"This was the worst hotel experience I have ever had. I booked a double room for two guests at Odalys City Lyon BioParc, but they treated it as if it were meant to supply for one person only. The hotel failed to provide basic amenities for two guests and their staff made the situation worse by threatening to kick us out twice when we sought help.
What really happened:
• Hot water issues for two guests: The room had a bathtub but they never warned us that the hot water came from a small water tank, sufficient only for one person. When one of us was mid-shower with shampoo in their hair and the hot water ran out, we called the reception. Instead of helping, the receptionist told us to wait one or two hours for the water to regenerate. Adding that if I call again "I will kick you out" – all while my friend was freezing.
• Heating was faulty: The air conditioning was limited to 21°C, and the electric heating in the room did not work properly, leaving the room cold and uncomfortable. I caught cold and my friend naturally too.
• Receptionist was hostile and threatening: When we asked for help regarding the hot water, the receptionist was sarcastic and dismissive, even threatening to evict us if we called again. After reporting this via Booking.com chat, I received a disturbing anonymous call at 4:35 AM the same night, adding to the stress.
• The next day, when I asked for the manager’s contact email to escalate the issue, the receptionist refused, saying “Because I don’t want to”, and threatened to kick us out again.
Their so-called “responses”:
• During the stay, the only written reply I received was in the Booking.com chat, where the receptionist repeated the same excuse about the hot water tank and accused me of being dismissive, without explaining where or how. I asked them repeatedly to clarify, but no one pointed out what was supposedly dismissive.
• There was no follow-up from the hotel manager before I checked out nor responds to weeks of trying from Booking. After almost a month, the hotel responded to my Google review, but I only saw partially from email notification — possibly because Google hasn’t published it yet. Regardless, nothing was resolved during or after my stay. From the content which I have read, only attempt to avoid admitting wrong doing.
• After the stay, I received only one generic marketing email thanking me for my stay and offering me a €25 discount code for a future booking, encouraging me to leave a TripAdvisor review. No actual response to my complaint.
• I even sent two registered letters to the hotel chain’s headquarters (confirmed delivered after 12 days) but never received any reply.
Final thoughts:
This hotel completely disregards guest safety and hospitality standards. Instead of addressing a guest’s emergency (hot water in a windy cold night), they blamed us and turned hostile. Their communication is evasive, and they avoided accountability at every step.
I regret not reading Google reviews before booking – now I know those negative experiences are true. No matter how attractive the price may seem, avoid this hotel at all costs."
