At the tail end of a whirlwind trip to Europe, I spent a night at Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel. My last visit to Paris was in 2005, so I was delighted to be back in the City of Light on an extended layover.
The hotel is ideally situated in the heart of Paris, which allowed me to accomplish everything I wished to do. This would also serve as my first stay at a Tribute Portfolio hotel, so I was curious to see what the brand has to offer.
Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel – Booking
I was fortunate to find an advantageous travel agent rate, but also considered other booking options in the lead-up to my stay.
Regular cash rates for Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel tend to fall between €350–400 ($480–552 CAD) in the low season, and between €450–550 ($621–759) during busier times.By looking far in advance, you should be able to book a night at the lower end of the range, even during the summer months.
Using Marriott Bonvoy points, the pricing falls consistently between 50,000–70,000 points per night, with some variation at the higher range during peak periods.
For most nights, you won’t be able to use a topped-up 35,000-point Free Night Award from a Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card or Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card; however, if you have a higher-value Free Night Award from a US-issued credit card, you could consider using it at Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel.
Based on our current valuation of 0.9 cents per point, you’d likely wind up with mediocre value on a Bonvoy points redemption.
If you plan on booking a cash rate, note that this property participates in Marriott Luminous, which offers additional benefits, such as free breakfast and room upgrades (subject to availability), at no extra cost.
Book a hotel stay with Prince of Travel through Marriott Luminous and enjoy exclusive additional benefits at no cost to you, including:
Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel – Location
In terms of location, it doesn’t get much better than this in Paris. As the name would suggest, Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel is just blocks away from the Eiffel Tower, located in the 16th arrondissement.
Just a short walk away from Le Metropolitan, you’ll find yourself crossing the River Seine to arrive at the base of the city’s most iconic landmark. Along the way, you’ll pass by the Trocadero Gardens, home to Palais de Chaillot, the Musée national de la Marine de Paris, and two other museums.
A 25-minute walk will bring you to L’Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile, which can also be reached by metro.
Head a few minutes to the wast, and you’ll arrive at the vast Bois de Boulogne, where you can get some peace and quiet away from the city’s bustling streets.
Should shopping be in your plans, Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel is just steps away from Champs-Elysées and Avenue Montaigne.
The closest metro station is Trocadero, just five minutes by foot, which connects you to the rest of the city.
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport can be accessed by metro in around 90 minutes, or in around half an hour by car, depending on traffic. Paris Orly Airport takes less than an hour by transit, or around 30 minutes by car.
Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel – Check-in
I arrived at the hotel in the mid-afternoon after a pair of flights to Charles de Gaulle with Austrian Airways from Budapest. Accessing the hotel by transit was easy, and involved just a single connection.
As I wheeled my suitcase along Avenue d’Eylau up from the metro station, the wedge-shaped building came into sight, and I immediately knew that I was back in the heart of Paris.
After heaving on the brass handle to open the oversized glass door, I arrived in a small, luxurious lobby that exuded elegance and charm. A couch and plush armchairs, as well as a number of statues, are featured in the first rooms, while a longer table with wide pairs of chairs and circular black tables lead up to a grand fireplace in the back.
There was no line-up when I arrived, and I was promptly welcomed by the hotel’s staff. The check-in process was smooth, efficient, and brief, which is my preference.
After going over the hotel’s amenities and acknowledging my Platinum Elite status, the check-in staff member mentioned that my room was one of the few in the hotel with an outdoor balcony and an Eiffel Tower view. Having booked a base-level room, and being disappointed that my feeble attempts at “suite-talking” went unnoticed, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I’d at least managed some sort of upgrade.
While I would have much preferred one of the top-level suites, for a short stay in the city, I was happy that I’d at least enjoy a balcony with a view.
I bypassed the elevator in favour of a spiral staircase, and headed up to Room 215 on the second floor of the hotel.
Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel – Deluxe King Room
As I opened the door, I was once again reminded that I was in the heart of Paris. Indeed, at only 24 square meters, space is at a premium in this part of the city.
With the exception of the bathroom, the entirety of the room is visible upon opening the door. The king bed takes up most of the room, save for a bit of space to navigate to the wardrobe, desk, and side tables.
At the foot of the bed is a desk and a flat-screen TV. There is a small bench at the desk, which I didn’t find to be very comfortable to sit on for any extended period of time.
When I arrived, there was a typed welcome note from the hotel, as well as four delicious macarons. On the other side of the desk was the coffee maker.
Next to the desk is a tall wooden door, which opens up to the bathroom. Inside, I found an elegant space, adorned with Capri marble and Zimbabwean granite.
Next to the sink and in the bathtub were Sothys amenities. At first glance, I thought that the bathtub was without a shower; however, on closer inspection during a bath, I found that the jet black shower head was camouflaged in the ceiling.
From the bathroom, and also from the bedroom, the flowing white curtains can be drawn to the side to reveal a door handle. Opening this leads to the room’s two balconies, which required a step over the windowsill to access.
Heading outside, I was greeted by classic Parisian balconies above the street, as well as a direct view of the Eiffel Tower.
Despite being quite a small room, the dual balconies with great views were a redeeming feature. After returning from an evening walk, during which I was oddly accused of stealing, I ventured back out onto the balcony to enjoy a beer while watching the dazzling light show happening just down the street.
Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel – Breakfast
After a morning run around Champ de Mars, I arrived back at the hotel to check out the breakfast offering. Breakfast is served at La Galerie, which is located just past the elevator on the main floor.
There is additional seating around to the back of the area, which makes for a nice space to enjoy a quiet drink.
My original intention was to scarf something down at the hotel and then head out to a pâtisserie before making my way to the airport. I was delighted to find that everything that I wanted to enjoy during a morning in Paris was served at the hotel.
Breakfast was included as part of my Platinum benefits, and featured a set menu. It came with a trio of baked goods, including pain au chocolats, croissants, and fresh bread, juice, yogurt, a cappuccino adorned with the hotel’s logo, and various spreads.
The butter served with breakfast, as a friend later pointed out, is Beurre d’Isigny. I was interested to learn that it has a Protected Denomination of Origin designation, and is made exclusively from milks of Isigny origin.
Even in the absence of hot breakfast buffet, I was pleased with the offering at Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel. Should you left wanting for a more substantial breakfast, there are plenty of cafés in the area for a quick top-up.
Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel – Other Facilities
Without an abundance of space available at the hotel, there aren’t too many other facilities for guests.
In the basement of the hotel, there’s a small pool, which reminded me of the pool at Montcalm East London in some regards. Next to the pool are a few comfortable lounge chairs, as well as a massage table at the end.
At the other end of the pool, you’ll find a spacious Turkish hammam, which was perfect for warming up after a rainy day or as a great way to start the day.
Since my visit, it appears that the hotel’s restaurant has been rebranded as Hokusai, which offers Japanese fusion cuisine.
Conclusion
For a quick stay in the heart of Paris, I enjoyed my stay at Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel. One of the main criticisms of other reviews is that the rooms are quite small, but I didn’t find that the room size hindered my experience as a solo traveller.
If anything, being in a small room comes with the territory when staying in the centre of Paris. The room’s bathroom was also compact, but well appointed, and the views from the balcony were second to none.
When I next return to Paris, I’ll likely check out a different hotel, but I’d definitely consider coming back to Le Metropolitan, Paris Tour Eiffel, due to its great location.
As an update to my previous post, we are currently at the hotel. This is the first time we have stayed in winter and I would not recommend staying here at that time of year. The hotel is very modern on the inside, but these old Parisian buildings have little insulation plus the energy crisis has forced them (and possibly other hotels) to set their heating system to a maximum of 19 degrees. We were upgraded to one of their top suites, but with 6 large windows in a drafty building with restricted heat, it has not been a pleasant two days.
This is our “go-to” hotel in Paris, having first visited almost 20 years ago. We were there in September and are booked for two nights in December at the end of a two week trip to Switzerland and France. Staff was friendly and dedicated to helping make our stay enjoyable. The manager even sat down with me for a brief chat in the lounge. Like T.J., our advance request to leverage my Platinum status and Suite Night awards was denied, but when we arrived, we got the upgrade into one of the few rooms that has the dramatic view of the Eiffel Tower shown in this blog post. On checkout I mentioned that we would be back in December and the receptionist went into the computer and reserved one of the highly sought after rooms with a tower view. Looking forward to our return in three weeks.