Yes. Yes. Yes, indeed. I slept on a bloody mattress. And I regret not bringing my sleeping bag… But here I am at the Hipotel Paris Gambetta République, a 2-star hotel with 31 rooms located in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. And it’s too late to go back home.
Booking
Low ratings
My research started badly and I had a bad feeling about this establishment. And I’m gonna tell you why. First of all, low ratings :
- 6.1/10 on 1394 reviews on Booking.com,
- 3/5 on 397 reviews on Expedia.com,
- 2/5 on 122 reviews on TripAdvisor,
- 2.7/5 on 369 reviews on Google,
- 6.2 on Kayak.com.
They’re on those websites since at least 2013. So, I expect better for a hotel selling on the Internet for almost a decade. They had time to evaluate bad comments to correct their work on the spot and improve their ratings.
Ratings TripAdvisor
Bad reviews
Reviews Booking 1
Then bad reviews on all platforms from Booking to Expedia, from Google to Trip, from the opening to today in all languages. Rudeness, bed bugs, cleanliness…it’s too much. They have few good reviews though, I’m not gonna lie. But they’re not enough to outweigh the bad ones. And let me tell you. Travelers on Trip are looking for blood: they detailed their stay and add pictures. They’re not playing.
Reply Hotels.com 1
Also, this hotelier and his team don’t know how to reply to comments, their answers are dry, brief, not constructive or nonexistent. The way they replied, the vocabulary they used gave me an idea of their behavior and validate bad reviews. Surprisingly, on their website, they’re only providing 10/10 french reviews with excellent french replies all from 2021…
Conflicting info
What’s worrying is the conflicting information between their official website and other platforms.
So I’m browsing on hipotel.fr, I’m reading and I found regular info in French, English, and Spanish. On the main page: pictures, introduction, phone number, address, map, facilities, types of room, surroundings of the hotel, reviews, events, and ads.
The second page is a description of the surroundings, the third-page present places of interest in Paris, the fourth page helps you to create your itinerary with a big map and the last page is a booking page. You also can book for day use.
I found little glitches, nothing too bad. But I’m looking at their pictures and at first, I thought it was another hotel… You can read “Hipotel Paris Dauphine” (an area in west Paris, the opposite). Maybe it was their previous name and they didn’t change it… Then on Booking.com, Expedia and Hotels.com, they offer breakfast, room service, a bar lounge, and they even have pictures. But on the main website, they mention a vending machine with drinks only. So I’m wondering do you have catering or not?
In their little introduction, “you can use free access WI-FI in the public areas”. Ok, so that means that it’s charged in rooms but how much? Elsewhere, on the Internet, it’s free or 3€/day in all areas.
In facilities, they offer “private check-in/out”. How? In this hotel, it’s impossible. Some hotels can welcome you from the tarmac, have a special tunnel with a private lift straight to your room, etc. The advantage of a private check-in/out is to avoid the reception desk, the wait, the paperwork, people.
Children are welcomed but considered adults at 3 and above and you don’t provide a crib or an extra bed??? So, if my imaginary husband and my imaginary 4-year-old are traveling, the only options we have are: us 3 sleeping in a double or booking another room for my kid.
Of course, leaving is an option but…
And no age requirement for check-in??? Since when? It should be 18.
Location
Google Maps Hipotel Paris Gambetta République
The Hipotel Paris Gambetta République is located in the 20th arrondissement of Paris more specifically in the Gambetta neighborhood. It’s a traditional Parisian area with nice bars and restaurants, cafés, at some points you have beautiful views of Paris. Several grocery stores for all budgets. It’s always busy with events. I went to a concert organized by La Bellevilloise : the first Parisian cooperative created in 1877, whose aim was to give access to political education and culture to modest people. You eat, drink, dance and discover independent artists.
Gambetta station is the closest one with two lines, 3 and 3B. 3B is a short line more for locals to get to some residential areas. Line 3 is crossing Paris from west to east with major metro stations : Saint-Lazare, Havre-Caumartin, Opéra, Arts et Métiers, République, Parmentier, Saint-Maur, Père-Lachaise. If you don’t like the subway, you got 4 buses (60, 61, 64 and 69) and 2 Noctilien (night buses, N16 and N34). By the way, République and Gambetta are in 2 different places, I don’t appreciate the clickbait name.
Room
Check-in
Rue des Pyrénées Façade Hipotel Paris Gambetta République 1
The facade isn’t the same, it wasn’t what I saw during my booking. Entering the hotel, I arrived in a small room with a desk just in front of me. On my left, stairs leading to the superior floors and 2 doors for “staff only”. On my right, is a waiting area with a sink, a sofa and a counter with high chairs.
As you can hear in the video, the receptionist wasn’t really welcoming. I asked her if she needed my ID. She took it and while preparing my key and paperwork, she didn’t say A WORD. She didn’t try to have small talk. I felt she was blasée, bored, and indifferent. She didn’t sell anything, product, or service. Even the WI-FI, the simplest thing. Sure, the password was glued on the front desk but I was expecting her to present it. She didn’t ask if I needed a map or suggested a taxi for my departure. I just paid and she gave me my key. She was ready for me to leave but I wasn’t. So I asked her if they have breakfast and said yes, it starts around 8 in the restaurant, and I have to pay them directly. The check-out it’s 11.30.
She invited me to take the stairs to go to my room as they don’t have a lift. I’m shocked by their condition and dirtiness. In corridors, they glued paper everywhere: warning customers to wear the mask, to not smoke, to not let food in the room because of rodents… Basically, the information I needed to know at the check-in. My doorknob is sticky. I don’t know it yet but everything is.
Room
Bedroom 1
View 1
As soon as I enter the room, it smells, like sugar, detergent, and cigarette. I can feel under my shoes the sticky floor. Yeah, I had a heads-up… I thought maybe the room attendant just finished mopping the floor. I’m looking for the DND but there is none. I locked my door hoping nobody will open it the next morning. Then this light game that I hate, all switches are connected so I need to find which one is working for what. The temperature is ok as I’m not too hot or too cold. It’s spacious enough for one person but tight for 2 people. The room is luminous even with the lights off. There is no publicity in my room like a booklet or a flyer selling services. I have a backyard view with no backyard but I was very lucky because other customers with a street view couldn’t sleep because of the bar downstairs. You can say straight away they’re not paying attention to details: towels came straight from the laundry bag without being refolded properly, the 2 hangers are battling for space on the closet rod, pillows thrown on the bed…
Chipped paint on walls and doors. And a document was missing from the main door. I could have “borrowed indefinitely” the batteries from the remote control because the back was missing. It’s getting worse when you inspect minutely. Dust and sticky substances everywhere:
- on ceilings, walls and floor,
- behind and on the TV,
- in the fan,
- behind, on, and underneath the desk,
- on top of the curtain rod and curtains,
- on the window sill,
- on top, in the wardrobe, and on its hangers,
- on top of the picture frame and the bedboard,
- on top of and behind the beside tables,
- on the mirror frame
- in the electric radiator and that is why I didn’t try it
Ceiling 1
Desk 1
But the bed !? The bed was the cherry on the top! I was complaining because it didn’t look neat. It was a light bedding: 2 pillows and 2 sheets. I then realized I didn’t have pillow cases but only 2 pillow protectors protecting 2 different pillows: 1 thick square and 1 thin rectangular… I found hair, dirt, stains, and cigarette burns all over the linen and pillows. When I saw blood stains through the sheet, I was stunned. I had a moment. They didn’t even try to hide it… While packing I thought: a sleeping bag it’s too much… I regret it. Why don’t you have a mattress protector? This is mad! With so many cheap products on the market, you could easily get rid of those stains.
Let me confirm that I spent an awful night as I didn’t sleep in my bed but on the top of my bed without a duvet. And I could hear my neighbors all night long (not what you think…) in my “soundproof room”.
Pillow cases 1
Bathroom
Bathroom 1
Vanity Lamp 1
The bathroom wasn’t better… Peeling paint, limescale, greasy product, and/or food on the bathroom door, walls, and ceilings. Even boogers. I found cigarette buds on the window sill so it confirms someone smoked before. The door handle is loose. The floor was not hovered and mopped properly, I could see dirt in corners and streaks on tiles.
I took a shower and the doors were not closing properly so water was flowing everywhere. By the way, limescale was so thick, that my doors were opaque. The old and dirty shower head can’t be adjusted to your height so little as I am, I received water in my face. I was drowning. A shower shelf would have been useful to tidy your products. You have hair and brown residue on the shower base, the corner, and in the siphon.
I noticed a hole and dirt on the defective bathroom vanity light and I can see that we tried to clean the shower mirror with a dirty cloth. On the sink, which needs re-enameling, they offered 3 shampoo/body shower and 2 plastic cups. Be careful! Some guests use them with the plastic film on and put them back like new. Then they dry and the room attendant doesn’t change them thinking they’re clean.
Shower 1
Toilet 1
Check-out
Quick check-out as I already paid. The receptionist asked me if I needed an invoice and was professional during the process. RAS
Catering
As you remember, during the check-in, I asked for info regarding the breakfast and the receptionist told me it was probably at 8. So I went downstairs at 8.30 and met a man at the reception desk replying that they don’t have breakfast. Since he started working there he has never seen one. He said he will talk about it with his colleague. He recommended boulangeries and grocery stores around the block. So, no breakfast, no vending machine, no complimentary tray with coffee in the room, and no minibar.
Facilities
It’s a really small hotel with rooms, a reception desk with a waiting area and I guess the rest it’s for the staff (maybe a stockroom, a changing room or a small office).
Value for money
I paid 60€ for one night in a double room. And it’s WWAAAYYY too much for “their services”. Cleanliness is the minimum and I didn’t even get that.
So with my elaborate calculation, I gave a 1/5. And it’s generous.
I wasted my money.
Final Thoughts
Call inspection.
No, actually burn it to the ground. Rebuild. Furnish. Hire and train a new staff because at this point…
It’s dirty and dusty in general. The staff doesn’t care and it’s not trained. The fact that they don’t have a lift can be problematic for the elderly and parents with infants or toddlers. They don’t have breakfast which can be annoying because you need to look for a place and spend more than you planned. A lot of conflicting information all across the Internet regarding their establishment, and many reviews report the same issues. The website is old fashion. The only positive point is the location. It’s a lively neighborhood with bars, restaurants, concerts and parks.
I don’t recommend.
If you stayed in this establishment please share your experience and don’t hesitate to comment on my youtube channel Theeguest.
