I just came back from a vacation in Europe with my wife. 3 nights in Paris and 11 days in Tuscany. My wife had been wishing for this trip for a few years and we were finally able to do it. While I am very happy just travelling in Canada (you see my wife was born here and I wasn't so we see Canada very differently - I haven't had enough of it), I do love Paris and Italy...and so we went. It was a fantastic Holiday and one of the highlights was staying at the InterContinental Le Grand Paris hotel, a historical property across from the Paris Opera. I have been a guest at many IHG hotels - Holiday Inns, Crowne Plazas, InterContinentals and Indigos. Way before I started working in digital marketing - before the Internet - when I was a kid, my family used to stay at Holiday Inns or Crowne Plazas when we vacationed in Mexico. Later on, when I moved to Canada and used to travel to Mexico City on business I always stayed at the Presidente InterContinental. I like the IHGs because I always know what I'm going to get and, for the most part, they deliver the brand promise.
Depending on my budget, whenever I go to a new city I look for a Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express or InterContinental (and sometimes a Crowne Plaza or an Indigo). And since I joined their Priority Club loyalty program years ago, I tend to accumulate many points over time - which are an added bonus (points nights). In Canada I will also consider Delta Hotels (which I have come to know since I came to Canada and they have been clients on my websites for a few years). And so, when we planned our trip to Italy, I wanted to stop in Paris for a few days and I looked for an IHG property. The Paris Le Grand stood out because of it's pedigree and its location. Also, the IHG website does a very good job of introducing the hotel to potential guests.
The InterContinental Le Grand Paris did not disappoint. The building alone is worth a visit, even if you don't stay there. Have a cafe au lait or dinner at the also historical Café de la Paix. Both the Le Grand and the Café are older than Canada, having been opened to the public in 1862, but age has only enhanced their beauty. We had a fantastic room with a balcony overlooking the Paris Opera House. The bed was fantastic, the decor elegant and the view spectacular.
I don't have a picture of the Grand Ballroom at the hotel, but it is a remarkable space. Isabelle Bouvier - sales manager - showed it to me. The space is perfect for a Canadian Tourism function. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the space, but you'll have to take my word for it, it's fantastic.
And then there's the Café de la Paix right at the hotel. Exquisite decor and delicious food. For lunch or dinner and some good people watching. The Café's guest book is a treasure of notes and doodles by great artists, musicians, designers and the like (from Salvador Dali to Jean Paul Gauthier, to Jerry Lewis to Liza Minelli to Charles Aznavour and more).
The Paris Le Grand, like other InterContinentals caters to the international business crowd (the executive lounge is a very inviting space - on the 5th floor - with plenty of space to have a meeting over coffee or spend some quiet time reviewing documents or reading the paper - but Le Grand is also perfect for the high end leisure traveler. If you ever want to treat yourself when in Paris, stay a couple of nights at this architectural work of art.
A bientôt,
Jaime
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