Villa-des-Prés — Hotel in Paris

It’s astonishing how the staff at Villa des Prés, a so-called five-star hotel, can work together to deceive and mistreat guests while still maintaining this rating.||||When checking in, we clearly informed the concierge that we needed a warmer room, preferably set at 28°C, as we had been outside in 3°C Paris weather for quite a while. They assured us this would not be a problem. Yet upon arrival, we discovered that our AC was not working—there was no air coming out.||||We immediately contacted the concierge, and they told us to wait 20 minutes because the AC needed time to “warm up.” We waited—nothing changed. When we called housekeeping, they lied to our faces, insisting that the AC was working—just “not that obvious.”||||After suffering in the cold room, a staff member finally admitted that the AC was not working. We asked for another room, and the front desk immediately lied again, claiming there were no available rooms—even though their own website showed that suites were still available. When confronted, they suddenly changed their story, saying we could switch rooms, but only if we paid extra. When we refused, they showed us a filthy, unacceptable room, saying it was the “only option”—a blatant attempt to pressure us into upgrading.||||At this point, it was obvious we were being deceived and manipulated. With no other choice—it was already 9 PM, and we were exhausted from a long flight—we had to accept their only “solution”: a small heater that dried out the air and made the room unbearably uncomfortable. The next morning, I woke up with a bloody nose and a painfully cracked throat.||||⸻||||Management’s Gaslighting & Racially Insensitive Attitude||||The worst part? When we tried to escalate the issue, the staff actively blocked us from speaking to management and refused to give us their names. They clearly hoped we would just give up and accept their mistreatment, all while insisting their actions were legitimate.||||After a long argument, we finally spoke with the manager, Camille, who gave us a completely contradictory and nonsensical explanation:|| • First, she claimed that French ACs do not provide heating, and only a heater can warm the room. (Yet multiple staff members had previously told us the AC was “warming up” and working fine! Also, when we later stayed at a four-star hotel, we found this to be an outright lie.)|| • Then, she presented room temperature monitoring data, claiming that the heater was effective. But when we pointed out that we were asking about AC, not a heater, she changed her story again, now claiming that the monitor only measures AC temperature and cannot detect the heater’s warmth—even though a staff member had already confirmed that the AC was not working.|| • When my mother—exhausted from a 7-hour flight and freezing Paris weather—tried to explain our frustration and simply asked for a working AC, Camille accused her of “making a scene.” Not once did she acknowledge that we were only upset because her staff had repeatedly lied to us and refused to provide a real solution.||||And then, the most condescending and offensive part: Camille had the audacity to say that she had lived in Hong Kong before and knew “how people like me like” things, but that France was “just more environmentally friendly” and “things don’t work like that here.”||||What exactly was she implying? That Asians are being “not eco-friendly”?That because we’re in France, being cold is the basic norm and what we are asking for is unacceptable?||||This was not only dismissive but outright arrogant. ||||⸻||||After speaking with our travel agency, we discovered that Villa des Prés has a history of issues with Asian guests over air conditioning problems.||||This seems to be not an isolated incident. They deceive, mistreat, and manipulate non-French-speaking guests, assuming we won’t fight back.||||⸻||||Yes, this hotel offers a spa and Diptyque products, but true five-star service is about comfort and respect—not just luxury branding.||||I strongly advise travelers who don’t speak French to avoid this hotel, as they will treat you like you are a five-year-old and fool you around.||||Paris has many wonderful hotels. Don’t waste your money on...

It’s astonishing how the staff at Villa des Prés, a five-star hotel, can work together to deceive and mistreat guests while still maintaining this rating.

When checking in, we clearly informed the concierge that we needed a room at 28°C, as we had been outside in 3°C Paris weather for quite a while. Yet upon arrival, we discovered that our AC was not working—there was no air coming out.

We immediately contacted the concierge, and they told us to wait 20 minutes because the AC needed time to “warm up.” We waited—nothing changed. When called housekeeping, they lied again, insisting that the AC was working—just “not that obvious.”

After suffering in the cold, finally a staff confirmed the AC is not working. We asked for another room. They immediately lied again, claiming there were no available rooms—yet their website showed that suites were still available. When confronted, they suddenly changed their story, saying we could switch rooms, but only if we paid extra. When we refused, they showed us a filthy, unacceptable room, saying it was the “only option”—a blatant attempt to pressure us into upgrading.

At this point, it was obvious we were being fooled around. With no other choice—it was already 9 PM, and we were exhausted from a long flight—we had to accept their only “solution”: a small heater that dried out the air and made the room unbearably uncomfortable. The next morning, I woke up with a bloody nose and a painfully cracked throat.

The worst part? When we tried to escalate the issue, the staff got super defensive and blocked us from speaking to management. They hoped we would just give up and accept their mistreatment, while insisting their actions were legitimate.

After a long argument, we finally spoke with the manager, Camille, who gave us a completely contradictory and nonsensical explanation: • First, she claimed that French ACs do not provide heating, and only a heater can warm the room. (Yet multiple staff members had previously told us the AC was “warming up” and working fine! Also, when we later stayed at a four-star hotel, we found this to be an outright lie.) • Then, she presented room temperature monitoring data, claiming that the heater was effective. But when we pointed out that we were asking about AC, not a heater, she changed her story again, now claiming that the monitor only measures AC temperature and cannot detect the heater’s warmth, even though a staff have confirmed the AC is not working. • When my mother—exhausted from a 7-hour flight and freezing Paris weather—tried to explain our frustration and just have a working AC, Camille accused her of “making a scene.” Not once did she acknowledge that we were only upset because her staff had repeatedly lied to us and refused to provide a real solution.

And then, the most condescending and offensive part: Camille had the audacity to say that she had lived in Hong Kong before and knew “how people like me like” things, but that France was “just more environmentally friendly” and “things don’t work like that here.”

What exactly was she implying? That Asian guests are being not eco-friendly for expecting basic warmth and comfort in a freezing Paris winter? That lying to customers is somehow part of “sustainability” in France? That because we’re in France, we should just accept being cold and deceived?

This was not only dismissive but outright arrogant. After speaking with our travel agency, we discovered that Villa des Prés has a history of issues with Asian guests over air conditioning problems.

This is not an isolated incident—it is a pattern. They knowingly deceive, mistreat, and manipulate non-French-speaking guests, assuming we won’t fight back.

This experience has completely ruined our trip, but more importantly, it has raised serious concerns about how this hotel treats non-French guests.

I strongly advice travelers who don’t speak French to avoid this hotel. Yes this hotel offer SPA and Diptyque, but it’s not providing comfort and respect.

Paris has many wonderful hotels. Don’t waste your money...

I stayed here for 6 nights with my sister in October. Overall the hotel and rooms were beautiful and had no complaints here. The location was also great. However, service was utterly horrible. Two of the nights I stayed at the hotel the fire alarm went off in the entire hotel at 10-11pm and then again the next day. It went off for about 5-10 minutes each time and woke us up. When we went down to the front desk to ask what was going on they were super rude and said they could do nothing about it. I'm not sure how a luxury hotel hires these type of people who treat the guests so rudely. Given this I would NOT stay here again and choose to spend my money elsewhere next time I visit. I expect better service out of a 5 star hotel that costs 900usd a night.

Follow-up to the hotels response to my review: If a guest is smoking they should be kicked out. This happened over a few days and they continued to let the guest stay in the hotel even though guests were being disturbed and multiple people were complaining. Furthermore, this doesn't allow your front desk to be extremely rude and dismissive to me and my sister as well as other guests. You should train your staff to be more kind and accommodating in the luxury service space. No one should spend 900usd a night for the front desk to treat them rudely. The way you handled the situation was inadequate and I won't be...