Hôtel Duminy Vendôme — Hotel in Paris

The Duminy Vendome is so well located that during several days in Paris, my wife and I did not need to take the metro and only requested taxis or Ubers on a couple of occasions. Just steps from Rue de Rivoli and the Tuileries, and very close to Place Vendome to the north, the area is filled with restaurants, the Musée d'Orsay is across the Seine, and the Louvre is just a short walk away.||The hotel services are limited. On the bed, there was no top sheet to cover us, only the sheet placed over the mattress and, on top of it, a duvet. We had a hard time explaining that we wanted an extra sheet; then, instead of making the bed, they just left the sheet in the room, and we had to make it ourselves. In the bathroom, which is very small, there were no amenities like those provided in any 4-star hotel. They could be requested at the reception, but they were not available in the room. On the last day of our five-night stay, there was no shower gel or shampoo.||The room is poorly designed. There is ample space between the TV and the work table and, on the other hand, the bed. But the distance between the bed and the bathroom is 30 centimeters. It can certainly be an advantage to have the bathroom close, but not that close 😄.||On the other side of the bed, in the middle of the room, there is a pillar that obstructs the passage. Clearly, those who designed the architecture of that room did not think about the guests.||The breakfast, in the basement of the hotel, was adequate, although the dining room where it is served is completely enclosed, without ventilation and with a lot of resonance for any sound.||The staff is friendly but inept at handling situations they have not anticipated. In the rooms, there is no brochure informing about the hotel’s services. Instead, there is a QR image that supposedly leads to that information online when scanned. For some technical reason, when I scanned that image on my cell phone (which had a SIM card I bought in Italy), the hotel information did not appear, but instead, it showed a dating site (!). When I explained this problem to the man at the reception, showing him my cell phone, and requested a printed brochure with the hotel information, he refused to believe there was a technical problem. Additionally, the hotel did not have that information printed.||Poor in services, with an extraordinary location, and almost always attentive staff, the Duminy Vendome is a good option if you do not expect a hotel that offers more than just a place to stay and...

I would give it five stars except for I ordered a king size bed and they do that thing that a lot of European cities do and put two twin beds together without putting a topper on it and just have a big ridge in the middle when you’re sleeping with your partner. I hate paying more for a king size bed, and then finding out that I should’ve just ordered two twins for the cheap price and just shove them together myself. Apart from that, the staff was lovely and the location is unbeatable. You’re in the best part of the city or at least the highest and right down the street from Chanel and Hermes, etc.. that also stands to explain the prices around any of the bodega or cafés because they are quite more expensive for any standard dish than most other places. But that’s just a choice of where you stay. A beautiful park is across the street and you can wander around there for as long as you like. The hotel itself is quiet. We never heard anyone else. There are no extra amenities like a pool or sauna or steam room that I know of. No restaurant except for the breakfast area. And the rooms are super basic though not as tiny as others in Europe. There’s just no art or anything, “Homey” inside the rooms. Like many other guests we asked for more hooks. There’s only one in the entire room and the staff will often put your robes on the one hook together and then there’s no place to hang a coat or a bag or anything at all. Our room number 210 had a long hallway leading from the front door to the actual chamber, which could easily have coat hooks in it as could the back of each one of the doors so that you have space to take off your jackets or bags when you arrive back. They said they are listening to those guest suggestions because we’re not the first to say it. Our room looked into the courtyard, not the city Street and had to very tall double windows that opened for fresh air or light. I would recommend this hotel as long as you read the above review and you’re fine with those things. Btw breakfast is not included but is 21Euro per person. We opted to go across the street to any of one of the local places and get hot eggs and croissants and coffee, etc. and it never added up to that much. Also, FYI, there is a grocery store and a wine store about four minutes walk for any supplies...

Avoid hotel, sewage gas leak, no refund given for room downgrade: We have stayed at 6 different hotels in Paris and this one is the worse by far. We first walked into room and smelled strong perfume. Didn’t think much of it and opened windows to air it out. We went out for a bit came back and took a shower. Then two hours later we started hearing the toilet gurgle and the shower head kept leaking water on and off. Then we smelled a foul rotten egg odor that filled the entire room to the point our throats started hurting. Went down to the front desk and asked to change rooms. This was at midnight by the way and he immediately said did he use hot water in shower. To which I said yes two hours ago. He came up to smell it then said “oh not much of smell, I can just get some spray for you”. To which I said no this is a gas leak which he didn’t seem to care. There was only one room available so we then had to downgrade. That’s when me and my wife noticed they placed a towel over the shower drain in the new room then it dawned on us that’s what they had done in the previous room. So they knew what the issue was and they were trying to mask it with towels and scent spray. They offered no refund for downgrade or for us getting sick. I would avoid this hotel at all cost especially for a 4 star hotel. And the guy at the front kept lying to us. He said come at 7 in morning to talk about possible refund. We did then he said oh you actually need to come back at 9am for general manager but we had to leave to airport. Then he said our taxi was already outside waiting but gave it to someone else and lied to us and said oh your taxi is actually late even though we watched them give the taxi to the other person. At the end of all of this they refused a refund even for the downgrade, and keep claiming they gave us a free upgrade in the first place which doesn't make sense and doesn't matter if the room is affecting our health. The fact they tried to blame us is insane and we have never experienced this time of behavior at any hotel we have ever stayed at. There are much better hotels in Paris to stay at so...