possible problem with RS recommendation in Paris

Posted by melissakent on 05/25/14 03:22 PM

Using RS Best of Europe 2014, I selected Vintage Hostel and Budget Hotel as a place for myself, my daughter and her friend to stay for a couple of days in June.

I went to their website which broke out the different rooms and couldn't decide between the 3 Mixed Ensuite and the 3 Bed Ensuite, so I wrote them using their posted email address, [email protected], asking for an explanation of the difference. I didn't hear back, but the rooms seemed to be filling up, so I went ahead and reserved a 3 mixed ensuite for two nights. However when I was filling out their web form for this, it only had a choice for 1 or 2 people. I went on and confirmed the booking, figuring I would email them and ask about it.

I have now emailed them 3-4 times over the past week at the [email protected] address and not heard back at all. (I even checked my spam folder in case it got dumped there)

I am getting concerned. Any suggestions?

Posted by Harold

New York, NY, USA

05/25/14 04:46 PM

11294 posts

You could call them. If you're not set up for Skype and you don't have a cheap international calling plan, you can use a service like 10-10-987 to reduce the cost: http://tinyurl.com/ly2aqv7. Just remember the time zone difference - be sure to call during Paris's daytime.

Posted by Laura B

San Francisco Bay Area

05/26/14 11:16 PM

5697 posts

I had trouble contacting a rental site -- turned out that my comcast.net emails weren't going through, so I set up a gmail account just for this purpose and everything worked fine. No idea WHY this happened, but it did. So maybe you could try another email ?? Couldn't hurt !

Posted by Terri Lynn

Nashville, TN, USA

05/27/14 07:28 AM

795 posts

Our family only stays in first class luxury hotels and never anything RS advises (though we love all of his other info) but we have seen the places he recommends and you couldn't pay me to stay in one of them. I would hate for you to show up and find there is no place for you. Try to call them and cancel. You can imagine what a horrible place it must be if they won't even respond to you. RS does make one semi-decent recommendation in Paris in Rue Cler- the Hotel Relais Bosquet at 19 Rue du Champ de Mars. Their phone is 01 47 05 25 45. Their website is at www.relaisbosquet.com and their email is [email protected] . I am concerned that you have emailed them prior to making reservations and then 3-4 times after and they do not even show the decency and respect to reply.

Here is the phone number for the Vintage Hostel and Budget Hotel that I got from www.tripadvisor.com > 011 33 1 40 16 16 40. You might want to go read some of the very bad reviews. Only 54% of the writers liked their stay there and there are very recent reviews from people who have stayed there in April and May and said there are noisy renovations going on, the air conditioning is not working, there is extensive mold and mildew, one family left luggage with the receptionist who was both rude and stole some of their valuables,and the rooms are tiny and cramped, and that there are a lot of drunks there. You can see this for yourself on TripAdvisor. Just type in the name of the place in the search bar on TripAdvisor and check out the reviews. Pay special note to the most recent reviews.

Posted by Laura

Rick Steves' Europe

05/27/14 05:35 PM

16895 posts

That hotel does have rooms big enough to hold 3 people, so we recommend calling at the same phone number that Terri Lynn spelled out, or it's in the book, during French daytime hours. There may an extra charge for the third person, if the price calculated was based on two. I appreciate that Rick's research includes double rooms in Paris for 100 euros. His goal is to list places that are clean, safe, and convenient, and which we have personally visited.