If you have read my recent review on the Paris hotel Chambellan Morgane you will know that the boyfriend and I have been on a short city break to Paris via La Eurostar. I had never been on the Eurostar before but our deal via the Guardian Travel website came with 'Standard Premier' return tickets. My parents had travelled with the old class 'Leisure Select' before it was replaced with the new class. There are are lot of unhappy comments on the internet from regular customers as apparently Leisure Select was cheaper but the on-board service included a hot meal and champagne which is not the case in Standard Premier.
About Eurostar:
I won't go into the whole history as you can read that on their website. Eurostar started services to Paris and Brussels from London Waterloo in 1994. They basically serve Paris, Lille and Brussels and you can connect there to other destinations via the European high speed train network, something they planned for the UK but this never materialised! Some services also call at Ebbsfleet or Ashford being going under the Channel Tunnel. Some services in France serve Disneyland Paris or Avignon but these seem to be summer time only train routes.
Booking tickets:
Tickets can be booked online and the prices do vary quite a bit. Return prices for Standard Class seem to start from around £79, Standard Premier starts from around £200 and for Business Premier you are looking at around £450. It's really not cheap but hopefully you will get a good deal via a holiday booking website like we did.
The classes:
Standard is basically like normal class on a train. Two seats either side of the aisle and you can buy food and drink from the buffet car. Standard Premier has the same seats as Business, the seats are two together, then the aisle, then a single seat. The seats are quite big and comfortable and they have plug sockets. Apparently they have newspapers for Standard Premier and Business but I didn't see any sign of these. There are some magazines such as the Economist and some women’s magazines but these were all French editions. According to the website 'light meals and drinks' are served in Standard Premier but Business passengers get a full hot meal as well as fast track check in which closes 10 minutes prior to departure and a private lounge at stations with free wi-fi.
St Pancras International:
Services leave London from St Pancras which is a lovely, restored old station. We collected our tickets from a ticket booth and then had to queue up to check in-they require you to be there at least thirty minutes before departure. I was less than impressed with the check in area. It was very busy and crowded as it's not a very spacious area, with very few staff around to help. There was one automatic ticket barrier but my ticket chose not to go through so with no staff to ask for assistance I had to go to the back of the very long 'manual' line and wait 20 minutes whilst my boyfriend had to wait for me on the other side. One of the 'Customer Service Team Members' wearing a lot of red lipstick did ineffectively do a bit of queue combing advising passengers to try the automatic ticket gate but when I told her my ticket hadn't worked there she just shrugged and said “oh well, just wait here then.
” I heard her repeat this to other passengers down the line. The Eurostar check in man just checked my ticket and didn't smile or greet me, he just looked fed up, perhaps because most of the other ticket booths were empty and he had hundreds more passengers to check.
Security:
It's not as bad as airport security, there is no requirement to take your shoes off or put liquids in a stupid little bag. After this there is a booth with a French Immigration Officer inside who looked very grumpy as he checked passports.
Boarding:
There is a café and a WH Smiths in the waiting area and very little seating. It is a very small waiting area and I wish Eurostar had planned this out more carefully as just like the check-in area it is very crowded. Boarding itself was quite orderly with an On-board Assistant at the door of each Standard Premier and Business carriage to tick names off.
The experience on-board:
We were served breakfast which came on a tray served from a trolley just like an airplane! It consisted of various croissants and bread rolls (and the On-board Assistant came back with more) yoghurt, orange juice, President butter and jam or honey. After this came tea or coffee but with no refills afterwards but they did come round again with glasses of water.
On the return journey we had a light lunch. There was a Stilton and bacon quiche which I didn't eat too much of as it was quite bland and icy cold. There was no vegetarian option for the boyfriend so he had to be content with a couple of poppy seed bread rolls and butter. I did request a veggie meal when I booked, indeed, the website tells me a variety of special meals can be ordered such as veggie, gluten free, halal, vegan, low fat etc. but the train crew had no record of this.
There was also a small plate of tiny pastries-a chocolate macaroon which was very nice but then a small almond flavoured cake and a chocolate chip muffin which were quickly passed to the boyfriend! Drinks were served-red or white wine or apple juice and a bottle of water. There was also beer or soft drinks but no refills. My boyfriend had a Bordeaux wine which he described as “rough!” The nice young On-board Assistant came around several times to refresh my tea which was good service. The food is also served on real China with proper cutlery.
The carriages inside are looking rather old-fashioned and shabby, I do think an upgrade is needed to improve them.
The On-board Crew:
The staff on-board were very pleasant and spoke both French and English. They were also very polite and a saw one of them helping another passenger with tourist advice for London. Not sure about their uniforms, they wear charcoal grey suits. There are also rather a lot of staff on the trains-two train managers, various On-board Assistants and we had a Purser too just like on an airplane again!
The loo:
Sadly on both trains the loos looked shabby and smelt a bit funny, not impressed and like the rest of the train carriages I think they are due a major refurbishment.
Gare du Nord
I didn't like this station as it's quite shabby and we couldn't find check-in for several minutes. Once again it's very crowded and somewhat disorganised.
The bottom line:
I was glad we got a special deal with this one. The on-board team are lovely but the food and drink is isn’t of a high standard. The tickets are expensive and experiences at both train stations could be improved.
Standard Premier Class on Eurostar 
