Sofitel Paris la Defense (Futur MGallery - April 2020) Hotel 5 stars

The night I checked into my room, I asked front desk to give me a different room, they said they can put me on a higher floor through the morning staff and it would cost me additional 50 euros. I was asked to pack off my stuff in the morning and leave it ready to me moved, so I did and spoke to the morning staff before leaving for work. I also asked them to pick up my laundry which was packed ready in my room for same day delivery. I came back in the evening only to find out neither my room was changed nor laundry picked up - the advise they gave me was the morning and night staff didn't know that all the rooms were booked - well then why ask me to pack all my stuff and why not pick up my laundry? They took the feedback on the laundry onboard and someone came up with me to collect it straight away and they also returned it the same night but it came back in hangers when I had specified in the form for my clothes to be folded as I was travelling the next day. When I reported that, they sent someone who came over and simply folded the shits without the cardboard etc - well I could have done that myself - its not the laundry service I was expecting to get for 140 euros!!!

I understand you are in reconstruction, but you should be ready not to make it even worse. Room I received was freezing cold and instead of fast switch to new warm room I witneseed 30 min excersie with thermo meeter and than tour through hotel to find warm room. So pour service I would expect i 3 star hotel. I feel angry even now. Sofitel brand is for mě hevely devastated.

The hotel is under reconstruction, but this is not reason for the rating. Room was freezing and insted of fast resolution and changing the room, I was forced to witness 30 minutes of measurement of temperature and than touring through to find warm room....

Comfortable stay for business

It was very nice

Good check-in, good room. Frustrating that the I was not informed (even at check-in) that the restaurant wasn't and some other areas were being refurbed. I had the need to use the business area (but that was not available) and not public spaces to meet colleagues and clients. Not a problem with the hotel in general, but this stay was frustrating!

Ok, but I would expect lost property to be returned

Excellent

Whilst the room was nice, there were some missing touches to qualify as a 5 star hotel. The toiletries provided were very basic and the paint in the bathroom was cracking. The breakfast buffet was also quite basic, not great value for money in my opinion.

The hotel is being refurbished so the public areas are poor. The room was nicely furnished, though a bit small (for the price/grade of hotel) and it's a bit odd having the bed head up against the window. Very nice bed though.

I was surprised to learn upon my arrival that the Sofitel is undertaking major renovations (bar-restaurant etc). Also we were given a room on the 8th floor which seemed to be the renovated rooms. We can discuss about the taste of individuals, but I was surprised to see how these new rooms were decorated. I liked much more the older rooms that these new ones which look like the "cage aux folles". As said, taste is personnel, but there are 2 things which disturbed me in newly renovated rooms. The door was super-difficult to open (not good craftsmanship done) and the bathroom had no separate shower but only a bath tub which was pretty steep to get into it. In 2019, where population is more and more aging in mature markets and where water consumption is key, I would have expected a flat entry shower in a renovated room. Otherwise the beds of Sofitel remain the bests in the world, the personnel is friendly and the breakfast remains always a pleasant experience.

The hotel has a great ambience, the most comfortable bed & the staff are really helpful. It is all well located for business meetings in the city center.

Hi - I was disappointed by the fact I was not advised in advance that there were building works - I do feel the hotel looks and feels a little dated but having said that my room was comfortable and had all I needed

My wife and I were travelling through Paris for a night with our baby. A first visit to Paris and travelling with a baby which can restrict movement we wanted a comfortable hotel with direct access to the sites. The search was entered into lastminute.com for a five-star hotel in Paris. At the top of the list was a Secret Hotel offer for a five-star hotel which had ‘direct access to the Champs-Elysees’. This appeared to be exactly what we were looking for. On completion of payment we were instructed that the hotel was a Sofitel which would enjoy a Metro trip, or a 20-minute drive to the Champs-Elysees. This appeared to be neither five-star nor with direct access to Champs-Elysees. We contacted lastminute.com explaining the marketing was misleading emphasising the fact that we were travelling with a baby and this hotel was far from desirable. Making the booking on a Saturday meant that we had to wait for the booking office at Sofitel to open on the Tuesday. On Thursday evening we were told that Lastminute.com would uphold their no cancellation policy and offered Sofitel the opportunity to refund. Sofitel did not have the desire to do so. Forced into staying at the Sofitel the room smelled of smoke upon arrival. When booking on lastminute.com they had requested the age of the ‘child’. Entering that the baby was less than a one-year old we were surprised to see a full single bed instead of a cot. I cannot imagine how big they expect a one-year old baby to be. Further, the was no bath nor facilities to bathe the baby. They kindly exchanged our room and upgraded. The upgraded room appeared as if a cat had vomited art-deco all over the walls. In parts the walls were dark wooden panels met by yellow silk wallpaper and then bright red padded tubular shaping mixed in with conspicuous mirrors, leopard print carpets and bright tiling. Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen would have had a field day. The Sofitel was no more than a Holiday Inn and I find it insulting to other hotels and guests that lastminute.com claim this to be five-star. Further, if they consider this to have direct access to the Champs-Elysees then they should also market the hotel as having direct access to the Alps and Champagne region as they are also just train trip away. Inevitably our baby was overwhelmed on the Champs-Elysees. If we had direct access to our hotel we could have calmed her at the hotel and used those facilities before returning and enjoying Paris. Instead we enjoyed a stressful 30-minute trip bad to the hotel in which the driver became lost as the “La Défense district is very difficult to navigate” as we were told through the whaling screams of a baby in her car seat. Secret Hotel may work incredibly well for those who can be flexible and I understand the principle. However, when travelling with specific aspirations as to what you would like or need then do not select Secret Hotels. They produce misleading marketing and are very unforgiving and unapologetic enabling a difficult stay with a minimal discount, if any. A desire to finish on a positive it should be noted that if you can gat past all of the above then the bed is comfortable.

As stated above the only issue I had was the room was very hot and that made sleeping more difficulty. I also visited in August when the weather was very warm and I couldn't cool the room down sufficiently then either. I thought I would not have this problem visiting in November but it was still an issue.