Arty Paris Porte de Versailles — Hotel in Paris

The staff are very friendly, particularly as I could not speak French. The breakfast included during my stay was enough for me to start my day and included a coffee machine (and tea), bread, cheese, pastries, fruit purées, and yogurt (these items come prepacked). The elevator, while very small, could accommodate me and my luggage without any problem. I stayed in a two-bunkbed room. The room had standard-sized lockers, the locker size could accommodate a check-in bag at a push. There were additional smaller lockers in the room too. I brought along a lock that I could use with the lockers. I especially appreciated the combination lockers on the ground floor, which were under surveillance and around the corner from the check-in desk (these lockers could easily accommodate a laptop bag). My bags and luggage were safe during my stay. The bed had two flat sheets, a blanket, and a pillow (with a pillowcase). The room was cleaned once while I was staying there; from previous reviews criticizing cleanliness, I would argue that this is dependent on the guests sharing the room. This accommodation is within walking distance of grocery stores, restaurants, and public transport. The price was good considering I was able to attend my conference and sightsee Paris easily. Having read the reviews, there was a mixed bag, which made me a tad nervous, however, I thought overall that this was a great place to stay on a budget.

I stayed at the accommodation in September, the humidity in Paris was high, which meant I preferred sleeping with the windows to the room open as there was no air conditioning (at the price that this room was offered at I had no complaints that there was no air conditioning). Sleeping with the windows open and being based on the second floor, the nights could get quite noisy before midnight, plus guests sharing the room would arrive at different times during the night (not a mark against the accommodation, but the reality of sharing a room). The bed was a tad uncomfortable. The room was marketed as a two-bunkbed room (sleeping four); however, there was an adjoining room with two beds, so in total, the room slept 6. The room had two extremely small bathrooms, one with a toilet and sink and the other with a toilet, sink, and shower. Something that was highly irritating was that the one toilet seat and lid could not rest open, making it redundant unless you were prepared to hold it or lean on it to keep it open. The pop-up stopper was missing from the sink. The shower door was missing half the door, which meant that if you weren't careful, water would splash onto the floor of the bathroom (the accommodation did provide a bathmat which alleviated this). The silicone waterproofing around the shower base could be replaced as this has fouled and does not look particularly welcoming (I brought flip-flop sandals to shower in). Alternatively, the cleaners could apply some bleach to remove the fouling. The photos of the accommodation could be updated to be more realistic (that said, the hotel is undergoing a gradual...

before staying at this hostel i looked at the reviews and i wish i would have had some more information before moving forward and booking, so here’s that.

THE ROOM: stayed in a private room with a bathroom. the room and bathroom was small, if you are of larger size (like me) you will most likely be uncomfortable. there was a window in my room, which meant i was able to keep the window open through out my stay for ventilation. the room was carpeted which meant that the odor in the room was definitely stuffy. the bathrooms were moldy, and the room smelled a bit moldy. if you have sensitive allergies, i definitely recommend staying somewhere else or bringing all of the things you need (medications, inhaler, portable humidifier, etc). it is a simple room, it definitely has the things you’ll need to just go and explore, do your thing, and come back to crash in. my room was in a corner area, i had two exposed pipes in my bathroom (one from water and the other from toilet waste) which meant noise and unfortunately smells were apparent when other folks in floors above me bathed or used the bathroom. if you are someone with accessibility needs, i would consider going somewhere else. another review mentioned weird stains on walls and on the bedding, i would say this is true for me too. there were some weird stains on the walls in my room and on the bedding. there was a locker without a lock in my room.

TRANSPORTATION: transportation is pretty accessible, you have multiple bus lines and two different metro stops near by to get to more of the touristy areas of paris. it’s a 30 minute walk to the eiffel tower.

SAFETY: great area, as a queer woman of color i felt really safe. the folks who work at the hostel were all really great and i felt safe staying there.

THE BUILDING: accessibility is the biggest challenge here. there is a freight elevator that does not hold much or offer much room. to access your floor there is a narrow winding staircase. there is a common area that includes a kitchen and a fridge to keep food in. the folks working there were all super helpful and pretty great. the cleaning staff were all friendly. breakfast is what you make it. they offer croissants and baguettes with assorted jams and butter. you get unlimited coffee and orange juice (i personally made it worth it drinking a ton of espresso). if this is not your jam, there are several bakeries near by. noise carries from different floors, rooms, and lobby (they play music in the background) if this is an issue bring ear plugs.

i hope this is helpful!...

DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOSTEL!

The location is far away and very unsafe at night - walking back from Montparnasse my friend and I were harassed by men on the street and even followed for a bit.

As for the hotel itself, it offers staff who speak many languages but in reality most staff only speak French, who do their best but really struggle to communicate. I speak French fortunately but even for me the girl at the desk spoke very quickly so I found her hard to understand.

The women who work there are at least polite and try to help you - the manager who speaks better English is incredibly rude. I travelled with a friend and we both used booking.com - on her booking it said City Tax was included in her payment, which is unusual, so we tried to clarify the issue with the manager, but as I said he was very impolite and harsh with my friend, who was not at all at fault - just showing him what Booking.com said. A very unpleasant and unhelpful man.

The room itself is bare and disgusting - I was in a 6 bed female dorm and only 2 filthy sheets, a pillow and a blanked covered in previous guests' hair was provided. In the ensuite is a dirty shower curtain, loo roll, and a bath mat (for the floor). Not even hand soap or a way to dry your hands. We ended up purchasing hand soap and shower gel to share with the other girls because it felt very unsanitary. The shower is pretty low, so okay for short girls, but if you are above average, expect to stoop!

The beds are incredibly creaky. I found it comfortable enough but my friend could not sleep the first night - any time any girl in the room moves even a little bit, the bed groans like it has been shot. The curtains are okay if you also close the external shutters, but still let in some light - so it's not ideal for light sleepers all round.

Furthermore, we were on floor 5. There is a lift but it is terrifying - about 100x60 cm - big enough for my slim, short friend and I but only just - not suitable for most people over 170cm, or people with a larger suitcase. I chose to take the stairs every time because it felt very unsafe. Every time, I reached the floor before my friend because the lift is so slow.

You can pay for breakfast but it is very poor - you can get better pastries at any local intermarché/franprix etc.

I met some nice women and would say the wifi is adequate. Everything else is terrible. I would not stay in such a...