Hôtel Aramis Saint-Germain Best Western — Hotel in Paris

Dark & depressing room with paper thin walls and uncompassionate staff

When I checked into the hotel, the receptionist never asked for my ID which I thought was unusual and not very secure. Then I went to my room and opened the door and there was a man standing in the room, which was very unsettling. He was carrying out some maintenance work and was nice enough to me, but still made me feel a little uneasy and I had to awkwardly wait out in the tiny hallway. The hotel has incredibly thin walls — when neighbours opened their door, it sounded like my door was being opened! Considering the lack of security and also surprise maintenance visits, I felt a bit uneasy the whole stay. Just to reiterate, the walls are so thin that I could actually hear my neighbour unzip their trousers or clear their throat!

On the second day, I returned to my hotel room in the afternoon and thought that the cleaning service had not yet visited because my bed was unmade. I then noticed that they had emptied my trash can and taken my dirty towels — but they had not replaced my towels or cleaned the bathroom (or made the bed). Fortunately I had one towel left and used my hand towel as a bath matt, but that is not very good service.

I found the bed and sheets to be uncomfortable. I think the mattress protector is made out of plastic (see photo) and the bed felt pretty flimsy. The breakfast is a bit sad, with no hot items and the baguettes were hard every day — even though we’re in central Paris? The safe is also really small. I wanted to put my laptop in there but could only fit my passport and wallet.

My room also had no natural light and no overhead light, so I felt like I was staying in a dark basement (a basement with extremely thin walls). This despite me booking a Superior Room!

I have stayed in dozens of moderately price hotels in Paris (it is our company’s policy to only book 3 stars), and would say this one is near the bottom especially as they have heartless staff and unforgiving management, as you will see if you keep reading:

I booked this room for the Olympics about 10 months in advance and chose the flexible rate. My rate was extortionate per night, but I thought that was just the laws of supply and demand for the Olympics. I subsequently decided not to go to the Olympics, since I couldn’t afford €2,400 for a 3 night stay. This was about a month before my booking, so I tried to cancel but the hotel would not let me saying that they had a special Olympics booking policy where you could not make changes less than 30 days in advance. This was 29 days in advance. I pleaded with the hotel to give me some flexibility, but they had absolutely no sympathy for me at all and were very self-righteous about it. During the discussions with the hotel, I saw in the news that hotel prices had come down dramatically in Paris for the Olympics after hotels had realised that their price-gouging had deterred people from visiting. I checked their website and they were offering rooms for 1/4th the price I paid per night! I asked that if they could not cancel my reservation, could they at least move me to the lower rate? They did not respond. In the end, I used the hotel room since I couldn’t fathom paying thousands of euros for nothing… and had an awful stay. Clearly they don’t need to charge so much per night to cover their costs and were just taking advantage of the Olympics to scam people....

I was deliberating between this property and another, and I'm glad I chose Best Western Hotel Aramis St Germain.

Throughout our stay, the service staff including counter n housekeeping were very pleasant, professional n efficient. The staff manning the reception also speak fluent English.

Location wise, the hotel is very convenient for travellers. Just across the hotel is St Placid metro station with 2 other metros, eateries n attractions within a short walking distance. Just down the street is Montparnasse train station, a transport hub where one can take a train to CDG or regional trains. For e.g. to Versatilles Palace which we did.

I'm very pleased with the quality of BWHASG. Given it isn't a large hotel n space is a premium, I was very happy to see that the room wasn't cramped at all. In fact, the layout is well designed such that there is generous leg room. The room we stayed in n the lobby areas are very pleasant, modern n clean.

One can see that BWHASG has given careful thought to the comfort of the traveller. For e.g. the room came with a 8' long credenza cum writing table which provided generous space for make up, toiletries, knick knacks and laptop. In addition to a spacious n comfortable double bed, the room came with amenities including a mini fridge, an electric jug with complimentary coffee n tea bags, mini safe, multiple power points, hair dryer n a cupboard for hanging clothes.

After reading the reviews in TA about no/poor air conditioning in hotels in Paris, I'm glad to say that the air conditioning at this hotel is working n in excellent condition. One can also adjust it to the desired temperature.

Last but not least, kudos to housekeeping! Room n bathroom were well cleaned n fresh towels restocked daily.

As a point of comparison, the 3-star hotel I stayed in London charged the same rate but amenities provided was poor. For e.g. it provided a small 2'x 1.5' ledge which was supposed to serve as a dressing table! There was also no hot water in the room, electric jug, mini fridge or cupboard for clothes.

The single small hitch to an otherwise very happy stay was that someone forgot to activate the air conditioning in our room.

I would strongly recommend Best Western Aramis St Germain for...

I recommend this hotel for the combination of rating, price, and location. Clean and up to date. Windows are practically sound proof. The hot water is instant. The down blanket was plenty to keep us warm. The heater worked perfectly. The elevator is very quiet. The employees are all 5 star. Very comfortable room for two people. We were on the 6th floor. The elevators only go to the 5th floor but worth the Great views. I would definitely stay again. Saint-Germain is a desired location in Paris. You can do your own research on this. This particular Hotel has Bus Lines and two Major Metro lines (Metro 4) immediately outside the entrance and Metro 12 (two short blocks away). This is important to get around. There is a French restaurant (Le Trait d’Union) immediately next door on the corner. We ate their many times (breakfast, dinner, and late food and drinks). Excellent service with the pricing comparable to any French corner restaurant. We liked it because it is mainly a local “hang-out.” Other amenities that we used local to the hotel were a clean laundry mat (maps says 5 min walk) called Pressing Laverie at 5 Rue d’Alencon, the local grocery store (called Franpix), and no-frills coffee shop chain called Brioche Doree. Despite what other reviews say about the slow and bad services of waiters, in the eleven days, we did not experience any bad service at any of the many restaurants we visited. All waiters were polite and quick. We did not use any rating guides to pick where we ate. We ate when we got hungry,...