Good evening everyone, greetings from Nice, France (Nice is pronounced “niece”). I always seem to be a day late and a city behind in my trip reporting. Before reviewing the Radisson Blu Nice and my day trip to Monaco, I want to share my thoughts on my recent 2 night stay at the Hotel Indigo Paris. I used 2 anniversary night certificates from my Chase IHG Credit Card to book the stay. In essence, I “paid” $49 for each night since that is what the annual fee is for the Chase IHG Credit Card.
Getting from CDG Airport to Paris is easy. For €10 per person, you can go from CDG Airport to Châtelet Les Halles station (I have no idea how to properly pronounce this station) on the RER B (blue line) and connect to Opéra/Auber on the RER A (red line). From Opéra/Auber station, the hotel is a short 5 minute walk. Just make sure you know which street to turn on to so you don’t wheel your suitcase around Paris aimlessly like I did.
Getting around Paris can be kind of tricky since there are 2 overlapping train networks (RER and Metro) that share most of the stations. When in doubt, ask the information booth for assistance and they will be happy to help.
At check-in, we were given room 407 on the 4th floor. When we entered the room, there was a small closet and safe on the left side of the door and a toilet in a small room to the right. Unfortunately, the sink was located around the corner in the bathroom. I always find it strange that the toilet and sink are separated, it just makes going to the restroom just a little bit more time consuming and complicated.
After I walked into the room, there was a small table, comfy arm chair and wide couch near one of the large windows. The windows opened completely and had a small balcony about a foot wide. It was very cold in Paris (around 30 degrees), so I didn’t spend any time on the balcony.
The bed was very comfortable and had outlets and light switches on both sides. The windows overlooked the small street with offices on the other side of the street.
The bathroom had a towel warmer (which I accidentally touched twice as I was getting ready in the morning). The shower had an overhead shower head and a handheld shower head. The only shelf in the shower was tilted slight down so the bar of soap and shampoo bottle almost slid off a few times. There were 2 large robes available next to the shower.
I was surprised that breakfast was not included with my rate since I have become accustomed to my free breakfast at domestic Holiday Inn Express properties. Anyway, there are several cafes around the hotel that provide delicious pastries, crepes, coffee, tea, juice and much more.
Would I stay at this hotel next time I am in Paris?
That’s a tough question. The hotel is normally 50,000 IHG Points per night or €300+ per night. There are a few other IHG properties in Paris along with a hundred other chain hotels available on points. Since there was no fantastic view from the room and toilet/bathroom was kind of strange, I would probably stay at another hotel the next time I visit Paris.
My travel companion, Rhianna, recently shared her thoughts of fashion tips for Paris.
If you have any questions about Paris or the Hotel Indigo Paris, please leave a comment below. Have a great weekend everyone!
Nice review! I’m going on a similar trip at the end of the year. Can’t wait for your next post
Awesome, where are you heading to?
Did you have the expiration date extended on one of the nights?
No extension, just booked the first free night and then waited several months until the next free night cert to get posted.
Did Buckingham Palace move?
No…
is there a Buckingham Palace in Paris? :D Did you mean Opera? And why did you choose Indigo over IC?
Haha I fixed that typo ;)
I liked the Vendome area (I stayed at the Park Hyatt Vendome last time) and never stayed at a Hotel Indigo before.
Vendome area is the best! Have they fixed the obelisk yet? I stayed at both PH and IC.
Looks like it was still under construction. They are very slow :/
If this hotel is now 50k there is NO reason in the world to pick it over the IC next door which is an exceptional property.
Not sure why getting free brekky at US HIX hotels would make you think Indigo hotels had it?
I noticed the IC on the map around the corner. I thought the hotel would be more “Andaz-like”, but it was not even close. I have never stayed at an IC hotel yet. Someday…
Sorry, still confused. Were you able to book a room beyond the expiration date? Or do you personally have two cards? My anniversary certificates do not overlap. Thanks!
I have 1 Chase IHG Credit Card and did not have to do anything to the certificates.
Sounds like fun. We visited Paris before the attacks and took the RoissyBus from the airport for 11 euro and it drops you off right by the Opera station which is the only stop. Easy walk to Hyatt Vendome from there but you do need to know what street to turn down.
Haha, yes, there are about 6-8 steers that lead to the Opera. Chose wisely :)
Grant, Indigo properties are NOT HIX Hotels, hence no free breakfast.
With respect to the sink not with the toilet, that is a space saver.
Finally, I doubt that you will find a better IHG placed property for 50,000 points in Paris, excepting the Intercontinental properties.
However, with the latter, being anything less than an Ambassador will get you a much smaller room than you had received, not to mention a newly renovated one as the Indigo is.
Excellent use of points or IHG free night certificate for non-Ambassador members.
Thank you for the explanation, you make some very good points. The Vendome location is great.
My wife and I stayed at this hotel last February and found it to be very nice. There is a some shopping and restaurants in the area, including a small grocery. The hotel is quiet and we had a nice (although not awesome view) from the room we had. We also took the Roissy Bus which works well. Breakfast isn’t included of course at Indigo. The one warning I would give about this hotel is that the restaurant seems very overpriced (as in overpriced for Paris overpriced) and not all that good I didn’t think. The hotel is very well located and we walked to most of the sights in Paris from this hotel.
I would definitely agree with everything you said. I didn’t bother with the hotel restaurant, but I did redeem my free drink coupon for a beer at the bar.
Good review! Expect more…
Thanks John. I have to write about Radisson Blu Nice and I just checked into the Hilton Munich City.
Hi there,
I already have one IHG card, can I apply for another one- get the bonus as well?
aron
I don’t think so. If you have a travel companion (spouse or relative), they can get the card and you can book 2 nights back to back.
Question about the IHG Card. Is the free night certificate given on ur aniversary date or is it by calendar year?
The IHG Free Night Certificate is given on your credit card member anniversary. If you apply and are approved for the credit card on March 1, you will get your IHG Free Night Certificate every year on/around March 1.
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Doesn’t look bad for an Indigo to be honest! While I’m a huge fan of W and Andaz properties, I find Indigo to be a real joke. I’ve stayed at the Indigo Berlin Ku’damm (here’s the review: http://traveluxblog.com/2015/12/28/hotel-review-indigo-berlin-kudamm/) not long ago and found the room to be exceptionally small, especially for a city like Berlin. You definitely better pick the IC next time anyway as IC is always one or two levels above Indigo!
Haha, I won’t make that mistake again, Intercontinental is much better than Hotel Indigo.