Citotel Le Vincennes

Being near the train station worked well for why we were in town, but the stay was a real letdown. The manager wasn't there when we arrived, so we had to phone her to come over. The room was fairly clean, though the dust on the walls showed up badly under the lights. There was no toilet paper or pillows, and the bed wasn't comfortable. It was also much noisier than the listing suggested. We could hear people in other rooms far too easily. They don't take credit cards. We also missed the 10:00 AM checkout time, which we know is earlier than at most hotels, and we're sorry we left 30 minutes late. After that, we overheard the manager and cleaner complaining about “young people who like to stay in bed too much.” Getting up at 7am is fine, but please don't make noise then when guests have come somewhere primarily to sleep.

It's a two-minute walk to the train station, and the hotel is clean, quiet, and really nice. The price seems reasonable next to other hotels. I don't get some of the reviews. Yes, I'd recommend it.

We had to push for quite a while before the owners would give us an invoice after we paid. They said Booking hadn't paid them. We couldn't cancel because we'd made the reservation through Booking, even though we asked if that was possible after a very unsettling reception. The lobby was filthy, and the building's facade felt as unwelcoming as the owners. A dog came to greet us and nearly bit us. They wouldn't let us into our room until we'd paid the tourist tax in cash, but we had no cash with us. This all left us seriously worried about how reliable the place is. Avoid it.

I booked a room because I had exams the next morning. Getting in meant calling a number and then standing in the rain for ages until someone came to open the door. A dog barked at me and bit my leg when I arrived. Then, at 11 p.m., the woman said my reservation had been canceled. I was stranded outside with no hotel in a city I didn't know. She didn't apologize and told me to leave. An absolute disgrace.