Review of Paris Hotel

See post #2 from Susan
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/where-to-stay-in-paris-c0ee1d8b-93fa-4334-a82e-942f1024c86e

Another post from Susan
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/all-advice-welcome-for-june-2018-trip-to-fr-mainly-paris-8-women-ages-18-74

See post from Tocard
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/places-to-stay-and-eat-in-the-5th-arrondisement

Mary, thank you.

Yes, i do recommend Hotel Marignan (13 rue du Sommerard) - as long as you understand it is a budget hotel. It is clean and very decent. They have a communal kitchen, and a new, large washer/dryer you can use for free - a huge bonus. Excellent location and neighborhood, and the street it’s on is very quiet, very nice.

Stayed there several years ago when I took a group of teens. Clean rooms, friendly staff and good location. It’s not fancy but a good option

We do NOT recommend Hotel Marignan. Of 47 nights of hotels in 9 different countries during May, June and July 2019, this was the only hotel that we had to cancel our following night reservations. The hotel owner/manager reluctantly and not nicely allowed us to only pay for 1 night. The 3 night minimum should have warned us, as well as the bums sleeping on the sidewalk nearby. The only reason we are providing this review is that we were fooled by previous reviews.

It’s a very nice area, and a very nice street in a primo location. The hotel is clean, old school French and more than decent. Price is very low for what you get. I (if budget was an issue for me), and a good friend who’s stayed there twice, would not hesitate to stay there again.

I’ve spent 8 years living in and visiting Paris, i know it well. I’ve stayed in more hotels in Europe over a lifetime than i could count. I’ve stayed in many Rick Steve recommended hotels that i did not like. My standards are high. You have to realize, as i’ve said before, this is a very budget hotel. And as a very budget hotel, it delivers a lot.

Randy most hotels charge cancellation fees ! You never stayed there so you are just posting sour grapes !

I had to cancel there ( I’ve posted a review on tripadvisor ) and they were super nice about it and charged me nothing - however I didnt cancel last minute .

Ps and location is great ! And I have visited Paris many many times since the 70s !

Randy, did you stay at the Marignan one night and then decide to cancel the rest of your stay. If so, what happened to make you need to cancel.

Yes we unfortunately did stay there one night. We were fortunate to only be charged for the night we stayed. Horrible room for 4. The druggies passed out on the sidewalk between the subway stop and the hotel should have been enough warning.

The druggies passed out on the sidewalk between the subway stop and the hotel

How does this have anything whatsoever to do with the hotel?

There could be intoxicated individuals or even those using drugs anywhere in Paris, in front of any hotel. Overall, the Latin Quarter is a very desirable area of the city and this hotel is very well-placed. I continue to recommend Hotel Marignan as one of the very best in its class (which is modest and very affordable).

Pat - Off topic tho.... we have a Tulsa area travel group. Meets 3 rd Saturday of every month at 10:00 am panera 41st and hudson

There are homeless people camped out in streets and squares all over the city. This is a problem in many urban areas certainly not unique to Paris. I am surprised the local authorities allow camping people to take over squares like Square Verlaine and don't insist on overnight camping be done in designated areas with appropriate toilet facilities. It doesn't have anything to do with the quality of a hotel in the Latin Quarter.

It would be interesting to hear what was so terrible about the quad room that the poster stayed in that he was forced to leave. I will say that tiny triples we have stayed in here and there were pretty awful but as long as they were clean, bug free and had working showers and restrooms we managed.

Randy K, i recommend you not visit San Francisco, homeless people all over the city, even in nice areas. Union Square, tourist central, has a lot.

My family has higher standards than this for what we paid. No TV, no radio, no phone, no a/c. Clean: definate no, the carpet was so filthy we did not want to look down at it. The bathroom walls were cracking and moldy. The bed coverings were discusting. Bugs: We were very woried about bed bugs, but did not get them. Breakfast: stale baguettes and little else. Staff: No help with taking bags up the filthy spiral staircase up to the 5th floor; the Manager/Owner was anything but nice and friendly. Security: The front door was left open when we arrived late at night; already mentioned the bums twice. It may have been a nice hotel at one point. You can not rationalize everything on location.

ref Hotel Marignan

Just to be clear - we have no ties to any travel businesses or interests. We are simply a family of 4, including two teenagers. We have traveled widely. We are just trying to warn other families like us. We feel we were led astray by postings about this hotel on this forum. We have no vendetta against this hotel or it's management. Our review is what we experienced, it is honest, and we are not seeking any benefit from our posts.

It is the cheapest centrally located hotel with family rooms in Paris. You get what you pay for. I am not surprised at filthy carpet (we were in a central hotel in both Angers and Nantes recently and paid much more than the Marignan and both had disgusting carpets. The hotel Grande Ecoles in Paris had rather frighteningly disgusting carpet last time we stayed there.). I am surprised that the bathroom wasn't clean or the place not otherwise clean.

A budget hotel like this doesn't have bellmen; you obviously were expecting a hotel standard quite different from what you booked; next time pay twice as much and get something with the amenities you want.

The moldy bathrooms and the disgusting bed coverings are fair complaints. No place is cheap enough for that to be acceptable. Were there bugs or did you just worry about bed bugs because of your overall impression of the place? If there were no bugs, there is no reason to mention them. The rest (no phone, no TV, no radio, no assistance with luggage, no elevator and no AC) are exactly what you should expect for an ultra-budget hotel in Paris located in the heart of the Latin Quarter. I think your standards are not aligned with Paris prices. The Hotel Marignan is a one-star hotel under the French system -- no way was there ever going to be anyone to help you with your luggage. One-stars are not even required to have 24-hour reception areas much less a porter.

I was there in 2017 and saw nothing like Randy describes. I didn’t stay there, but the owner was exceedingly friendly, took me on a tour and showed me several rooms on different floors.
I did stay there for 2 mos many years ago.
A friend of mine stayed there in 2017 and 2018 and saw nothing Randy describes.
I have always said this is a budget hotel.
Even the many $200 per night hotels i’ve stayed in do not have bellmen.
If someone books Hotel Marignan which has rooms as low as €62 in central Paris and expects a bellman, well, i don’t know what to say.

I will stop in again next month and see what i find.

Our cost was $175 Euros for one night.

Is that low for a quad room in central Paris?

That is low for a hotel room for four people in that location..

I am sorry but if you expected a bellman at that rate you were very very mislead. the Mariginan is NOT a luxury hotel.. it is not even a moderate hotel.. it is a budget hotel. Budget hotels in central paris will usually NOT have AC or phones in rooms ( actually even moderate hotels dont have phones anymore) ...

I understand that the dirty carpets may have been too much.. but sorry.. it really sounds like you did NOT read the reviews .. no one ever claims its fancy..

My step son and his mom and and her dad are staying there in two weeks.
Should be interesting to hear their review.. however they are experienced travelers and do not expect much other than clean and good location.

The "bums" wont bother them.. we have those back here at home.. lol

Randy, thank you for responding to the poster and sharing your experience as requested. It is especially kind in light of the ridiculous abuse you have taken from respondents for having an experience and/or perspective that is different than theirs.

175€ per night for 4 people in Paris is rock bottom pricing, particularly for somewhere in the 5th arrondissement. For example, the Hotel Residence Henri IV, very near the Hotel Marignan, charges 480€ per night for 4 people, not including breakfast. It does have AC and other amenities but still no bellman.

I think there is a rather serious underestimation of hotel prices in big cities and Paris is probable cheaper than London or New York.

Edit: Carol - it is not abuse to simply disagree with someone, nor is it abusive to add context and perspective to someone´s observations.

Ridiculous abuse - oh come on - that’s hyperbole !

Carol, if you actually think any posts were abusive, then report to the Webmaster. Being in disagreement is not abusive, being in strong disagreement is not abusive.

Randy makes a valid point, saying he booked there based on recommendations on this website. I've written down a few recommendations I've seen here, looked them up and thought No Way! If you have some previous experience in France, you know that one-star is as low as you go before hitting residential hotels with shared toilets, lumpy mattresses and squeaky bedsprings.. If you are going purely on recommendations and no experience, and everything sounds great but really it's barebones, then it's good Randy spoke out. Recommendations need descriptions. As for drunks and druggies passed out, that and piss smell are unpleasant, unfortunate, but pop up in many places. Of course with the windows open, you'd hear more.
Edit: In response to Carol-- don't think a couple of responses were abusive, but they were belittling or snide.

I don’t think it’s fair to slam a hotel because you did not understand it is a very budget hotel. The price alone is your clue.

To get a hotel in one of the best areas of Paris, on a nice, quiet street, with free use of a washer/dryer, a kitchen, four free breakfasts at $175 for four people is a good find.

If you read their website it does not list an elevator, AC, tv or phone.

If you understand Paris is a world-class city and $175 for four people is very low in a great location of that city, you have to have realistic expectations.

It is not the fault of the hotel if you don’t understand this. And unfair to slam it.