Hotel Paris Bruxelles

The scaffolding at the entrance made me cringe as soon as I arrived. Once I saw the room, I immediately said I wasn't staying. The walls were cracked, the skirting was dirty, the bed was broken, and the carpets were dirty too. The place is awful and disgusting, a real hovel. The male receptionist was nice and called his manager when I asked for a refund, but the manager said no, so I stayed for the nights I'd booked.

Pay a little more and stay somewhere else. The location is ideal, but the cheap price and photos shouldn't lure you in. I'd strongly advise against booking here. There was construction still going on in some hallways, which hadn't been mentioned. It was kind of like Dexter Morgan's kill room. We were on the top floor, and the tiny lift barely worked. The room was awful: suspicious stains on the carpet, heating we couldn't control that turned it into a furnace, and plug sockets that came out with the appliance when unplugging it. The bathroom was worse, with black mould around the window and shower, which seemed to be the source of the awful smell, plus packing tape around leaking pipes. Stay away from the 'Murder hotel'.

My flight from Sydney was cancelled because of the escalating conflict in the Middle East, and there were no departures on the date I was meant to travel. Official travel advisories from my home country also clearly advised against travel. Despite repeated requests from me and my travel agency, the hotel refused to cancel or refund the booking. Every other provider involved, including airlines, rail services, and other hotels across Europe, acted reasonably and issued refunds without hesitation. This hotel stuck to rigid policies instead of showing basic understanding. Its only supposed flexibility was to change the dates for extra charges running into hundreds of euros per person, which was completely unreasonable in the circumstances. This was more than poor service. It showed a complete lack of empathy and customer care during a genuine crisis. I'd caution anyone booking here. If something goes wrong, don't expect fairness or support.

The staff and location were the only good things. At first, the room didn't seem bad, but then I noticed a cockroach on the wall beside the bed. The bed was held together with scotch tape, the walls had lots of strange marks, and there was dust everywhere. The toilet and shower were the worst part. The shower floor was nearly yellow, the ceiling was covered in mould, and there was dust in every corner. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it.