In many ways, this is a very good hotel. Under some circumstances, it could be excellent. The location is ideal, close to the old quarters of the city, close to the train station, with a superb restaurant nearly next door (Le Galopin). The sound proofing is excellent, and especially in the back there will be nothing to disturb you at night.
The staff is professional, courteous and even suave. The secure parking is really secure! Someone has to let you in, guide you through the car elevator, turn the car on a mechanical turntable on the way out and open and close various locked doors to the lobby. Perhaps the neighborhood is less secure than we think it is, they have had an accident with a layperson operating the elevators, or they are just obsessive about security or folks leaving without paying their bills!
The breakfast is slightly above average, although we found the coffee as weak as teabag tea. Buy Italian or consult one.
This is a "design" or boutique hotel in contemporary parlance. The lobby and rooms have a bit of a Zen feel to it. Many shades of beige and no art work on the walls. Our bedroom was fairly comfortable. A little annoyed that the only English language news on television was France 24, but we have had a number of other hotels on this trip that advertise CNN and BBC and then don't deliver.
The main point of contention was the bathroom. Of the 14 hotels we have stayed in on this trip so far, clearly this one wins the prize for the most annoying bathroom facilities.
Like most hotel bathrooms in France, the lighting is pathetic. There are two vertical panels for fluorescent lights in the sink mirror, but only one works. The ceiling track light(s) and the dim fluorescent create a late evening half moon lighting. Don't they know ladies apply makeup, wash their faces and men shave in these places?
The sink was an abomination: 3-5 inches (7 to 10 centimeters) too low. Not everyone in this country or visiting it are midgets. The flat shallow lab style sink with two very narrow slits for drainage was designed by someone who hasn't used it. Water will eventually drain, but shaving cream, stray toothpaste and anything else that won't go through a sieve stays in the sink until you remove it.
A prior reviewer pointed out that there are barely a few inches behind the sink for storage. There is room for your toiletry kits well below your knees. The sink is so shallow and the lighting is so poor that invariably you are stepping back to catch what light you can. Rest assured, water will be on the floor.
While the shower area is spacious and has a nice rainwater shower, the temperature never goes above warm, (unlike the sink). Three more serious failings: another narrow slit for a drain. Of course, soap piles up in the shower stall. There is no security rail, horizontal or vertical inside. People fall from time to time in showers, and this is a senseless security risk. I'm a lawyer, but you don't need to be one to think this one through. Finally, since the very long door is flush with the floor, when you open it, it has a squeegee effect, the bath mat has to be a good meter away since it won't clear the door, and voila, there is plenty of water on the floor which you have to mop up with your bath towel.
The water closet is around the corner in another corner of the guest room, pretty standard in France. Then, you walk through the bedroom to wash your hands in the aforesaid sink.
Would we stay here again? Perhaps. I might have to bring a large battery lantern (torch to the Brits) for the bathroom. I'm not obsessed with bathrooms, but like everyone, I use them all the time. Don't buy sinks, shower stalls and bathroom lighting without testing them and using common sense. Unfortunately, this is a text book case of how not to do the same. less