Hotel Gabriel Issy

The rooms, location, and staff were okay. Renovations made things a bit noisy, and the electricity kept switching on and off, which was annoying and felt sketchy while we were using the elevator. We couldn’t use the stairs because of the work.

The location felt scary, and we won’t stay here again. My sister and I were there for four nights, and the service was extremely disappointing. The room was nasty. The comforters smelled strongly of dirty, sweaty feet. Even with the privacy sign on the door, the woman came in and made the beds every time. One day we told her not to bother cleaning, but she still entered. Some of our clothes had stains that looked like bleach. There was no fridge. The sink was cracked, and the shower was so small and had no door that water ran out onto the floor. We used a fresh towel there each day. On our third night, June 29, we asked the man at reception for towels for the first time. He rudely asked whether our room hadn’t come with towels and told us to get them ourselves from the 1st floor. As we turned away, I clearly heard him say “put4in, m3rd3”. I understand French well, and I know it wasn’t a compliment. I was taken aback by that response to such a simple request.

The bed was pretty comfortable, the room was clean, and the AC worked. The shower had both hot and cold water, and the metro was close. But the walls were surprisingly thin. We could hear people in neighboring rooms hitting furniture and someone upstairs dropping things, clearly even at 1AM. Construction right outside our window was just as audible in the mornings and affected our stay. With the outside temperature over +30C, a mini fridge would have been useful so guests could keep drinks cold. Prices had gone up for the season and seemed a little high for what was provided. Still, a solid option outside July-August.

If you only need somewhere very cheap to sleep and don’t plan to spend time in the room, this might work. I found it so cramped and stuffy that I made myself get up early and come back late. The walls are paper thin, towels had stains, there was mold in the bathroom, and there’s no fridge or microwave. The room was tiny, with nowhere to walk. It looked like one room had been split up: one door opened to a stairway, then another door, with two more doors behind it. We arrived and were told to pay before seeing the room, then couldn’t find it on our floor because it was tucked in the stairway. It’s an eight-minute walk from the train, with a bus stop in front, and it’s cheap for a short stay. But the bald African American guy at reception was rude. When we asked about ice or an ice machine because there was no fridge, he snapped, “the store across the street”. There’s no gym.