This is my first post here, but given that Relais Bosquet is recommended by Rick Steves and we had booked there based on that, I wanted to pass on our experience. We stayed Sept of 2019. Photos of below issues on TripAdvisor. They also admitted to these issues on their tripadvisor response. They called the rat poison their "anti mouse" device... Seriously, go look.
The room was scuffed up badly. Heavy scratches over most light switches, on the bed headboard, marks all over the walls, etc.
There was black mold impregnating the shower grout and seal.
The venting in the bathroom was non-existent.
There was rat poison under the bed!
Tiny mini-fridge stocked with over-priced junk food and sodas they were re-selling for a huge amount.
No screens on windows despite no balcony, mosquitos everywhere.
Shower was exposed to bathroom, with no door to cover, spray got everywhere. Tub plug was flush and could not be pulled without ripping your nails.
The bathtub fixtures were in the middle of the tub and made using the shower dangerous (they would cut you if you moved while showering) or sitting in the bathtub while it was filling painful (hot water pouring right on your crotch).
While the air conditioner (heat pump air handler) was nice, after a few days and we smelled terrible fumes and had issues breathing at night, we opened it up and saw that the filter had NEVER, EVER been cleaned. Disgusting we were breathing that the whole time.
Room cleaning service was inconsistent. Some days we would not get clean towels, some days we did not get wash cloths, some days we did not get new toilet paper. Got tired of asking for these things or having to get toilet paper rolls from the bathroom in the lobby.
Some of the people at the desk were rude and acted like it was a huge inconvenience to leave and retrieve our electronic keys with them, despite that being their strange policy!
...about the key policy. Requiring guests to leave keys at the front desk is an old tradition that stems from old hotels that had heavy and unique physical keys they did not want to lose. With electronic key cards this should not be an issue.
Also, as the key cards look all the same it's easy to mix them up. 3 times I was handed the wrong key card for another room, which scared me as they could have easily let someone else into our room.
Also, they store the key cards out in the open by the front desk, and many times throughout the day the desk is empty and anyone from the street could walk in and take any key card they wished. Unacceptable.
Also, because of lines at the desk, the desk being empty or the desk staff arrogantly correcting us on the french vocabulary of saying our room number, I estimate we lost about a whole hour of time during our stay in Paris just dropping off and getting a cheap electronic key card back.
On occasion, one of our party would stay in the room while the other took a walk around the neighborhood. The staff seemed unable to comprehend that someone was still in the room and would get nasty and demand the person leaving to turn over the key card.
What is also frightening about this key card nonsense is that even though we had booked a long stay, halfway through we came back one day and they had thought we already checked out. Luckily they did not throw away our bags or our clothes but the room was made up as if there were new guests checking in and the experience was disturbing.
Several times coming back to the hotel there were staff literally standing in the front doorway and smoking. Not only was this extremely disgusting and uncomfortable, it was also likely illegal given the rules on how far from doorways smokers are supposed to be, even in Paris. When I asked them to move or put out their cigarette they got nasty with me and made some guttural noises.
After posting this on other websites the hotel tried emailing us and offering us money to take down the reviews...
