The Hoxton, Paris — Hotel in Paris

“Dollar Store” Phillipe Starck-Style Property. I wish I would have listened to the plethora of terrible reviews. Frankly, I have no idea how this property is holding onto such a high aggregate rating because if you take the time to read the reviews carefully, the “one stars” far outweigh the positives. But let’s get to what matters…the location is great and when you arrive into the buzzy courtyard everything feels charming. Check-In was cheerful and efficient so no problem there either. Our first red flag was the walk to the room. We had been told housekeeping is “on request” which means “you can request it but don’t hold your breath.” This is a 4 star Hotel where housekeeping is an option/upgrade. Our second red flag (perhaps associated with the first one) is the hallways were strewn with trash; not just room service trays that had not been picked up…actual trash. And not a single piece of it was removed in the 18 hours we were on property. In fairness, we had been warned about the size of the rooms so I wasn’t even phased when we entered our “shoebox” which felt more like a sleeper compartment on a train rather than an actual room. There is no real place to hang any clothes other than over the SMEG tea kettle and crystal glasses, but those will need to be moved if you want to use one of 4 hangers for a three night stay, [sigh] What about a shelf for other clothing items? Nope. What about the amenities? There are not any. Any at all. Strike 3 came while we were attempting to take a nap. We heard a persistent knock on the door and we knew it couldn’t be the non-existent housekeeping? At first I loudly asked “who is it?” And then when it became apparent someone was coming in the room I yelled “NO! Please stop!” Because my spouse and I were not dressed on our bed. And yet, the hotel staffer charged in anyway because apparently it was her job to deliver us a “treat.” I travel frequently and I have had ocassion where a hotel staffer accidentally accessed my room while I was inside, but NEVER have I had to ask someone to repeatedly leave the room while we were inside undressed on the bed…and NEVER, NEVER have I had to get up off the bed in my underwear and push said individual out of the room while she was trying to hand me a snack size bag of promotional potato chips. It was outrageous, and violating. So we went downstairs shortly thereafter and asked the woman at the front desk to please have the manager call us. I was upset. But again…this is still Paris so let’s not spoil the trip. We left for dinner and on our return (still no call from the Manager) we decided to have a nightcap at the bar. We saw two seats open and we were about to sit down just as an employee literally reached over and pulled the chair away from me and informed us “I don’t have two seats at the bar, go somewhere else.” I said calmly “we are guests at the hotel” and he said “I don’t care, you can’t sit here.” Wow. So we headed back to our room/closet defeated. What else could the Hoxton possibly do to ruin our stay? I will tell you; If guests would like to have a light breakfast delivered to their room the hotel leaves a little bag for guests to fill out and leave on the outside of your door. So we did that at about 10 pm. Guess what? That bag was still empty and hanging outside our door at 10:30 am the next day. We packed and left two days early. We never heard from anyone in management. We received a cursory apology at the front desk and an offer of a free dinner if we agreed to stay. But really, why would we? More...

ROOM: We got a Roomy with Balcony which was on the far side of the hotel, facing the interior courtyard (which is much quieter than the main courtyard), I think Room 403. Happy with it, and would recommend it. Adequate size (more than I was expecting for Paris, honestly), with a full wall separation between the main room and the bathroom. Comfortable bed and effective blackout curtains. The balcony had enough room for a table and two chairs and was a nice spot to lounge with coffee/drinks. Cute touches throughout the room like a radio (music playing when you arrive) and an old-school telephone. Welcome note and treat with some balloons, since we were celebrating a special occasion, which was a really sweet touch. The bathroom was functional and a decent size. I do feel like the shower should have a full door closure rather than half (we used a towel on the floor and made sure to stand strategically so as to not cause flooding, but I feel like you shouldn't have to be thinking about these things on vacation). Overall vibe is very trendy, simple, and modern.

SERVICE: Mostly a hit, though I think we got lucky with our timing since the inherent issue with the hotel is that it's doing a lot with not enough staff. We benefitted with staying during the week (Mon-Fri) and in May (prior to peak tourist season), when things were a little slower, so staff was more less stretched thin. Check-in location is slightly confusing (to the left far side of the lobby), though someone directed us which was helpful. Smooth overall, though I wouldn't use their front desk staff as a formal concierge for booking reservations or directions. We did get housekeeping daily and towels on request, no issues there. The room was clean. The main thing, as other reviews have noted, is that their downstairs restaurant / cafe, Rivie, is extremely popular and crowded (at all times), which funnels a lot of their staff in that direction rather than towards guests. Rivie itself is hit/miss, too (first time great, second time awful). The food overall is actually decent (and pricing fair). Manon was a WONDERFUL server, and she set a great tone for service there. Our last day, however, we allotted 1.25 hours for a light breakfast (eggs and french toast) prior to catching a train, and at the end of that 1.25 hours, we still had no food nor any updates about where it was / when it was coming, so we had to leave without eating. They apologized and refunded which was appropriate, but actual communication would have made an enormous difference in our last impression upon leaving the hotel.

LOCATION: Great. Near the Metro. In the 2nd Arrondissement, very walkable to tons of restaurants / shops as well as the Metro. On a quiet side street. No complaints whatsoever, found this very central and would stay in this general area again. Safe, including at nighttime (coming from Los Angeles as a reference).

OVERALL: I'd stay again and try the other Hoxton branches, though I'd be strategic with timing (off-season / early peak, week vs. weekend), and go to Rivie during less crowded hours. Trendy, more for 20s/30s rather than older crowd. Scant on formal amenities, though tries to make up for it with easy food / bar / coffee access. Convenient location. Would recommend more focus on service with respect to...

So where do I begin with this hotel.

I would definitely not recommend anyone staying or dining at this hotel.

We arrived to the Hoxton in the evening and no one was there to help with the bags or to show where the reception was. Further, it turned out you had to carry and pull your luggage through the bar area, restaurant and lounge while people watch you struggle not only to find where to go but to carry all of your belongings.

We finally get to reception and check in. Again we ask for help with our bags. All we get is our keys and directional point to where we are supposed to go. Now imagine schlepping 3 large suitcases on carpet through several hallways. It was not an easy task. We get to the room and it’s dark cold and aesthetically not pleasing. There are no robes and the shower barely works.

Now here comes the fun. We go to dinner at their restaurant. I honestly do not know if the server had training but the service and the food were both comically atrocious. I ordered a mezcal negroni and it took 45 minutes for them to serve after about 4 requests. Unfortunately a simple drink like a mezcal negroni was messed up. It turns out that they mix their Campari and vermouth into one bottle and because of that the measurements were completely off.

Now if that was not bad enough here comes the food. The food was absolutely a mess and it didn’t live up to the reviews or standards of any restaurant. It took 1:30 hours to get 2 entrees one of which was a steak tartare which was half cooked. We also ordered 2 appetizers and both were also horrible. The sour cucumber salad is literally a plate of pickles drenched in cucumber juice. Further, the heritage tomato’s were nothing to write home about.

Here comes my favorite part of my stay. As I am going through the lounge of the Paris Hoxton a mouse decides to grace our presence. I proceed to tell an employee that there’s a mouse and all he could muster was “this is Paris”. Combine all of this together and you get one horrible stay that really leaves a literately and figurative bad taste in your mouth. For 2 nights and 1800 dollars and the biggest (really small) room, I would recommend so many better options in Paris that appreciate and take care of their clientele.

And lastly we again had to schlep our bags out of the room through the maze of halls into the restaurant through the lounge bar to the Uber by ourselves without any assistance.

They do have nice staff that want to help but it seems as the ownership just won’t provide the necessary means to accomplish this. Primarily the...