Hotel Chez Swann

Hi Olesya Kapustina, I booked through booking.com and, when I got sick and needed to cancel, learned that its cancellation terms were different from the 48-hour policy on your official website. I emailed and was charged anyway. I tried to cancel around 2 am, apparently 2:30 hours past booking.com’s deadline. I suppose I should have noticed at checkout that the policy was different. Although the wording in our exchanges was courteous, the way this was handled left me feeling otherwise. When I emailed for a receipt showing the tax breakdown, which is required by law, I still never received one, while this review got a reply. It gave the impression my request was ignored because payment had already been taken, and the public review got attention instead. The reply also didn’t look up our previous exchanges, so it felt like a polite canned response from someone who hadn’t understood what happened. And when I emailed to cancel, the suggested solution was to have someone else stay in the room, which was infuriating and no solution at all. Your booking.com policy may give the business the right to charge for the room, but I’d still advise people to avoid Hotel Chez Swann. I’d never risk booking with you again. Best regards, Martin Levac

The rooms are a good size and have a charming feel, and the location is the biggest plus, with lots of food choices and easy access. There was no room fridge or basic complimentary personal care items. Breakfast should either be free or improved. My overall experience was good.

The service was excellent, and they let us leave our bags since we arrived earlier than usual. We stayed two nights, and the location made it easy to walk to the underground city. The continental breakfast was nice. Our room was spacious, though there was an ugly stain on the curtain over the ceiling skylight.

The bed was really comfortable, the sheets were clean, and breakfast was perfectly fine: cereal, juice, coffee, croissants and pastries. The hotel has a cool boutique feel, but several room details made the stay less comfortable. Our third-floor room had a huge skylight in the middle, which woke us at 5:45am after we’d arrived late the night before. We hadn’t been told about it when booking or checking in, and its fabric cover had a water stain that looked dirty. One bedside hanging lamp was missing, leaving an empty electrical hole beside the bed. The room seemed decently clean, but it hadn’t been fully restocked. There was no hand soap in the bathroom, so we had to use the shower’s wall dispenser, and the in-room coffee had no sugar or stir sticks. If you just need somewhere to sleep, it’s adequate. It’s close to being great and has potential if the owners address these things.