Parisian Disaster

There is a reason HÔTEL DE LA GARE DU NORD  is so cheap (€82) – it is more like a backpacker’s special than a special deal. If the youth hostel is full, this is the next step up (down?).

Small, even by European standards, the management does not take the time or have the pride in their property to keep the rooms in good repair. 

We had mould along the baseboards, the outdated wallpaper was torn in several areas, there were gouges in the walls and the shower sprayed 75% down and 25% in every other direction. Air conditioning worked as long as you wanted it no cooler than 19C. We had a street side room which proved to be very noisy since Paris does not shut down, even in the less than desirable parts of town where we were located.

The front desk staff spoke passable English, and my French is barely passable, but no other staff spoke anything other than French – even staff who interacted with world travellers. Fair enough were in Paris, where the general attitude of the populace was egocentric at best, condescending towards all other living creatures, including their fellow Parisian.

The ‘Breakfast Bar’ (€9 extra) - open 7am (or whenever they decided to open thereafter) until the latest at 10am (or wherever they decided to close) had coffee; as long as you wanted cappuccino, espresso, or café latte. If you wanted black coffee – go somewhere else. Scrambled eggs (advertised as omelette) were almost raw, and you could boil your own egg to your own specifications. Yoghurt was available as was packaged apple sauce.

If you want a wake-up call – be sure to write it down and give it to them. My 7:15am turned into 7:50am.
Being close to the train station is a bonus because you can take the Metro to everywhere.
Never, REPEAT, NEVER take a taxi in Paris. A €10 fare one day will be €30 the next, to and from the same locations. The Metro is €1.70 in each direction.

My recommendation is to spend the additional EUR and stay someplace where you can sleep comfortably, and where the homeless do not sleep on the street next door to the hotel – unless of course if you are backpacking through Europe, then this just might be your cup of tea.

HÔTEL DE LA GARE DU NORD

31 et 33, rue de Saint-Quentin, Paris

Tél. +33 (0)1 48 78 02 92

Fax +33 (0)1 45 26 88 31

http://www.gare-nord-hotel.com/home.html