Séjours & Affaires Paris Bagnolet

A practical place to sleep if you're keeping costs down and don't need a luxury stay. The rooms are comfortable, and I found the kitchen and toilet nice for the price. The hotel is a two minute walk from Gallieni station, which makes getting into the city center convenient. I didn't explore the neighborhood much, but on that short walk it seemed safe, with no obvious sketchy activity. Bring your own towel if you can, and especially bring a hair dryer. Their hair dryer service ends at 7pm and you're limited to one hour per use. They also require a 250 deposit and city tax.

The metro, Auchan, and McDonald's are close by, which was useful, but I felt unsafe in the area. We were wary each time we came out of the metro because of the number of homeless people and drug users nearby, and we witnessed an assault. At check-in, the required €250 damage deposit and €27 city tax meant we were €277 out of pocket within five minutes. Getting the deposit back also requires taking out the rubbish and washing the dishes. We hadn't used any dishes, so that part wasn't an issue. We were still uneasy about touching anything in the room because we felt charged for every little thing. The room wasn't as clean as some reviews made it sound, though I suppose that depends on people's standards at home. We found a stained chair, a torn curtain, a leak from the wardrobe corner that soaked all our luggage, and just one toilet roll for two people for four days. The vents were very loud. We reported the water leak at reception; while we were out, they just put down three or four towels to soak it up. I can't attach the photos right now, but I have them and will try again later. Staff seemed bored, barely spoke any English, and came across as arrogant and rude. The TV wasn't a Smart TV, and for a hotel with international visitors, having only three French channels didn't seem acceptable. Breakfast was poor: a croissant, pain au chocolat, coffee, juice, cereal with milk, and at most two sandwich fillings. Maybe that's typical in Paris, but at €40-€50 per person I expected much better. We don't recommend Sejour and Affaires and won't return.

The location was very convenient for tourists, with the metro station extremely close and plenty of shops, restaurants, and other facilities around. But our check-in started badly because of an unexpected €250 deposit. Our Agoda confirmation clearly showed the total price, and the reservation details said nothing about an extra deposit. We objected when told it was required to cover possible room damage. The amount was charged to our card, and getting it back was difficult. We had to make many phone calls, and it was refunded only after we said we were prepared to take legal action if needed. That left a bitter impression from the start. All costs should be made clear in advance, and this kind of surprise at check-in was very disappointing and unacceptable.

The city tax wasn't mentioned in the reservation, and it was quite high, $30 per room. They insist you pay as if there's nothing wrong with that. Absolutely unacceptable. France should be asking itself why tourism keeps declining.