This weekend I decided to spend my birthday in Paris and stay at one of the Instagrammable hotels I have been dying to stay in for the longest time ever! Using my birthday as an excuse to stay in such an expensive hotel, I was able to snag a booking at Hotel Splendid Étoile staying in one of their rooms with a direct view of the Arc de Triomphe.
Located right at Argentine or Kléber metro station (Argentine is closer) Hotel Splendid Étoile is a four star boutique hotel located in a prime location in Paris and is considered the only hotel that offers such a view. There are two rooms that offers a great view, one with a direct view and one with a side view.
ROOM
The building itself is quite new, clean and modern. As you enter there is a lobby with a check-in counter, restaurant off to the side and a rest area. To book a room with the direct view of the Arc de Triomphe, on their website, you must book the Privilege Room with direct view on the Arc de Triomphe. There are photos beside the room type to help you out if you are not sure. Try to snag a room on the upper floor (3-5th are the best!) and write it in one of their comments. The hotel may or may not listen to your request. In fact, they totally ignored my request even though I booked the room WAY in advance. Points off customer service there.
Breakfast is at an additional cost and can be added when booking the room. If you add it as an optional extra to your booking, costs only € 38 whereas if you order breakfast when you arrive at the hotel, it will be more expensive.
If you don’t want to dish out too much on a room and prefer a side view of the Arc de Triomphe, book their Superior balcony. If you walk onto the balcony, you will be presented with a side view.
Washroom
The washroom is spacious and provides NUXE amenities for your usage. From the window there is also a partial view of the Arc de Triomphe.
FACILITIES
The hotel doesn’t have much facilities except for the restaurant on the first floor (also reserves as the breakfast area in the morning. There was no fitness center or swimming pool (but of course not many hotels in France have swimming pools)!
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Considering it is a 4 star hotel, the service we received at this hotel was very mediocre. Not only was my request to be in one of the higher floors ignored (the other floors were occupied according to the hotel manager) but it was clear that the other floors were closed due to COVID-19. Also, the night before, I specifically asked for the New York Times to be sent to my room with breakfast which was ignored as well. I called in the morning and no one answered. After calling three times, finally someone picked up and said it will be sent to my room right away. After 15 minutes, no one came and I ended up going to the lobby myself to pick it up.
If you browse through the hotel IG and images taken by other customers, you may see some photos that were shot on the roof of the hotel. We tried looking for the door to the rooftop/terrace to take photos, but it seems like it is not open to the public. The hotel invites some influencers from time to time and personally bring them onto the roof to take photos. A little disappointed that the general public couldn’t access this area, but what can you do?
Interested in more posts about Paris? Continue to read my Top 10 Instagrammable locations in Paris (coming soon!)