Prince Monceau Hotel Paris

I would have to give this ** hotel an average (between below average and satisfactory) Realising that it is a ** accommodation fairly close to everything in the 17eme. We had the room behind the front desk which I had requested, as having read some of the reports of the hotel, discovered that the stairs were very hard to negotiate with heavy baggage. I was very glad we did, but found the room to be quite dark and the lighting inadequate. The bathroom was nice although the bath/shower was very, very slippery and the screen did not prevent the water overflowing onto the floor. A bit of alu foil fixed that and a towel on the base of the bath fixed the other problem. It was disappointing not to have a small bar fridge, which we'd had in other hotels and getting down to the salle a manger was a bit 'hairy' as it goes down into the cellar and for older people this was a slight hazard. I was very annoyed the first day by an officious receptionist who decided her English was better than my French (we lived in France for 15 years until 4 years ago) - which it was NOT as she repeatedly misinterpreted what I was saying when she insisted speaking English. I had to return the hire car and was asking directions on our returning to the hotel. She just kept telling me to catch the #31 bus. I kept asking her which stop we had to get off at and she just said she would explain all of that on our return!!! At this point she also demanded the printed Confirmation. I pointed out I did not carry a printer with me. She then said "well email it to me" I said how as at this time I did not have WiFi. She said she would also do that when we returned, but still insisted on the Confirmation there and then!! It was eventually sorted, but by this time, I was annoyed and she was 'looking down her nose' at us. Glad we didn't strike her again. Later that day, there was a very vain young man on the desk who when I asked if I made a call from the hotel with a prepaid Telecom voucher, told me I would have to make the call from a call box. When asked where the nearest call box was, I was directed up the street to the right, to the end and then turn left. Surprise! NO call box. I asked at a Droguerie in that vicinity and was told to go back the way I came and would find one at the Station. There I found 2 boxes and when I asked the young man why he had sent me way up the street, instead of just out the door, to the left and across the road, I was told he didn't know if they worked or not! Definitely our worst experience dealing with people in Paris, in the 10 days we were there. Also the WiFi is NOT free, complimentary or any other word you can use. It cost 2 Euros a day.

Conveniently located near Metro and Rail, Prince Monceau was a modest, but clean and convenient budget hotel. Reserving the room was easy and they had our reservation as well as that of my cousin's husband and his daughter, even though we made it over a month ahead of time. Our room wsa on the ground floor, next to the reception\registration desk and it was somewhat noisy in the mornings. This was ameliorated by the lack of stair-climbing we had to do. My cousin's husband and his daughter were on the 4th flr and without an elevator, it was VERY difficult, esp coming back down. The stairway was extremely narrow. At least they had a convenient storage for luggage in case you arrive early or need to wait after checkout. Breakfast was included, but not exactly something to look forward to. Simple continental breakfast, OJ, hot chocolate, and coffee. Our bathroom was actually roomy, with a nice shower and hot water. My cousin's husband was not so lucky - not even enough room to turn around in the shower. For our room, well worth the minor inconveniences and very good value for the money (make sure to ask for the ground floor room).