Review: Paris Marriott Opera Ambassador Hotel – a brief look

This is our review of the Paris Marriott Opera Ambassador Hotel, generally known as ‘Hotel Ambassador’.

I had a one night stay here last week. As I was only awake in the hotel for around four hours I don’t feel that a full review would be appropriate but I saw enough to know that this is a solid choice, especially for Marriott Bonvoy elite members.

Regular HfP readers will know that I think Opera is the ideal place to stay in Paris if you are arriving by Eurostar, because it is a modest 20 minute stroll up/down the hill from Gare du Nord. You have the major department stores and Opera Garnier on your doorstep and most other key sites, except the Eiffel Tower, are easily walkable.

Despite having many stays in this area over the last 30 years I had never stayed in the Marriott. In fact, I couldn’t even remember walking past it. This is because, despite being on Boulevard Haussmann, it is on the ‘more offices, fewer shops’ part. This makes it marginally closer to the Eurostar terminal than, say, the InterContinental.

The hotel was built in 1927. It advertises its art deco style although to be honest the influence is very subtle. However, the hotel was fully refurbished in 2021 and the interiors are immaculate. The other key benefit for Marriott elites is the surprisingly large club lounge on the top floor, with views out towards Monmartre.

The hotel website is here if you want to find out more.

Rooms at Paris Marriott Opera Ambassador

Despite this being a cash stay – the hotel did not know I would be reviewing it – I still got to see two rooms. This is because my street-side room was not ready when I arrived and I was given what I think was a Superior room for a couple of hours.

The differences seem to be:

• the Superior room was smaller

• it overlooked the internal courtyard, not Boulevard Haussmann, and had no balcony (this is a double edged sword because Haussmann is attractive but a bit noisy)

• the Superior room had a stand alone shower but no bath whilst the Deluxe room had a bath with an attached shower but no separate shower

• the Superior room had the bed close to the room door (not separated by the bathroom as is usual) and would probably have suffered from corridor noise – although this is only a guess

Both rooms had identical beds, bedding and furniture. Even the Superior room had a Nespresso machine but, being France, no milk was provided for the coffee!

Here’s the bedroom of the Superior room (the wide angle shot makes it look bigger than it actually is):

…. and here’s the bathroom:

…. and here’s the courtyard view:

Here is what I think was a Deluxe room where I moved to later in the day:

…. and here’s the view over Haussmann:

The furniture is stylish and good quality. The duck egg blue paint is attractive. And yet …. I can’t deny that there was something dull about the rooms.

There is no art on the walls, no photos. Just large expanses of duck egg blue.

There ARE some lovely bits of design elsewhere, especially by the lifts and in the grand stairwell. Even the wide corridors look good:

Clearly a deliberate decision was taken to keep the rooms plain, but for me it felt like a missed opportunity.

The executive lounge

The lounge is open to anyone who has Platinum status or above in Marriott Bonvoy or who pays for an Executive Room or higher.

It is open from 6am to 11pm. Breakfast is available between 7am and 11am and ‘evening snacks’ from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Alcohol remains available until 8.30pm. Coffee, soft drinks and very light snacks are available at other hours.

I was VERY pleasantly surprised by the lounge, which on the top (8th) floor. The design team has done a good job of creating a classy space and the rooftop views are an extra bonus.

Here’s a people-less PR picture which is totally accurate, and this is only around 1/4 of the space:

The hotel seems to take in a lot of tour groups. It is likely that this reduces the percentage of guests who are elite Bonvoy members and may be why the lounge was pretty empty on both occasions I popped in.

(A downside of the tour groups is occasional overcrowding in the lobby as they check-in or check-out plus the presence of tour rep desks on the ground floor.)

The breakfast selection in the lounge was surprisingly decent although there are no cooked to order options. I wasn’t there in the evening so can’t comment on that.

I didn’t use the main restaurant, bar or lobby lounge. The lobby lounge and bar are impressive spaces – here’s a PR shot because it was full of tour group desks when I went in:

Conclusion

Despite my short stay, I was pleasantly surprised by Paris Marriott Opera Ambassador. It still feels fresh from the 2021 refurbishment, and I was particularly impressed by the decor on the ground floor, the executive lounge and the communal areas. The room decor could be livened up but the furnishings are high quality.

It would be easy for me to fall into the trap of saying ‘but it’s not as good as Kimpton St Honore Paris or InterContinental Le Grand‘. Those are both five star hotels which are 30% to 50% more expensive than the Marriott – and their standard rooms are smaller.

Paris Marriott Opera Ambassador is a solid four star hotel in great physical condition in a very convenient location, especially for Eurostar passengers. If you are a Bonvoy elite and can get free lounge access on top, it’s an added bonus.

Rooms, for a weekend stay in July, are around €400 per night. It is currently on the ‘Pointsavers’ list which means that redemptions are 20% cheaper than the algorithm would otherwise set them, although on dates I checked it still wasn’t a slam-dunk points deal.

You can find out more, and book, on this page of the Marriott website.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (June 2025)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 15th July 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is TRIPLED to 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This would convert into 25,000 Avios or into 40 other airline schemes. It would also get you at least £300 of Marriott hotel stays based on our 0.5p per point low-end valuation. Other T&C apply and remain unchanged. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed The Platinum Card from American Express in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• The American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• The American Express Business Gold Card (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• The American Express Business Platinum Card (50,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.