Maggie Anaya. Date of travel: Dec 2005
I read several reviews before our trip and not one mentioned the fact that the hotel is two blocks from the porn district. The nearest metro (Blanche) is right in front of the Moulin Rouge, and the whole street is filled with peep shows and sex shops. I didn't feel threatened at anytime, just extremely uncomfortable. If I wasn't walking arm-in-arm with my fiancé, he was being coerced and almost dragged on one occasion, into the peep shows. It's ok if that is what you are looking for, but it's not a family-friendly location. Our room was sufficient, but it was a double (two twin beds pushed together) with an extra twin bed wedged in to make it a triple. We had to move one bed to open the cabinet to hang clothes. The photos greatly exaggerate the spaciousness of the rooms, and the hallways are so narrow you can barely get the suitcase through. The bathroom seemed up to date and clean, although very small. Just remember to pull up on the handle to flush, and don’t drop the soap in the shower. The only English TV channel is CNN, but we did catch Desperate Housewives in English with French subtitles. We weren’t there for the room, so it worked. We left early and came back late every day. Saturday night several people were in the intersection of the street screaming and carrying on in the middle of the night, which woke us all up. Then someone yelled out their window that they were calling the police and the people promptly left. That was the only problem we had with noise, except for hearing the people in the next room through the bathroom wall. It’s not really that close to the opera, we didn’t walk, but it was easy to get to by taking the Metro. The staff was friendly and helpful, and did their best to answer questions. Tour Operator: Virgin-Vacations.com