Hôtel National Arts et Métiers

The room was large for Paris, but the service was poor, and this wasn’t the usual standard or customer experience at Smith Hotels. It was extremely noisy and cold, with heating that barely worked. The Nespresso machine was there, but no capsules were provided, and there was no instant coffee or tea either. The shower only got medium warm. Check-in took 30 minutes despite there being no wait, and the receptionist was unfriendly. They also wouldn’t accept Apple Pay for the guarantee, even though the stay was fully prepaid. The marketing clearly doesn’t match the reality here. I’ve had better service at 1-star hotels.

The hotel was clean and nice, and the service was generally fine until we were getting ready to leave. We then discovered that my daughter’s Nintendo Switch was missing from our room. Staff searched the room again, but offered nothing to make it right, not even a meal, drink, discount or free night, just “desolé.” They confirmed that only their staff and my family had been in the room. They may think we lost the device, but we know we didn't. It was in the room when we arrived, my daughter never took it out or used it during the stay, and it was gone on the last day. So, from our perspective, someone stole it from the room while it was under the hotel's watch. Maybe reimbursement is an unreasonable expectation, but they didn't offer anything. The location is central in Le Marais, though I wouldn't choose that area again because it felt kind of far from central Paris. Our first-floor room also got a lot of street noise.

We spent four nights here and had a wonderful stay. The hotel sits at the edge of Le Marais, with a metro stop just steps away and many of Paris’s coolest areas easy to reach on foot or by metro. On arrival, we were welcomed warmly, and the staff made an effort to give us the church-facing room we asked for. It was beautiful, cozy and spotless. Service stayed friendly and excellent throughout. We’ll definitely return. Thank you!

The location is great, and the hotel is decent enough for a 2-star place, but I wouldn't recommend it. It didn't feel like a 4-star hotel to me. The rooms weren't very comfortable, the finishing details were poor, including the shower, and the lighting was ugly. I was disappointed.