- Introduction: An Exotic Journey To Bangkok Via Paris
- Review: Porter Airlines PorterReserve Embraer E195-E2 (FLL-YUL)
- Review: Four Seasons Montreal, Canada (Perfect City Hotel)
- Review: Air France Lounge Montreal Airport (YUL)
- Review: Air France Business Class Boeing 787 (YUL-CDG)
- Review: SAX Paris, Hilton LXR, France (Well Intentioned, But Too Hip For Me)
- Review: Hotel Du Louvre Paris, Hyatt Unbound Collection, France (Good!)
During my exotic journey to Bangkok via Paris, I spent a couple of nights in Paris, and decided to check out two different points hotels. For the first night, I booked SAX Paris, a Hilton LXR property, which I reviewed in the last installment. For the second night, I booked Hotel du Louvre Paris, a Hyatt Unbound Collection property, which I’ll be reviewing in this installment.
The 164-key Hotel du Louvre Paris was a great choice, and I had a good stay. This is an old world Paris hotel with a good sense of place (unlike SAX Paris). The hotel also has a central location, friendly service, and a large percentage of accommodations are suites (which is good for upgrades).
Ultimately this is a tier below Paris’ top properties, and perhaps that’s my biggest hesitation with staying here — I do strongly prefer the Park Hyatt Paris, and if redeeming points, that’s only marginally more expensive. But for what it is, I think this hotel is very good.
In this post:
Booking Hotel du Louvre Paris
I booked my stay at Hotel du Louvre Paris using World of Hyatt points. Specifically, this is a Category 7 property, and my free night redemption cost 35,000 points. I value World of Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each, so to me that’s like paying $525 worth of points to stay here.
If paying cash, the rate would’ve been around €600 per night. If you are going to pay cash for a stay here, I’d recommend booking through the Hyatt Prive program, which offers extra perks, like a property credit, room upgrade, etc.
One general “value” hesitation I have with Hotel du Louvre is that the Park Hyatt Paris is only marginally more expensive when redeeming points, while it’s maybe double the price if paying cash. So if redeeming points, I do have a strong preference for the Park Hyatt, assuming it’s available, at least under current pricing (though that could soon change, with the upcoming devaluation).
Hotel du Louvre Paris location & history
Hotel du Louvre Paris has a very central location, and the name might be a hint as to where it’s located. 😉 Hotel du Louvre is between the Louvre Museum and the Opera Garnier. Personally I can’t say I have a strong preference one way or another on hotel location in Paris, as it’s a city where I enjoy just strolling around just about anywhere.
As you arrive at Hotel du Louvre, you’ll immediately appreciate what a historic building it’s housed in. 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.
Hotel du Louvre Paris lobby & check-in
Hotel du Louvre Paris has such an old world feel the second you step into the lobby, in the best way possible. The lobby spans two levels, with lots of historic design elements.
While there’s limited seating in the lobby as such, if you go up a level, you’ll find a room with some areas for lounging, which is a good place to hang out if your room isn’t yet ready.
I arrived at the hotel in the early afternoon, and my room was ready within around an hour. I was thanked for being a lifetime World of Hyatt Globalist member, and was told that I had been upgraded to a suite, and that breakfast would be included on account of my status. One of the great things about this property is that over one-third of accommodations are suites, so that’s great in terms of upgrade odds.
Hotel du Louvre Paris suite
I had been assigned room 150, located on the first floor (the hotel has five floors). Since this is an old building, there are a couple of directions you can go to get to the rooms. My fastest path included going down the hallway past reception (which goes past the restaurant and bar), and then going up a level via the staircase or historic elevator.
It was then just a short walk to my room. I thought it was cute how there was a little book exchange in the hallway, where you could leave or take a book.
Anyway, I was told that I had been upgraded to a Louvre Suite, though I don’t think that’s quite accurate. The Louvre Suite is marketed as being 50 square meters (540 square feet), and I got the sense that this suite was significantly larger. So I’m not sure if there’s just significant variance between the sizes of Louvre Suites, or if I ended up in a different category.
The suite featured an entryway with a half bathroom to the right, and then the living room straight ahead.
The room’s bones were incredible — the ceilings were high, there was tons of natural light, and the wall treatments were very impressive. What disappointed me a bit is that the furniture didn’t seem to match the design otherwise — the furniture felt rather shabby and worn, and didn’t look nearly as luxe as the pictures on the hotel’s website.
The living room boasted a couch and a dining table with two chairs.
Underneath the wall-mounted TV was a console with a Nespresso coffee machine and kettle.
The mini-fridge simply had two complimentary bottles of water. Rather than having a traditional minibar, the hotel instead has a menu off of which you can order minibar items, and they’ll be delivered within 20 minutes of making the request.
There was then a door separating the living room from the bedroom. The bedroom had a king size bed, though I must admit, I didn’t find the bed to be very comfortable. The mattress was on the hard side, and the pillows weren’t terribly plush. I don’t want to say it was a bad night of sleep, but I far preferred the bed at SAX Paris.
The bedroom also had a wall-mounted TV, plus two chairs and a side table.
The main bathroom was off the bedroom, and had a single sink, plus a shower “compound” with both a walk-in shower and a bathtub.
Toiletries were from CODAGE Paris, in reusable containers.
The toilet was then off to the side, in a separate room.
There was a half bathroom back toward the entrance, which had a toilet and sink.
The suite then had a narrow balcony that stretched the entire width of the room, with views of the surrounding area.
Around an hour after arriving in the room, I was delivered a very nice welcome amenity, consisting of a bottle of white wine, a bottle of water, and some chocolates.
All-in-all, I quite liked the room. I very much appreciated how big it was, and it also had a much better sense of place than SAX Paris. I do wish the hotel would spend a bit more on finishes and furnishings, because I think it would put this property into a different league.
Hotel du Louvre Paris gym & private cabins
Hotel du Louvre Paris doesn’t have a spa or pool, but it does have a solid gym, which is open 24/7. The gym is located on the first floor, right above the lobby, and has a good selection of cardio and strength training equipment.
The hotel has another unique amenity, which I very much appreciate. The hotel has three private cabins (as they’re marketed), which are essentially shower suites. The idea is that if guests show up early and want to shower before their room is ready, these are places where they can freshen up. It’s a thoughtful amenity that I’m sure many guests appreciate.
What’s odd, though, is that the gym didn’t actually have a dedicated bathroom. It’s located right next to the three private cabins, but if those are occupied, there aren’t any other bathrooms to use.
Hotel du Louvre Paris restaurant & bar
Hotel du Louvre Paris has two main dining outlets — there’s Brasserie du Louvre, the all-day dining restaurant, and L’Officine du Louvre, the all-day lobby bar. Let’s take a closer look at both of those.
Brasserie du Louvre is open daily from 7AM until 10:30PM, and it serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks, and you can find all the menus here. I’ve heard lunch and dinner here are excellent, though I only had breakfast during my visit. The restaurant is a good size, with a variety of seating options, both indoor and outdoor (weather permitting).
The breakfast buffet was high quality, with cold cuts, cheese, fruit, yogurt, cereal, bread, pastries, pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, and more.
For those looking for a morning buzz, there’s also some champagne at the buffet, which guests can help themselves to.
Beyond the buffet, guests can order hot drinks and an additional dish from one of the servers.
I initially had an excellent cappuccino to drink, and then later I had filter coffee.
I also decided to order a veggie omelet off the menu, which was very good.
Beyond the main restaurant, L’Officine du Louvre is open daily from 9AM until 12AM, and is the hotel’s lobby bar. It serves food and drinks all day, so you can come here for a coffee, cocktail, or a full meal, and you can find all the menus here.
This space has a glass roof, and is described as a tribute to Napoleon III’s passion for botany. It’s such a charming space, and so quintessentially Paris.
The first day I came here for a coffee.
Then shortly after check-out time (since I had a late evening flight), I came here for a salmon club sandwich, and sat here for a couple of hours working. Yes, club sandwiches are my ultimate weakness, at least in Paris.
Hotel du Louvre Paris service
Service at Hotel du Louvre Paris was excellent across the board. I found all the staff to be friendly, polished, and professional. Admittedly this isn’t the highest touch property in the world, so it’s not like I had that many requests or unusual interactions. Either way, I have zero complaints about the service here.
Bottom line
Hotel du Louvre Paris is a great World of Hyatt property, and it’s an especially good option if you’re looking for an upscale hotel, but not necessarily the top tier of Paris hotels. I really loved the property’s bones, central location, nice restaurant and bar (with good breakfast), and friendly service. It’s also noteworthy how many suites there are, which means chances of a Globalist suite upgrade are good.
I just have two minor(ish) issues with this property. The first is that I feel the furniture holds back this hotel, and just feels kind of random, given the design of the hotel otherwise. I’m not sure if that was specific to my room, since the pictures online look much nicer. My other issue is simply that if redeeming points, I’d have a strong preference for the Park Hyatt Paris, which is way more expensive when paying cash, but only moderately more when paying with points (at least as of now).
What’s your take on Hotel du Louvre Paris, Hyatt Unbound Collection?
Oof. Without the "(Good!)" in the headline, I wouldn't have known how to think! Thank you!
Sure ... A small ( 32 cl ) beer for 12 Euros . What a bargain . One gulp and you're out $ 15 .
I stayed there recently for 1 night and loved it (actually I had that same sandwich!). Would definitely stay there again. Personally I preferred it to the Park Hyatt - I'd rather save a few points and avoid those creepy wall sculptures!
Great review, and I appreciate your note that this is a step below your preference, but I have to be honest. Your Paris reviews the last few days are more realistic for many of your readers (I assume). So it is nice you are hitting up lower tier 5-star hotels.
I totally (and you can include me) understand as we move into our late 30s our budgets go up lol, but balancing for the reviews is good.