Trouble with contacting Hotel Luxembourg in Paris directly
 

Can anyone tell me how to contact Hotel Luxembourg in Paris directly? I have sent two email messages to them using their contact information on their site and I have not received a response. I am trying to make reservations for our trip next spring and I'd rather deal with them directly instead of the using other hotel booking options.

Thank you

There are these things called telephones . . .

Got it, but I'm trying not to make an Internaltional phone call!

thanks for the helpful sarcasm

Really Janisj? That's how you have to reply to a brand new poster? Can't you simply say, sometimes calling directly is better? It can be intimidating to call a foreign establishment if you don't speak the language. But bsmalls, just start by asking if they speak English. Thay most likely do since they are in the business of deling with tourists.

Thanks Belinda,

I would be calling from the US and I've never called using international phone numbers. I was concerned about the cost and actually making the connection. I will check with my carrier.

Which hotel are you talking about? Several have Luxembourgn in their name but I don't know one just with that only.

Some hotels aren't very good about answering emails, you never can tell.

If it is Luxembourg Parc, you could try Social Media, they have Facebook acct and you can message them but I suspect if they don't answer email they won't respond to that, either.

If you just aren't comfortable calling, you could FAX if you have access to one at work, at least that's printed out in front of them.

Did you use their online booking system and not get a response to your dates or are you trying to book something very specific? (Their system does describe the rooms well, even if you have to use translate.google for some of the details.)

Or did you just email the hotel your reservation request?

Try sending a FAX. I've found some hotels often respond better to FAXes.

If that doesn't work, I'd consider whether a hotel that doesn't respond is where I want to stay. But if I was sure this was the hotel for me, I'd telephone. The cost and effort of the call to get confirmation and peace of mind would be worth it. To me.

Then again, I've had no problems making reservations on www.booking.com or using a hotel's online booking system and haven't felt the necessity to contact a hotel directly in a few years.

If you won't use a phone, just make your reservation with a site : booking.com or hotels.com for example.

At least you won't pass for a fool on a forum.

Ah, I see now you don't want to use booking sites... But then sorry, but newcomer or not, if you put too many constraints, don't expect someone to work magic for you : you refuse to use booking sites and refuse to call...

Btw, faxes don't really exist anymore - better use snail mail then.

And lastly : how many days have passed since you wrote ?
Because in case you hadn't noticed, not everybody reads english in France.
So it is not uncommon to let emails unread until one person more versed into english will come and answer them. In batch mode.

>>thanks for the helpful sarcasm<<

It wasn't sarcasm -- it was trying to be helpful.

Many if not most French hotels don't place the same 'urgency' on e-mail that many American do. And especially for a visit months in advance. It is very easy to phone -- easier than faffing about waiting for a non-existant e-mail.

Why are you trying to not make an international phone call - they aren't expensive (unless you have a very bad phone plan).

the thread didn't top -- ttt

'It wasn't sarcasm -- it was trying to be helpful.'

However I am being sarcastic.
And it is nothing compared to how French will treat you if you behave like you are. Don't rebuff somebody who tries to help you, parce que soudainement, ils se rendront compte qu'en fait ils ne parlent pas l'anglais.

If the cost of international calling intimidates you, you could use one of the VOIP services like Skype. I use my computer to call my Son in Belgium frequently and it costs only pennies for a call. For example to call his land line it is 2.5 cents/minute, and to call his mobile is 10 cents a minute. All you need do is sign up for a Skype account and put a minimal deposit in that account. Video calls between computers are completely free of charge, of course.

I needed to ring a hotel in Paris the other day... Problems with a booking..normally I wouldn't pick up the phone however I put on my big girls pants and did it. And you know what? Worked a treat.. Now a days international calls are super cheap especially from a landline if you still have one.

(Mind you I say this but I haven't seen the bill yet!!)

Good to see you back Nuke, you posted more in a few days than the last few months..
Don't make yourself scarce !

Life happens, WoinParis.

Also, our last trip was to Estonia and Prague, so we missed Paris this year. Something, however, keeps me dipping my toes back into the Paris thread just to see what is happening, and to see which of my neat old acquaintances from TA have been banned and are now posting on Fodor's.

Many French businesses do not respond to emails in the same way to which you may have become accustomed.

Calling internationally is not as expensive as it once was. Still, it could cost a couple of dollars but may be worth the assurance in dealing with the hotel directly. Sometimes in Paris, calling the hotel directly can get you the best prices.

Unfortunately, as previously stated, there are a number of hotels to which you could be referring. If you have the hotel´s phone number and the number is in the form: 01 XX XX XX XX, from the US you would dial 011 33 1 XX XX XX XX. In other words, for international calls dial 011, 33 is the France country code, drop the leading zero (before the 1), and dial the remaining 9 numbers, whatever they may be.

I would place the call somewhere between 2pm and 5pm Paris time. This is when the hotel desk staff will most likely be available for questions. You don´t say where you are in the US but probably, some time in the early morning where you are would be the best time to call France.

Um, this is the 21st century. Making a phone call to europe is not like calling Mars. Any decent size hotel will have someone answering the phone who can understand basic english. Just make sure you have your dates and info written down - both in English and in French - to make sure there is no confusion about dates.

Tell them you will send an email (make sure you have the correct address) and expect a response.

Many hotels seem to save up a batch of emails which are answered all at once. Perhaps yours is waiting in a huge pile, somewhere.

It's possible that they are date-tracking the emails, too, in order of importance. So those arriving in 3 weeks would be given preference over your visit in the Spring.

It really is better to call the reception desk - everyone speaks English, just say "Hello" and then speak slowly. You might have other questions, too. Ask them to send you a confirmation via email before you hang up. Don't be nervous, there's always a first time for everything.

Sarastro gave you instructions on how and when to call. It really won't cost much, especially given the amount of money you are going to spend during your whole trip.

If you are writing dates, use the name of the month - or dd/mm/yyyy format.

Use of the US mm/dd format will likely lead to confusion, if not booking on the wrong dates.

It is possible they are not yet booking for next spring but I hope you will be able to contact them.
You can always make a refundable reservation using one of the other booking sites as you wait to hear from them directly.