Grand Powers

“Excellent experience at a classy hotel”

My partner and I stayed at the Grand Powers for a couple nights in October. Here's how important this hotel choice and experience was for me: I planned to propose to my partner in the room, and I did! And she said yes! I chose the room (a junior suite) in part because I wanted a really romantic… more

My partner and I stayed at the Grand Powers for a couple nights in October. Here's how important this hotel choice and experience was for me: I planned to propose to my partner in the room, and I did! And she said yes! I chose the room (a junior suite) in part because I wanted a really romantic place with a view of the Eiffel Tower. The room didn't disappoint. Now, just to be clear, the view of the Eiffel Tower is fairly limited; it's some distance away and only the top third is visible. So, you have to manage your expectations; it's not like the tower is steps from the hotel. But, the thing I found interesting is that the part that's visible rises from the cornice line of some beautiful, old, ornate buildings on nearby blocks. I viewed the scene in this way: Not just the Eiffel Tower, but part of the beautiful rooflines of an elegant block in Paris. All of it together was very pretty and romantic. One other little caveat: The outdoor terrace for these rooms is very small. I'm 6' 4", and I did a fair amount of contorting and shimmying over and around the area to sit comfortably in a chair. That said, it's quite charming and pleasant to sit out looking at the Eiffel Tower. Again, you just have to manage your expectations a bit and not envision a sprawling terrace. The room itself was quite nice. It's a minor quibble but I questioned the artwork on the walls a little; it didn't seem to match the elegance of the room. But overall it was a very comfortable place. The biggest compliment I would give to the hotel is of its staff and service. They were uniformly excellent. They all seemed to really care about doing a good job and helping guests. I'll give one example: At one point my partner ordered a cappuccino from room service. I cringed a little, wondering if we would be waiting a half hour for something we could get in a minute at any cafe. In fact, someone delivered the drink in literally 4-5 minutes. They must have prepared it within the minute we ordered, which was very impressive. Our reservation came with breakfast, and we enjoyed it. The restaurant area is a pretty, comfortable area and the food selection was ample. The location of the hotel is quite good. We arrived by train at Gare du Nord and it's not walkable from the train station (we took an Uber), but once at the hotel we found the major sites to be within walking distance. The Champs Elysses and thus Arc de Triomphe are very close by, and we walked to the Louvre and Notre Dame twice. Those take a little time to walk to (about 15-20 minutes). In the other direction, we walked to a performance at the Crazy Horse, which is very close by, and continued on after the show to the Eiffel Tower, which is also about 15-20 minutes from the hotel. Overall, I would highly recommend the hotel. The location is very good and the staff is fantastic. The room was clean, comfortable, and quiet. As mentioned you might have to manage your expectations a bit since the Eiffel Tower views and outdoor terraces are not necessarily dazzling and expansive, but the experience is still very nice and memorable.

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