De Castiglione Hotel

The location puts you right in the fashion district, with Chanel, Cartier, and other luxury shops just steps away, and the Japanese and British embassies nearby. Our room and bathroom were spacious. Since there were three of us, the hotel brought in a cot, but its mattress had obvious springs. You’d probably sleep from exhaustion, though your back might suffer afterward. Breakfast was excellent, fresh, and seemed made on site. The only packaged items were fruit yogurts, and plain fresh yogurt was also available. We had a coffee maker, electric kettle, tea and coffee, plus complimentary bottled water. The hotel also supplies large refillable bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, a nice sustainable touch. There are a few design problems. Neither the spacious tub nor shower had safety handles, which could be a concern for older guests or anyone with balance issues. There were also no towel bars or hooks, so drying towels and robes was awkward. Otherwise it was comfortable, clean, and very convenient, with nice touches like coffee, tea, and bottled water.

This was my second bad stay at Hôtel Castiglione. On my earlier visit, there was a strong sewage odor and the air conditioning and heating didn’t work properly, and those problems were never fixed. This time, I arrived at 5:00 PM, two hours after check-in began, but my room still wasn’t ready. They asked me to wait an hour and a half, and at 7:00 PM it was still unavailable. Staff repeatedly blamed my “late reservation,” which didn’t explain the delay. The manager and staff were rude and defensive, with no empathy. I was traveling with a small child who was tired, hungry, and crying, but nobody tried to help or prioritize us. The manager said the staff had “finished their work,” left our luggage beside the elevator, and told us to carry it ourselves. We had to take the suitcases upstairs on our own. When we finally got to the room, the key wouldn’t work. Inside, the bed linen looked old and unclean, with hairs on it. This feels like a pattern of poor service and management, with little regard for guests. I don’t recommend this hotel.

We stayed in Room 711 at Hotel Castiglione, Paris, from the end of April into the first week of May. The location was excellent, near embassies, the metro, cafes, and high-end shops, and the staff were friendly and courteous. The balcony view was amazing, though the balcony was tiny and only really usable when the weather allowed. The room itself was extremely small, as was the bathroom. Storage was lacking, with too few hangers, and the nightstands could use full sets of drawers. There was no full-length mirror. The room needed a thorough cleaning, paint touch-ups, and new curtains, which had stains and holes. The small balcony’s sliding door opened on both sides: one had a broken lock and a curtain stapled to the wall that made access difficult, while the other locked but was very hard to open. The shower didn’t work well. Water pressure was low, the shower heads needed replacing, and the partial wall left the whole bathroom wet. The slippery floor after showering was a fall risk. The heat stayed stuck at 19 degrees C. That was fine during the first few days of nice weather, but the last days were raw, and the front desk hadn’t fixed it by checkout. The restaurant served breakfast only, with nothing available after 10:30am.

It was a nightmare staying here, and the worst hotel experience we’ve had in Paris. There was no air conditioning during the hot afternoons. Construction noise started at 7 am and carried on until late afternoon, making it impossible to stay in the hotel. Workers even entered our private balcony unexpectedly to do work, without warning. They claim to be a four-star hotel, but the quality felt like two stars or less, and breakfast was very poor. We definitely wouldn’t recommend it. For the same money, you’d be better off elsewhere, especially with the nonstop construction noise.