"Unfortunately, our stay was deeply disappointing and in no way reflected the five-star positioning or the rate of approximately €1.000 per night.
The hotel may once have been beautiful, but today it feels like faded glory and is in serious need of maintenance. Our bathroom had visible moisture and mould spots, doors had large areas where the paint had worn away, and several pieces of furniture were stained and tired-looking. At this price point, and for a hotel presenting itself as five-star, this was simply unacceptable.
The soundproofing was equally poor. Because of the wooden floors, we could hear virtually every step from the room above us and at times almost follow conversations. The windows were still single-glazed, which made outside noise even more noticeable.
On the Friday evening, the hotel hosted an event in the courtyard directly below our room. We were travelling with two young children and had not been informed about the event in advance. After a full day walking around Paris, they were exhausted but unable to sleep because of the music and noise. It took around an hour and a half before the music finally stopped. At the very least, guests with rooms facing the courtyard should have been warned beforehand or offered another room.
Breakfast was also far below what we would expect from a five-star hotel. The offering was underwhelming and, among other things, the crêpes were served cold every day.
However, by far the most astonishing part of the entire experience was the way our complaint was handled afterwards.
We raised our concerns during our stay and were explicitly told that our credit card would not be charged until we had received a response from the manager. Nevertheless, the full amount was charged immediately. The manager’s response then took several days and only arrived after repeated reminders. Rather than acknowledging the issues or showing any understanding, his replies were remarkably dismissive.
Regarding the noise, he told us that, based on his experience with his own five children and eight grandchildren, noise had “never been a problem for them to sleep”. He also pointed out that nobody else in the other rooms had complained, as though that somehow invalidated our own experience.
Regarding the condition of the bathroom, his explanation was:
“You mentioned some unperfect aspects in the bathroom. It happens that guests deteriorate but we cannot fix the problems immediately.”
This was particularly difficult to take seriously. The moisture damage, mould, worn paint and general state of deterioration were clearly not the result of one previous guest or something that had happened immediately before our arrival.
He also wrote:
“You left the hotel without paying for the stay. Would you imagine a customer of a restaurant saying that he disliked the food and leaves without paying?”
followed by:
“How is it possible to behave this way?”
This despite the fact that we had been explicitly told by his own staff that the payment would not be taken until our complaint had been addressed — and the hotel subsequently charged our credit card anyway.
He then compared the situation to traffic noise and Bastille Day fireworks:
“If a guest of my hotel is disturbed by cars horning in the street or by the fireworks on Bastille day, should I give a rebate to the guest? Obviously not, because I am not responsible for the trouble.”
The comparison makes little sense when the disturbance we complained about came from an event organised at the hotel itself, in the courtyard directly below our room.
When we stated that we would share our experience publicly if the matter was not handled appropriately, he described this as “blackmailing with a bad review” and added that “sometimes, our mindset should be reset.”
At no point did we ask for anything unreasonable. We simply explained that the room, the noise, the maintenance and the overall experience did not correspond with what had been advertised and charged, and asked the hotel to take responsibility for that.
As someone who studied hotel management myself, I found the attitude particularly surprising. One of the most basic principles of hospitality is to listen to guests respectfully when something goes wrong, even if you ultimately disagree with them. Being told how well the manager’s own grandchildren sleep, being questioned about “how it is possible to behave this way”, and being accused of blackmail for saying that we would leave an honest review is not the level of professionalism I would expect from the management of any hotel, let alone a property positioning itself as luxury five-star.
Beautiful architecture, history and artwork cannot compensate for poor maintenance, inadequate sound insulation, a disappointing breakfast and, above all, this kind of response when legitimate concerns are raised.
For us, this was absolutely not a five-star experience and certainly not one that justified the price. I would strongly advise future guests to read the recent reviews carefully before booking."
