

My husband and I also loved the special attention we received from the Amex/Sofitel partnership. The hand-written welcome letter from GM Vincent Arnaud delivered along with the pastries from the restaurant, the room upgrade with fabulous balcony and street view, the voucher were all very much appreciated.

The room was incredible, comfortable and quiet (well except for Buddha Bar but we’re urbanites, we loved that it was across the street!) We loved the Hermes toiletries. We wanted for nothing.

Mathilde was exceptional in helping us with the upgrade and getting settled to our room. The hostess each morning at Blossom was a delight, so cheerful and polite. ALL of the staff was wonderful, cheerful and accommodating. But I must really give accolades to sweet and fun Stephan, the waiter, who greeted me each morning with a cheery Bonjour, smile and a strong cafe! He was exceptional. He worked very hard, was pleasant and quick. Friendly but discrete and not intrusive, just wonderful.

We really enjoyed the presentation and quality of the buffet breakfast offered each morning. It was so pleasant to sit in the dining room with the natural light and greenery from the courtyard. A delight to wake up to each day.

I might like to add that I am an hospitality industry professional of 41 years and run my own culinary team building business, my husband has his own event production business. We KNOW service and hospitality, I even worked at Sofitel in Sydney years ago! So, I know what to expect and will criticize if service is substandard, but am more than happy to compliment when it’s deserved, which in the case of Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg, it was definitely deserved.

Our only regret was not being able to stay longer and to enjoy the hotel bar and restaurant more than we did. We do plan on there being a “next time” and calling Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg our Parisian home away from home. Bonjour until next...