Where to start….. we wish we had stayed at a hostel instead.
Cleanliness 3/5. The place was neat but the toilet room was in a complete state of disrepair. The tiles were cracked, there were holes in the wall and peeling paint, the shelf behind the toilet was stained, there was no trash bag only a grocery bag for trash, and a pane from the window above the toilet was missing so the apartment across the courtyard could absolutely see you pull your pants down and use the toilet if the lights were on at night and during the day. The dishes provided were covered in a dusty, white substance so we had to rewash them by hand anyway. The bath towels provided were very rough and smelled musky when wet. Overall it left us feeling a little gross.
Safety 4/5. There were two secure doors you had to fob through to enter the building, and the lock on the room was heavy and very secure. We did have issues opening the door as the outside does not have a door knob and the door is somewhat difficult to move but we managed. The reason this got a 4/5 was because the streets were lined with prostitutes and solicitors. We know this because the same women would hang around the corners all day and night catcalling men who were walking alone, my fiancé was one of them one night when he went to get us take out. Additionally solicitors hang out around the metro entrances trying to sell you cigarettes or grilled corn. We never felt threatened, but we saw a few things we wish we hadn’t and definitely had to stay alert the whole time.
Quality 2/5. I don’t know how to say this without sounding mean. But to put it bluntly, this room felt like the host is only in it for the money. We were given two very rough, musky towels to use the whole trip. The bed gave us back pain to the point we couldn’t bend our spines by the 5th day. The pillows were incredibly thin and lacked stuffing so it was like we had none and we were only given two. The bed is up against the closet door so you feel like you’re going to break the doors whenever you’re propped up against them to watch the tv. It also has a sheet set that felt rough like it is bleached after every guest and had been used for years. The hot water only lasted 2 1/2 minutes when showering. The dishes were plastic and glass, very mismatched, and no bowls were provided except one Tupperware that looked left over from a previous guest. The night stand was very small and wobbly. The table is was good but the chairs tipped over if you hung a jacket on the back. The room held humidity like crazy since there is no ventilation and there was no screen on the window, so by the time you got home all your papers are damp, the towels never dried, and if you opened the window to air it out, mosquitos would come in and it smelled since the trash was right on the other side. We were provided one table top fan for cooling and circulation and that was it.
Location 5/5. The metro was a 2 minute walk down the street, and the street was lined with various shops, cafes, patisseries, and restaurants. Our favorites were a sushi place 5 minutes down the street named Kisoro which had both the best and cheapest sushi we’ve had abroad so far, plus the staff was amazing, and a patisserie right next to the laundry store (we forgot it’s name) that served the best ham and egg quiche and pain au chocolate I’ve ever had. The location was absolutely fantastic for us.
Check in 0/5. I would have rated this 0 stars if I could have. To start off, we chose to pick up keys from the gate du Nord train station so we wouldn’t inconvenience our host by making him meet us in person. This was a mistake. The instructions provided to find the keys and for check in were all in French with no English options. We don’t speak French. Additionally, we are from America so we did not have international service. This began a nightmare 2 hour long scavenger hunt which included asking the host for clarification, asking strangers for directions (half of which said the mailboxes we were looking for didn’t exist), and constantly walking back and forth until our feet hurt too much to walk. Definitely just meet the host at the apartment next time. This was the worst check in experience I’ve ever had.
Final thoughts: look, the room was cheap and we thought we were getting a good deal. Honestly, I wish we had stayed at a hostel. This room is the kind of cheap that makes you realize maybe some people are just in it for the money. This room was the absolute bare minimum for maximum profit, and not in a good way. Again, if you’re looking for this kind of cheap this may work for you, otherwise maybe you should consider a hostel instead.