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In July 2015, I spent seven nights at the luxurious Paris Marriott Champs-Élysées Hotel in Paris, France. The hotel is located on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, which runs from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde. It is a very exclusive property and claims to be the only 5-star accommodation on the avenue. Guests include wealthy vacationers and business travelers.
The hotel is well placed in the city, with the Arc de Triomphe within sight and numerous attractions within walking distance. The Eiffel Tower is just over one mile away. The Musee d’Orsay, Tuileries Garden, Musee de l’Orangerie, Opera Garnier and the Louvre are all within 1.5 miles of the hotel.
The Paris Marriott Champs-Élysées is a luxury hotel and it is priced accordingly. I utilized points from Marriott’s rewards program to pay for my 7-night stay. At the time of booking, nightly rates for the hotel were €899 per night. This rate was somewhat inflated due to it being the summer season. My stay also overlapped the final stage of the 2015 Tour de France. A sample search for March 2016 yielded nightly rates of €399 at the time of posting. Consult the hotel website for more information on prices for specific dates.
Location
The Champs-Élysées is the tourist avenue of Paris. While the Montmartre area might be the city as depicted in the movies, the area surrounding the hotel is the quintessential modern Paris. The hotel sits in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe, a tribute to the soldiers who fought in the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. The avenue on which it sits is lined with the most expensive shops and delicious restaurants. A short walk from the boulevard will take you to amazing museums of art, the Eiffel Tower, or the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Multiple city bus routes stop directly in front of the hotel. Almost all city buses in Paris are wheelchair accessible with electronic ramps at the center doors. Curb cuts are present at area intersections and the sidewalks are well maintained.
Room Accessibility
My reservation was for a standard room with a roll-in shower. Check-in went smoothly. I was hoping to receive an upgraded room with a view of the Champs-Élysées, but ended up with a courtyard view instead.
I booked the room about one month in advance by calling Marriott’s Americans with Disabilities Act reservations line. I requested a room with a roll-in shower. It was confirmed and everything was set up. When I checked-in, I was given a very spacious room with all of the necessary accessibility features.
The King size bed was very comfortable, though it sat fairly high. There was space on both sides of the bed to maneuver my wheelchair. Power ports were also available on both sides, but behind the nightstand tables. I chose to plug my wheelchair into the power transformer the hotel had loaned to me. The transformer had been set-up on the desk, but my off-board charging cord easily stretched over to my wheelchair at night. If you plan to charge a powered wheelchair or scooter while in France, read this important article on voltage and power conversion.
The space in this particular wheelchair accessible room, #414, was a blessing and a surprise. The room’s features included two chairs and an ottoman, a fully stocked mini-bar, safe and big screen television. The room’s free space was especially nice for the ease of movement it allowed for my wheelchair.
The bathroom sink was well designed and allowed my power wheelchair to roll beneath it, unobstructed. There was an attached lever that allowed me to raise/lower the sink to my comfort. This was a great feature! Wash cloths and soap were within reach, as were two complimentary bottles of Evian still water. The soap and bottled water was replenished daily.
The room’s roll-in shower was sufficient in size, well placed and functional. The fold-down shower chair was of typical size, though fairly low to the ground. A grab bar was located on the wall, to the left of the chair (when in the seated position). The handheld, corded shower head is located on the same wall as the grab bar, along with the water controls. For my purposes, the room was efficient and did the job.
The bathroom was also outfitted with a wheelchair accessible toilet. A grab bar was affixed to the wall, to the right of the toilet (from the seated perspective). There was space to roll next to the toilet to allow an easy transfer. In the picture here, a small trash can was located next to the toilet. This was easy enough to move to make way for my wheelchair.
Throughout the bathroom were numerous towel racks, all at a level easily accessible from a wheelchair. My request for extra towels was honored throughout the stay – this was also very nice.toilet is a standard toilet, but has space for a wheelchair next to it. A grab bar is available on the wall to the right of the toilet. Another grab bar to the toilet’s left can be folded down from the wall.
Restaurants and Experience
The hotel has a restaurant that serves breakfast in the morning on the lobby floor. Buffet or a la carte options are available. Food is also available throughout the day from the lobby bar. The prices are fairly reasonable for a 5-star hotel. If you’d prefer to eat outdoors, there is a patio bar open on the weekends and a hotel restaurant on the sidewalk of the Champs-Élysées. Shisha or Hookah is available and may be smoked at the outdoor restaurant.
The Lobby Bar is frequented by hotel guests. During my stay, it seemed to be a very elite crowd. I enjoyed a few nice conversations, but most people kept to themselves. There was even a princess from the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar in the lobby one evening. Live music and artistic performances took place in the lobby. It was exactly what you might expect in a 5-star Parisian hotel.
Bottom line
My stay was really quite exceptional. The hotel’s staff were very friendly and the accessible features of my room were exactly as described. Service in the hotel’s restaurants was more than adequate. The atmosphere of the hotel was relaxing and professional. Its central location on the Champs-Elysées served me well on my weeklong visit to the City of Lights.
I would very much love to return to the hotel, but the cost is prohibitive. Once I’ve saved up enough rewards points to return, I certainly hope to! 🙂
