Hotel & Spa Royal Madeleine

We didn't eat at the restaurant, though the food looked good. The hotel is good for kids, clean, and the staff are really friendly. Its location on a small street just off Blvd Haussman makes it easy to walk to Opera, St Lazare, Printemps, and Gallery Lafayette. We stayed twice in January, for two days each time, first in the lower suite and then in the duplex suite. We really enjoyed both visits and would stay here again.

We spent a lot on this hotel and expected decent service. The way the staff spoke about me in French in front of me, which I understood, felt disrespectful. I left feeling as though I was being treated like a problem. It makes me wonder what service guests paying less receive. We booked the hotel for my sister's 21st birthday. She's studying in Paris, so my mother and I came to spend time with her. She checked in at 3 pm while we were traveling later that day. Two well-mannered gentlemen greeted us and were helpful, especially when we needed to book another room. The only room available for her birthday was a beautiful suite with a jacuzzi and sauna, at €820 for one night. I liked it so much that I booked Friday to Sunday for my partner and me, for €1986.79. The next morning, my mother asked whether we could book the suite again. The gentleman from the night before said he'd check with his manager and come find us. We went to breakfast, if you can call it that. It was continental, with cold, runny scrambled eggs, cold bacon, and tasteless sausage. Before heading out for lunch, we asked reception if the suite was available. A young woman checked us out and put us in another room for €389, so my mum and sister had to move everything from the suite to my room. Twenty minutes after we arrived, reception called to say the suite we'd just moved from was available because I'd booked it Friday to Sunday. I guess it takes a lot of water and effort to fill the jacuzzi again for just one night. The young woman who checked us out was very unprofessional and kept butting into conversations she wasn't part of. That evening, I asked the gentleman who checked us in whether my mum and I could have a different breakfast item. He suggested an omelette, and I said that would be nice. In the morning, they called to say they only had powdered eggs, not real ones. I said that was fine, I just didn't want them runny. When I came down, there had apparently been a misunderstanding, which was fine. What bothered me was the disrespectful way they spoke to me as though I were causing a problem.

The gym is tiny, basically a room with a bike and an elliptical. If you're looking for a pool, though, it's small, and there's also a sauna, so it may be a good option. I traveled here solo for business and a bit of pleasure, and enjoyed my stay overall. The main thing you're paying for is the location, though it does have some appeal beyond that.

The breakfast was fine in quality, but there wasn't much choice, and it felt very different from what I remembered. I’d stayed here in 2022, so coming back and finding the experience disappointing was a shame. The room was small but clean. Its TV remote had dead batteries when we arrived. We reported it right away and were told someone would fix it the next morning, but nothing had changed when we returned later. When we asked again, they said it couldn't be done that day, even though it was just a couple of batteries. We couldn't use the TV until day three. Check-in also felt cold: no drink offered, not even water, and we got very little attention while rock music played in the background. Small things, but they matter. At a minimum of €400 a night, I expected a lot more.