During my review trip to Bangkok, I had a couple of nights in Paris, where I wanted to check out new hotels. For the first night, I stayed at SAX Paris, Hilton LXR, which was not for me. The second night, I stayed at Hotel du Louvre Paris, Hyatt Unbound Collection. As a Category 7 World of Hyatt property, I booked this for 35,000 points, compared to a cash rate of around €600.
I had a pleasant stay at Hotel du Louvre, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. The property has a good sense of place, and feels like what you’d expect from a historic Parisian hotel. That being said, it doesn’t really have a “wow” factor, and it definitely wouldn’t be my first choice in Paris. For that matter, with the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome being only marginally more expensive when redeeming points, I’d definitely prefer that.
While I’ll have a full review soon, in this post I’d like to share my initial thoughts.
In this post:
Hotel du Louvre has history and a sense of place
One of the incredible things about Paris is just how historic so many buildings in the city are, and that includes many of the hotels. Hotel du Louvre was commissioned by Napoleon III in 1855, as the first luxury “grand hotel” in Paris. The location ended up being moved across the square in 1887, but it’s still pretty cool that this building is around 140 years old (many will love the hotel’s location, as it’s quite central, located near — you guessed it — the Louvre).
You definitely feel that sense of history in the building, from the old lobby columns, to the elevators, to the beautiful lobby bar. This is what old world Parisian hotels should be like.
Hotel du Louvre has lots of suites, and they’re comfortable
One thing that stands out about Hotel du Louvre Paris is the breakdown of accommodations. There are 164 accommodations, and 57 of those are suites. With over one-third of rooms being suites, that means the hotel is fantastic with upgrades, since there are often lots of rooms to upgrade people to.
As a lifetime World of Hyatt Globalist member, I was upgraded to a Louvre Suite. The suite was very spacious, with a massive living room, though I have to be honest, it looked much nicer online. Take a look at the pictures here, and then take a look at the pictures below.
While the wall treatments were nice, I otherwise thought the design was sort of bland and a little shabby. It almost felt like they put totally cookie-cutter hotel furniture into a suite that otherwise has amazing bones.
That couch… is just not it.
Hotel du Louvre has friendly service, is otherwise fine
I found service at Hotel du Louvre to be friendly. Then again, I find Paris hotels in general have a very good service standard, so it wasn’t necessarily differentiated. But still, friendly service deserves a shoutout, and this place delivered on that front.
Beyond what’s mentioned above, there wasn’t all that much to the hotel. There’s no pool or spa, though there is a gym, which is a good size by Paris standards (admittedly some hotels basically have basement broom closets as gyms).
Then the hotel’s main restaurant is Brasserie du Louvre, and it’s open all day. Paris has so many amazing restaurants, and this probably isn’t a “destination” restaurant. I did have breakfast here, though, which I found to be good, though I materially preferred the breakfast at SAX Paris (it was one of my favorite parts of that hotel).
Breakfast consisted of a small but pretty high quality buffet, plus a small selection of a la carte options.
The restaurant isn’t huge, so it definitely felt a lot more crowded than at SAX Paris. It’s also not necessarily that personalized of an experience. That’s to say that your name is taken when you enter, and then you can just sit down wherever you’d like, and help yourself to the buffet (though servers roam to offer drinks and to take any a la carte orders).
Bottom line
Hyatt’s Hotel du Louvre Paris is a solid option if you’re a World of Hyatt loyalist in Paris. On the plus side, the hotel has a central location, and has old world charm with lots of suites, which is good for upgrades. However, in terms of design and amenities, this isn’t some property that gets me excited.
So I think this is a fantastic option if you want a central location for exploring Paris, and if a suite or large room is a priority for you (if you’re eligible for an upgrade). Other than that, if redeeming points, I’d much rather stay at the Park Hyatt Paris, which is definitely on a different level.
What’s your take on Hyatt’s Hotel du Louvre Paris?
I love this hotel. The Brasserie offers great food and delightful service. The staff, as you have stated, are friendly and helpful. It is not a Paris stand out but neither am I ! I love the Bourgogne et Montana and Horel Du Louvre as comfortable, nice and reasonably priced hotels. I always make a point of dining at the Brasserie at least once whether or not I am staying there.
Having so many suites is great, but I was disappointed that the standard suites only allow 3 occupants at most. As someone looking to book a suite for a family of 4 (two young children), that is a deal-breaker.
Ben I'd love your thoughts on a few things. 1) with the hotel having so many suites, do you think the overall suite experience is diluted and downgraded vs other properties? 2) I realize the Park Hyatt is marginally more expensive, what are some of your booking strategies for a hotel like this that is frequently blacked out for awards bookings. 3) unrelated, how are you enjoying the Atmos Infinite card? Does it stay in your wallet or the sock drawer? Thanks!
@ TimF -- Thanks for the questions!
1) It seems like in general this hotel isn't spending a ton on furnishing, or perhaps they're just at the end of a cycle before a renovation. I don't think that's specific to suites, though. If you're talking about some sort of suite specific amenities beyond that yeah, there's nothing really too it, there's just more space.
2) Honestly, I just check back very very frequently, and...
@ TimF -- Thanks for the questions!
1) It seems like in general this hotel isn't spending a ton on furnishing, or perhaps they're just at the end of a cycle before a renovation. I don't think that's specific to suites, though. If you're talking about some sort of suite specific amenities beyond that yeah, there's nothing really too it, there's just more space.
2) Honestly, I just check back very very frequently, and I find that as the arrival date approaches, availability almost always opens up. So I'll sometimes book a backup with a flexible cancelation, and check back constantly.
3) Yep, I've been using it a lot, including on this trip, for 3x points on all international purchases.
IIRC this used to be a Cat 5 hotel, so it was positioned as the upper mid tier value option to Park Hyatt's top tier expensive option.
The Park Hyatt has a Palace rating which is the highest rating for French hotels and a whole tier above 5 stars. Given it’s about the same price (at least in points), you would be stupid not book it.
Plus, the location is marginally better. The Louvre is probably the better tourist trap area in Paris other than the Eiffel Tower.
I need to look but does this hotel even have a 5-star...
The Park Hyatt has a Palace rating which is the highest rating for French hotels and a whole tier above 5 stars. Given it’s about the same price (at least in points), you would be stupid not book it.
Plus, the location is marginally better. The Louvre is probably the better tourist trap area in Paris other than the Eiffel Tower.
I need to look but does this hotel even have a 5-star rating from France’s hotel regulator?
As for the decor and furnishings, this is a consistent problem with Hyatt. That decor would be fine for a 4-star airport hotel but not a historic hotel. It doesn’t even look nice.
This is a very dramatic take lol. I have visited both properties countless times, and HdL is a very nice hotel, definitely 5 stars by French standards. Rooms are bright and airy (unlike the PH), the bar is visually stunning (also unlike the PH where the common areas are kind of a time warp to the 90s), and I personally find the location more convenient and overall better, especially if you want to eat out....
This is a very dramatic take lol. I have visited both properties countless times, and HdL is a very nice hotel, definitely 5 stars by French standards. Rooms are bright and airy (unlike the PH), the bar is visually stunning (also unlike the PH where the common areas are kind of a time warp to the 90s), and I personally find the location more convenient and overall better, especially if you want to eat out. The PH is in the middle of the hyper luxury shopping and restaurants area so if you want good food that's not overpriced, you have to walk quite a bit.
I love the PH as well to be clear (although I do question its Palace qualification with a fairly hit or miss service), but they're just 2 very different properties - and anyone will be just fine staying at either.