The Best Luxury Paris Hotel – Intercontinental Paris Le Grand vs. Hilton Paris Opera

Date: August 20, 2018 – August 22, 2018
Location: Paris, France
B.A. Livin’ Savings: $737 (based on cheapest available hotel rates, but during peak tourist season it could easily be double this!)

Paris, France is a popular tourist destination, and definitely not known for being a cheap place to visit. So how did we manage to spend two nights in luxury hotels that can cost upwards of 800 Euro a night? Travel rewards! And which hotel – the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand or the Hilton Paris Opera Hotel – came out on top? Continue reading below to find out…

For our year of travel, we have primarily been staying at Airbnbs as well as housesitting (i.e. watching people’s houses and pets while they are away on vacation). Our average housing budget is $40 a night for the entire year, equivalent to about $1200/month. However, while in Paris we stayed for one night at the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand Hotel using a reward night from the IHG credit card – a value of nearly 800 EUR per night! The following night we stayed at the Hilton Paris Opera hotel that we booked using points – a value of 850 EUR per night! Both of the hotels are classified as luxury hotels so we were looking forward to our stay. We’ll break down each of our nights and let you know which hotel we found to be the best between the two.

Intercontinental Paris Le Grand vs. Hilton Paris Opera Hotel

Intercontinental Paris Le Grand

We arrived at the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand at around 11:30 am with our large backpacks and our duffel bags. There was no line at the check-in counter. Our room was not ready yet, which we expected because of our early arrival. It wasn’t until we asked if we could leave our bags that someone came over and helped me take off my 45-pound backpack.

We were told that they would call us when our room was ready. We then set out to walk around Paris and check out some sights while we waited for our room.

We didn’t get a phone call, but we went back to the hotel around 2:30 pm – the posted check-in time online was 2:00 pm – and our room was ready.

When we entered, the room was 27C, about 81F. The decor of the room was pretty nice, but not unlike anything we had seen in the past at other hotels.

While the bathroom looked nice at first glance, with a tub and separate shower, the water pressure was HORRIBLE. The prior week, one Airbnb we stayed at had a small shower, and another one only had a shower wand that had to be held. I was really looking forward to a nice shower and being able to easily wash my hair – which we unfortunately did not get.

We tried to connect our computer to the flat screen TV with an HDMI cable but the TV would not switch sources. It was programmed to only allow the hotel’s video services to be accessed, even though there was an HDMI port available. Below is a picture from the nice lobby when we decided to head down for our free welcome drinks.

Meanwhile back in the room, with the AC constantly running, the temperature only got down to 26.5C (79.7F). It was cooler outside at night so we opened the window. There was no screen so then mosquitoes came in and we got bitten. Neither of us slept too well.

The bed was comfortable and the slippers were nice. There were also robes in our room, and we did get a nice box of chocolates left in our room that were tasty.

Overall, we were not impressed and disappointed by the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand and do not recommend staying there. We have stayed at other hotels in Europe that are far, far, cheaper and much nicer!

Hilton Paris Opera

The following day, we walked over and arrived at the Hilton Paris Opera at around noon. The lobby was very busy with people checking out and a line of five or so people to check in. As soon as we walked in, however, someone immediately came to help us take off our backpacks and said they would be delivered to the room.

Our room was not yet ready – online check-in is listed as 4:00 pm – so they said they would send us a text message when our room was ready. Similar to the Intercontinental, we never received a text message, but we went to Versailles for the day, so we were not waiting around for our room to be ready. Below is a picture of the Hilton Opera bar area.

The room looked much more modern than the Intercontinental, and when we walked, in the AC was on and clearly working as it was a comfortable temperature!

The bathroom was also nicer than the Intercontinental’s, and the shower did not disappoint. The towels were large and soft, much nicer than the towels at the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand. Brian also noticed that the shampoo and conditioner at the Hilton Paris Opera were better than those at the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand.

Last but not least, we were also able to connect our computer to the TV with an HDMI cord and watch Game of Thrones on the computer on the TV screen. Success!

The standard room we had at Hilton Paris Opera did not have bath robes or slippers.

We both slept great and enjoyed our stay.

Paris Luxury Hotel Showdown – The Verdict

If you are going to be spending upwards of 800 Euro per night for a stay in Paris, you would expect to at least have a hotel that meets minimum expectations of a comfortable hotel stay.

We both felt that the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand – although very nice in the lobby and excellent service – was not only not worth the money that they charge, but we don’t feel it even compares with many other hotels we have stayed at for under 100 Euro per night.

Both hotels are located in a similar location within Paris that gives good access to many of the popular tourist attractions and public transportation.

In the end, if you are looking for a luxury hotel in Paris, we absolutely recommend the Hilton Paris Opera over the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand.