Galileo Hotel — Hotel in Paris

Two stars: one for the gem of a woman who manages breakfast in the morning—she was incredibly sweet and kind—and one for the pleasant, smart and helpful front desk clerk whom we unfortunately only encountered once during our stay (5 Dec).

The hotel itself is very nice: clean, comfortable. If you want to be near the Champs-Elysées, it's hard to beat the location. We chose this hotel on the recommendation of my travel companion, who had stayed here once before and loved it. Unfortunately, this time we had such a poor experience that I would not stay here again, nor would I recommend. I travel to Paris almost yearly; I also speak French.

We had the misfortune of arriving in Paris the evening of Saturday, Dec 1, just as the Gilets Jaunes protests were ending. We were shocked that no one from the hotel (who knew our scheduled arrival) made any effort to contact us to let us know what was happening, recommend alternative routes to the hotel or that we delay our arrival, or even offer to help us rebook the first night elsewhere so we wouldn't have to make such a treacherous journey across town. We found a taxi who was willing to get us as close as he could (for an exorbitant fee) and arrived 1.5 hours later, stunned by the destruction.

By no means do I blame the hotel for the protests! But it is unconscionable not to, at the very least, notify your guests of the situation so they can make plans to ensure their safety. Quite simply, it's called customer service. Our hotel in Strasbourg notified us up to the minute about road and tramway closures, including those due to Gilets Jaunes.

I could maybe overlook this, had the rest of our experience been exceptional, but alas, here are just a few things that further soured our stay:

Prior to arriving, I was sent a detailed questionnaire about what excursions/tours/visits/restaurants we were interested in during our stay. I'm not sure why, since no one ever referenced it or even asked if they could assist in providing recommendations. And in fact, when I did ask about the private car service to the airport for 75 euros, which was listed as an option in this questionnaire, I not only was met by blank looks, the male desk clerk actually tried to argue that I was mistaken. Finally, he said we could just reserve a taxi for a flat rate. Thanks, but if I had wanted to reserve a taxi, I would have asked about a taxi!

Here is the truth: He didn't know about a car service, and he also didn't want to be bothered to figure it out. How do I know this? The next morning we asked a different female clerk the same question, and she immediately knew what we were talking about and took care of the whole thing for us in about 5 minutes. It was, in fact, a taxi, and it did not cost 75 euros—so they really need to update their questionnaire—but her helpful, pleasant attitude made all of the difference.

The next annoyance is that they only allow one key per hotel room. During our stay, I fell ill with food poisoning and spent the day in bed while my friend went sightseeing. The front desk clerk would not give her a second key. Since the key controls the electricity in the room, we had two choices: I could spend the day in darkness, or I could get out of bed to open the door every time she came back to the hotel. We chose the latter, but neither of these options were acceptable. Give your guests two keys, as is standard practice at every other modern hotel in the world.

The final nail in the coffin was the rude/indifferent send-away from the male desk clerk when we left for the airport early in the morning, 6 Dec. At that point, we had come to expect it.

I am sorry to say that my experience here epitomized the "rude, unhelpful Parisian" stereotype. Fortunately, I've been to Paris often enough to know that this is the exception rather than the norm. To tourists, I say: There are far too many wonderful hotels in Paris with warm, helpful, accommodating staff who will treat you like a guest instead of a burden. We...

When writing a review, fairness is key, as is ensuring that feedback serves a dual purpose: informing potential guests and providing constructive insights for the hotel staff.||||Location||||Quite simply, it is 10/10! The hotel is just a 15-second walk to the Champs-Élysées and all that it offers, a 2-minute walk to the Arc de Triomphe, and close to multiple metro lines.||||Metro||||The Paris Metro system is extensive and highly accessible, with stations located throughout the city. Visitors should feel confident using it, as nearly every major attraction has a station nearby or is within a 5- to 10-minute walk from one. Hint: Watch a short YouTube video on how to get tickets—it’s super easy.||||Hotel & Breakfast||||I didn’t have breakfast at the hotel; however, based on the menu, it seemed a little basic. That said, a quick 60-second walk takes you to a bakery that offers a wide variety of options.||||Room||||We stayed in the Executive Room, which appears to be designed with families in mind, as it includes a sofa bed in the corner. Given that hotel rooms in Paris are generally compact, this room is well-proportioned and comfortably accommodates two adults and a child. While the children’s bed may appear small in photos, it is more than suitable for a 10-year-old.||||Issues||||The power outlets next to the bed were not functional, requiring me to run a long cable from the desk across the floor to charge my phone. This was far from ideal, as I was constantly worried about the risk of my wife or daughter tripping over it when getting up in the middle of the night. While this may seem like a minor inconvenience, at a rate of €895 for a three-night stay, a functioning bedside power outlet is a reasonable expectation.||||As a paying guest, a fundamental expectation of any hotel stay—particularly at nearly €300 per night—is the provision of fully functional amenities as advertised. A non-negotiable requirement for me is operational air conditioning. However, the system in the room was centrally controlled to emit only warm air, with no option to adjust it to cooler settings. The only alternative was to turn off the system entirely and open the windows for ventilation.||||Upon raising this issue with the reception staff in a polite and professional manner, I was met with a dismissive response:||“It’s winter, we don’t need cool air. We warm the rooms, and if you’re too hot, open a window.”||||While this rationale may seem reasonable at first glance, it fails to consider key factors:|||| 1. The placement of the sofa bed, where my daughter was sleeping, was directly beneath the window, making it impractical to keep the window open overnight.|||| 2. While it may technically be winter, the outside temperature on the day in question was 16°C. After walking over 22,000 steps, body temperature naturally rises.|||| 3. Additionally, my wife is currently experiencing a stage in life where temperature regulation is particularly important, further exacerbating the discomfort caused by the lack of air conditioning.||||More concerning, however, is that the hotel’s website explicitly states that air conditioning is available. Based on this disclosure, I made an informed decision to book this accommodation. The failure to provide this advertised feature constitutes, in my professional opinion, a clear case of misrepresentation and an evasion of material facts. Had I been aware that air conditioning was not available as implied, I would never have proceeded with this booking.||||As such, I consider this a breach of consumer expectations and a failure to deliver the service as advertised.||||Final Verdict||||As a result of this misrepresentation and the dismissive response from staff, my rating is 1 star out of 5, with a vow...

When writing a review, fairness is key, as is ensuring that feedback serves a dual purpose: informing potential guests and providing constructive insights for the hotel staff.

Location

Quite simply, it is 10/10! The hotel is just a 15-second walk to the Champs-Élysées and all that it offers, a 2-minute walk to the Arc de Triomphe, and close to multiple metro lines.

Metro

The Paris Metro system is extensive and highly accessible, with stations located throughout the city. Visitors should feel confident using it, as nearly every major attraction has a station nearby or is within a 5- to 10-minute walk from one. Hint: Watch a short YouTube video on how to get tickets—it’s super easy.

Hotel & Breakfast

I didn’t have breakfast at the hotel; however, based on the menu, it seemed a little basic. That said, a quick 60-second walk takes you to a bakery that offers a wide variety of options.

Room

We stayed in the Executive Room, which appears to be designed with families in mind, as it includes a sofa bed in the corner. Given that hotel rooms in Paris are generally compact, this room is well-proportioned and comfortably accommodates two adults and a child. While the children’s bed may appear small in photos, it is more than suitable for a 10-year-old.

Issues

The power outlets next to the bed were not functional, requiring me to run a long cable from the desk across the floor to charge my phone. This was far from ideal, as I was constantly worried about the risk of my wife or daughter tripping over it when getting up in the middle of the night. While this may seem like a minor inconvenience, at a rate of €895 for a three-night stay, a functioning bedside power outlet is a reasonable expectation.

As a paying guest, a fundamental expectation of any hotel stay—particularly at nearly €300 per night—is the provision of fully functional amenities as advertised. A non-negotiable requirement for me is operational air conditioning. However, the system in the room was centrally controlled to emit only warm air, with no option to adjust it to cooler settings. The only alternative was to turn off the system entirely and open the windows for ventilation.

Upon raising this issue with the reception staff in a polite and professional manner, I was met with a dismissive response: “It’s winter, we don’t need cool air. We warm the rooms, and if you’re too hot, open a window.”

While this rationale may seem reasonable at first glance, it fails to consider key factors: The placement of the sofa bed, where my daughter was sleeping, was directly beneath the window, making it impractical to keep the window open overnight. While it may technically be winter, the outside temperature on the day in question was 16°C. After walking over 22,000 steps, body temperature naturally rises. Additionally, my wife is currently experiencing a stage in life where temperature regulation is particularly important, further exacerbating the discomfort caused by the lack of air conditioning.

More concerning, however, is that the hotel’s website explicitly states that air conditioning is available. Based on this disclosure, I made an informed decision to book this accommodation. The failure to provide this advertised feature constitutes, in my professional opinion, a clear case of misrepresentation and an evasion of material facts. Had I been aware that air conditioning was not available as implied, I would never have proceeded with this booking.

As such, I consider this a breach of consumer expectations and a failure to deliver the service as advertised.

Final Verdict

As a result of this misrepresentation and the dismissive response from staff, my rating is 1 star out of 5, with a vow...