As I prepared for our week in Europe, I initially planned to stay in Paris for three days then travel to another country for three days prior to returning home. There were a ton of different Marriott Hotel brands in the city. I looked at about 10 of them and settled on the Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel and Conference Center.
Booking
I ended up changing the booking from three days to six days because I wanted enjoy as much of Paris as possible. The booking was for a double twin room at approximately $180 USD per night. I was able to earn 47,010 Bonvoy points (41,010 for the stay + 6,000 for Q1 global promotion).
Arrival
I pre-booked a car service through get the GetYourGuide app to take us from the airport to the property. The pickup was seamless as the handler met us outside of customs and escorted us out to pickup area. Once in the Mercedes van, we had a comfortable 90 minute ride to the property. We arrived at 1040 local time.
Check-In
The lobby was spacious with plenty of seating and bright lighting. There were a few people in the queue. When it was my turn, two people seated at a table walked in front of me. Thinking they did not see me, I spoke up about their transgression. The people looked at me and the agent looked stunned that I would say something to them.
I was waved over to the left by another agent to check. While presenting her our passports, the previous agent walked to apologize and to say he was helping the rude people prior so they were getting back in line. There was some back and forth but it was not going anywhere so I terminated the conversation with him.
I quickly focused back to the agent helping me. She told me that since I had three people, I could not occupy the double twin room for security reasons. There was some back and forth about why Marriott would allow me to book the room if it was not possible. I then asked if happened when I changed the reservation from three days to six days.
Either way, I was give two options: 1) book another room for the third guest, or 2) purchase and upgrade to a Junior Suite. I asked if it were possible to get a complimentary upgrade to the suite since I have Lifetime Platinum Status. She stated that was not possible because the property was full. The property was full but I was offered two other room options, got it.
At this point, I was over traveling and the interactions with the agents so I agreed to pay an extra $600 USD to upgrade to the suite instead of finding another property in the city. The room would not be ready for 90 minutes so we went to lunch.
Room
After grabbing a bite, we came back for the keys to the suite. I was informed that our luggage was waiting in the room. This was a nice touch.
The room was on the 17th floor which was technically the 18th floor because the ground floor is labeled as 0 on the elevator. or are we doing it wrong in America?
We made a right out of the elevator and our room was near the end of the hall on the left.
At this point, I was happy that I was talked into the paid upgrade to the suite. It was spacious, had two full bathrooms and provided beautiful views of the city.
The first bathroom was to the right. I appreciate that the toilet and bath were separated. The bathroom was stocked with a load of complimentary toiletries. the only thing that threw me off was the height of the bathtub. I almost hurt myself coming into it the first time.
Continuing into the room, there was a Necafe station on the top left, a mini fridge on the bottom left, and a closet on the right the included robes and ironing equipment.
The main living area consisted of a queen sofa bed, desk, and mounted television. Nicholas did not want to unfold the bed the entire week because it said was comfortable as it was. I barely watched the television but when I did I had to figure out what was happening because everything was French.
The bedroom with king bed was to the right. The bed was one of the most comfortable hotel beds I have ever experienced. The linen was the right weight for the temperature of the room. There was also a television and a chaise (not pictured).
As I moved down the hall, there was another closet with the same items as the first one.
There was a vanity with big mirror at the end of the hall.
The second bath and toilet rooms were to left of the vanity.
The welcome gift was delivered to the room within minutes. It consisted of taffy, chocolate covered nuts and lemon juice. Nicholas loved the chocolate covered nuts but did not like the lemon juice because it was bitter.
During the week, issues with the housekeepers reiterated the fact that some customer service could be used at the property.
Dining
There was no shortage of places to eat at the property. While we ate out most of the week, there were times when we at in house.
The Brasserie
The restaurant, located on the second floor, is open for breakfast lunch and dinner daily meaning it operates from 630am to 11pm. We only visited for breakfast on tow occasions, which was complimentary due to my status.
The space offered plenty of seating options but it was crowded.
There were more than enough hit or cold food options. I thought it was strange that cold cuts would be offered at breakfast.
There was an option to have made to order eggs. When I ordered bacon eggs benedict, the dish never arrived despite asking for it three times.
There was a juice station towards the back of the restaurant.
I ate the same thing both days, bacon or sausage with eggs. Nicholas had a plate of bacon one day and the same chocolate ale with boiled eggs the next. He was playing with his stomach.
Executive Lounge – Alternate
I video the lounge on the second day to grab a drink and snack prior to heading out for the day. It was located on the second floor. After exiting the elevator, I took a right and it was down on the left near some conference rooms.
We were greeted with a warm welcome by a gentleman working the front desk. He said, “this is your home, please relax”. He then gave a tour of the lounge.
To the left was a waiting area with some books.
In the main dining area, there was quite selection of food, drinks and seating. I really enjoyed every part of it.
We found seating at the back of the lounge. It was a quiet, intimate place. Nicholas was fond of the chocolate cake in the lounge so much so that he wanted to eat it every day.
We went to the lounge the next day and were met with a surprise. The lounge had moved back to the 18th floor. The room was EMPTY.
Executive Lounge – Primary
This lounge was located in room 1802. We took a right out of the elevator and the lounge was immediately on the left. The lounge had three separate, small rooms. It looked like a transformed suite. I did not take many pictures because it was crowded.
There were about five tables with two seats to the left. it also included a television and some snacks.
The middle room housed the food while there was a little more seating in the back. The best thing about this lounge, according to Nicholas, was the shrimp tempura. They also brought the chocolate cake from the first lounge.
Great Room Bar
The Great Bar was to left as we entered the lobby. It was hoppy from 10am to just after midnight. The bar was full and had reasonable prices.
Fitness
The gym was located on the first floor. It could be accessed by using the stairs from the zero floor or the elevators.
We went to the cardio room to get some steps in because of the amount of food consumed. It was refreshing to get in there and sweat a little bit. There were some machines just opposite of the cardio room.
The other room, the studio, contained free weights and some rowing machines. There was space to conduct classes as well.
Final Word
The Paris Marriott Rive Gauche was a really nice property. We thoroughly enjoyed the room, food, gym, and ambiance at the Great Bar. I feel that some customer service training to the employees would go a long way. The unpleasant interactions left a bad taste in my in mouth. Despite those few negative interactions, the trip was not ruined. I was grateful to be able to spend a week with my son in Paris
