Campanile Blanc-Mesnil

The meals were what ruined my first trip to Paris. I paid for buffet dinner and breakfast as half board, but dinner was just three menu choices, a salad buffet, and dessert for an extra charge. On Saturday and Sunday there were no chefs, so the receptionists had to cook and serve dinner. I couldn’t blame them for the misleading buffet advertisement, but the arrangement was still dishonest to customers. Breakfast was technically a buffet, though the hot food was tucked around corners. Mushrooms, cheese, tomatoes, and scrambled eggs only came out at 9 a.m. I didn’t complain about the blocked toilets or dirty room, but the meals were handled so badly that I feel I should get a refund for them.

I’m furious about the last-minute cancellation. I was due to arrive tomorrow, after booking a room months ago, but today the hotel emailed to say they had no rooms and told me to cancel. When I called, the man apologized and said there was nothing he could do. He said I could get my money back myself through booking.com, but cancelling this late would cost me money for a replacement hotel. That’s unacceptable on such short notice.

The food was great, and I still can’t decide whether the pizza or fish was better. The kitchen quality really impressed us, so congratulations to the chef. Dzena is the person who makes this place special, always ready to help and doing her best to make the stay memorable. Our room was clean and tidy, and a bit larger than I expected for the price. The neighborhood is quiet at night. Paris’s center is quite far, though with a car it takes about half an hour to get there, which seems manageable for such a big city. We’ve found our place to stay whenever we’re in Paris.

Really good service, and Vildor did a great job. The best!