Maison Albar - Le Champs-Elysées — Restaurant in Paris

Definitely not a five star hotel.. not sure how this hotel is actually graded 5 star as it is definitely more of a 3/4 star hotel. On the positives the rooms are clean and some not all of the staff are modertately helpful but on the negative which far outweighs the positive- the decor of the hotel is dark and gloomy (feels as if you are staying in someone’s dark and creepy house), there are huge bags of dirty linen by the lifts of each floor for a few hours while the staff are cleaning the rooms, the carpets are completely threadbare which numerous people have complained in reviews about, only tv channels in French, only one water provided at night, very small bathroom even in the prestige suite and the breakfast is appalling with only one waitress, no hostess to seat you, chipped juice glasses and cuppacino that was inedible and tasted as if its was made from a machine that wasn’t descaled. The 200 euro deposit on arrival is actually approx 150 when it’s time to give it back to you and the excuse is that city tax is deducted from it which is an obvious thief scheme and makes no sense as I’ve never paid city tax from the hotel deposit at any other hotel in Paris and if it exists obviously that should be included in the room charge or notified on arrival not taken off from the deposit that is meant for extras that would be charged to your room and also hidden from you until the very end. We were not notified on arrival that this tax will be deducted from the deposit even though I specifically asked if we would get the full 200 euros back on departure. There is no way to avoid this deposit even though we said we did not want anything to be charged to our room but ofcourse it’s because the crook scheme is the end game of it. We didn’t contest it only because we just wanted to leave this miserable hotel by that point. This hotel is tempting only due to the fact that it has lower price rates compared to some of the other 5* hotels near champs Elysee but please don’t get tempted by that. The location is near the arc de triumphs but if your objective is shopping it isn’t as close to the shopping part of champs elysee as advertised and be prepared for a walk. Stayed at the Plaza Athanee and Sofitel faubourg previously so I can confidently compare that this hotel does not measure up to 5* Parisian service at all. The reason that I had chosen this hotel on this trip was to experience staying in a different area of Paris but for me it actually made my holiday an unhappy one as I couldn’t wait to leave. During the day I couldn’t wait until it was time to go out too as I didn’t want to spend time in this hotel. Thankfully we only had 2 nights pre paid but I was literally counting until it was time to leave and I had wished that we had come to view the hotel in person before booking. Overall it’s bearable if you have a different purpose of your visit but if your objective is a relaxing holiday and if you are expecting 5* luxury service then this is definitely not it. Please don’t be mislead. Clearly no honesty...

We booked this hotel for the location, the price, the value (what you get for the price, particularly the breakfast included which ended up being great and delicious), and a big reason was because they offer a king-sized bed and many hotels in Europe either don't offer that or if you get it, it's in a really high-end suite that is very costly. Once there, we enjoyed this hotel for the service. Many times, the front desk staff offered to call us a taxi, offered not only great restaurant recommendations but without us having to request it they'd call over and let them know we were coming, we were a guest of the hotel, and to take great care of us. By far the best meal we had food-wise and service-wise was one they set up for as in Montmarte. Highly recommend Le Maison de la Gallette, by the way. We really enjoyed the location of the hotel because you could throw a baseball and hit the Arc de Triomphe and then it was also a very short distance to either the tower, the Seine, or the Louvre. It was so picturesque and beautiful to have a view from our room of the Arc and we really enjoyed the balconies. I'd recommend bringing adapters for the outlets because although they have them to offer you at the front desk (to use for free) if they are near capacity they do run out of them and they did during our stay. They told us where we could buy them and it was not a big deal but just FYI for anyone going there because it cost us around 40 Euro but if you get them on Amazon it's about $10 for the same thing. Anyway, we loved the location because you can get anywhere you need with either a nice walk or a short taxi ride. The breakfast was great because it gave you a nice offering of traditional French breakfast buffet items and they were, if you asked, willing to cook your eggs how you liked them if you are American like us and enjoy eggs. Personally, I stuck with the more French-style breakfast items because they were so fresh and so delicious I couldn't resist. The room was not large because we are in a city and a European city so of course it is different than what we see in America but it was more than enough for what we needed and the king-sized bed was SO important to us. The room was clean and the cleaning staff was on point cleaning our room each day first thing in the morning as soon as we left go to out and sightsee. Really great staff overall at this hotel. Highly recommend it. I shopped around and this was the best priced place for the star level of the hotel, the value, the room's offerings, and the location. I don't think I could have found a kind-sized bed in a hotel for less than $1,000 more than we spent on this room total. The cafes in and around the hotel are great too. I think we ate at almost every one of them - even if it was just for a little dessert and some wine. The proximity to the Champs was GREAT too. We loved walking over there and strolling along that...

Absolutely blessed to have been able to stay at Maison Albar’s Champs Elysees location for the New Year. Even though we had a first floor executive room (lowest level of rooms), we LOVED the fireworks. I loved being above the people on the street. When I envisioned my new year, I just wanted a relaxed “pop a bottle of champagne with fast food and cheese and saucisson” kind of new year. And that’s what I got. Other positives: the metro being near by, easy access for taxis/ubers, lots of shopping, bigger than average Parisian hotel room, amazing rainfall shower. Now the question… is it a 5 star hotel from a customer stand point? Not necessarily. I wish I could call it a strong 4, but to me it’s much more of a weak to mid 4. I didn’t feel THAT well taken care of by the staff, because it’s a little hard to get their attention via email (so be VERY self sufficient). I was getting emails that my prepayment for reservation was declined even though my card was charged and I would even send follow up emails. Nada. Don’t even bother with “checking in” with whatever link they send you because it doesn’t work. When we arrived last Saturday afternoon, we were also greeted by Maxence, who is an awesome front deskman, but gave me just a little bit of snooty attitude when I told him I had three reservations lined up for dinner and he thought they were all for the same time and I was being indecisive. He even went, “I know you Americans…” before I corrected him, haha. But he came through when we needed voltage converters and new key cards when ours would be deemed unusable by museum xrays. I also asked for a Chez Janou reservation, but again, no follow up, which is fine because my days were booked anyway. Moving on… breakfast is a HUGE miss. Their parlour is TINY, so buffet is just bread/croissants, like three cold cuts and cheese each, and yogurt. Some juice too. They also make eggs if you’d ask and tea and coffee. Didn’t see any milk or butter. But the choices are slim. I even witnessed another hotel guest keep asking for cucumber and tomato refill but they ultimately disappointed her.

In conclusion, I had one goal: to have a view for the New Year. I met it. And I thank Maison Albar- Champ Elysses for that. But don’t expect...