We recently had the pleasure of staying in Toulouse, a city dubbed La Ville Rose (The Pink City) in Southwestern France. The name, La Ville Rose suggests a place of beauty and we can honestly say, it is one of the prettiest cities we’ve ever visited! Home to two Unesco Heritage Sites, Old Town Toulouse (the center) offers access to both; and a whole myriad of other attractions. Also, Old Town has so many terrific photo ops. It is loaded with the lovely pink-hued buildings Toulouse is renowned for.
There are lot’s of hotels in the city center, Toulouse has hundreds to choose from. We always look to book a hotel that offers the best value for our money. There are certain things that help us zero in on the best choice. They include a convenient location; somewhere that makes it easy to walk to most of the things we want to see and do. We also insist on a hot breakfast (offered at a great price or free), and most the important thing, lots of glowing customer reviews. The BEST WESTERN Hôtel Athénée is a top rated hotel in Toulouse. They offer guests all of the value added amenities and service accolades we love. But, they have a few other things we’ve never seen or experienced during a hotel stay.
Here’s what set’s them apart from other hotels; 4 great reasons to stay with the BEST WESTERN Hôtel Athénée in Toulouse!
1. Comfort and quality are priority
We stayed in a Comfort Style room. Special steps are taken to make guests feel at home in these rooms. The beds are very comfortable and the bedding is luxurious. There are even cozy robes and slippers! Rooms are well soundproofed and the unlimited Wi-Fi is free. They even offer a nice incentive to go green during your stay. If you’re staying two nights or more , you can hang a sign on your door at night to let staff know you decline housekeeping service. Doing so entitles you to a glass of glass of Champagne free at the bar! Such a classy reward.
Breakfast can be purchased when you book your room. It is at an additional cost but it’s reasonable (10€). There is a mix of hot and cold items; cereals, fresh pastries, toast, fruit, eggs, sausage, and even more. The staff is willing to make something to order as well.
The hotel is in the process of renovating and updating rooms. We would have never known (if we hadn’t seen the nice improvements of course), the room was quiet and it was business as usual during our stay. When we asked about the updates the staff were excited to share the hotel’s plans.
Rooms will have a more modern look, still with a nice choice of amenities, but an overall sleek updated look. The staff was able to give feedback on what improvements were needed. Makes sense, as they have the most contact with the guests. It was nice to see a company understanding the importance of all of their team members.
2. Happy Time every evening
Every evening from 6-8pm the BEST WESTERN Hôtel Athénée offers guests Happy Time. Appetizers and a selection of regional wines for guests to enjoy free. This isn’t “one serving and done”, the food is topped up and the wine continues to flow like your visiting a friends place! Guests sit and relax in the lounge area adjacent to the lobby enjoying food, drink, and lovely music. We met some great people at Happy Time both nights we stayed at Hôtel Athénée.
3. The HappyCulture Collection
The BEST WESTERN Hôtel Athénée is part of the HappyCulture Collection, a group of hotels throughout France. At HappyCulture they believe a hotel should offer guests more than just a comfortable bed, a lot more. They want their hotels to be a point of reference for visitors, a kind of retreat for all of their guests across the brand. All HappyCulture Collection Hotels, like the BEST WESTERN Hôtel Athénée in Toulouse, offers some pretty great benefits:
- Free unlimited Wi-Fi
- Free refreshments and snacks in the lobby
- Free happy hour from 6-8pm. Each Happy Time (happy hour) consists of regional specialties. Each hotel’s offerings are different.
- Free docking stations to charge devices in the lobby
Each of their hotels will store shopping bags, offer a comfortable work space, or allow access to any other of the aforementioned amenities to guests of any of their hotels. This is a great benefit in cities like Paris that have numerous locations. Guests can search out nearby hotels in the collection with their app and pop into any one of them anytime. A key card from any of their hotels is all that’s needed to make yourself at home.
4. Management understands “happy staff “means “happy service”
Warm and genuinely welcoming is how every member of Hôtel Athénée was during our stay. HappyCulture focuses on making the customer experience fun but also unique by location. They rely on their team’s personal talents to achieve this. We learned from one team member that staff feedback and input is encouraged throughout the company. This makes team members feel valued. Everyone we encountered was thoughtful and professional as though they had a stake in the success of the hotel. We were blown away by the warm, friendly atmosphere that exists at the Hôtel Athénée. It truly has a Happy Culture.
We feel The BEST WESTERN Hôtel Athénée offers incredible value for money. It’s a four-star hotel, with a boutique look and warm bed and breakfast feel. Happy Time and the warm friendly service enriched our trip to Toulouse.
What’s important to you, aside from price, when booking a hotel? Did our experience with The BEST WESTERN Hôtel Athénée and the HappyCulture Collection make you re-evaluate your expectations for a great hotel stay?
Disclaimer: We’d like to say a very heartfelt thank you to The BEST WESTERN Hôtel Athénée for kindly hosting our stay. We were truly impressed with the value they offer their guests. All of the opinions expressed in this article are genuine and our own true feelings.
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