Hôtel d'Alsace

Right next to the train station, impeccable service, perfect room for a short stay.

We have booked this hotel just for one night and it was a huge mistake! The only good thing about this hotel is that it’s close to Gare de l’Est and Gare du Nord, but, in all honesty, is not worth it. The elevator works up to the 5th floor, if you get a room on the 6th you need to carry your bags on the stairs. They initially offerred a room on the 6th floor and we asked for a room on the 5th, as we had luggages. We got room 505 (from the safety plans on the door, the “x05” rooms are on the corner of the building). There was a moldy smell as soon as we entered the room, and there was mold in the bathroom. The sheets were stained and we discovered that the air conditioning is not working and “the alternative heating solution” were two small radiators (which meant we only had one plug left to use to charge our devices). Initially we thought those could work, and did not want to make a fuss about it. But after we spent about 1.5h in the room under the blanket, wearing 2 layers of tops and bottoms, plus our winter hats, we realized that it’s not getting warmer than ~ 14-15 degrees Celsius / ~ 57-59 degrees Farenheit. We haven’t looked carefully at the towels because it was too cold for a shower anyway. We went downstairs to discuss just about the heating problem with the receptionist, having in mind that we’re staying there just one night. (I didn’t pick up his name, but I guess it’s easy to check who was working ~ 18:30 pm on Jan 5th.) He was quite rude, he basically told us that he can’t do anything about it, that we’re staying only one night, and the hotel is fully booked (which we checked on booking right after that, and guess what: it wasn’t for the same type of room that we booked, there were 2 more available 🙂 - but it was more convenient to let us freeze overnight than to change the already stained bedsheets), that we already got two heaters and they normally give just one, and that if we’re too cold we should just stay under the blanket. And that it’s just unfortunate it’s snowing… It can be checked on the weather forecast that there was just a -3 degrees Celsius difference due to the snow, that room would have been freezing cold anyway. Bonus: the temperature control handle of the shower was missing. We ended up sleeping 5h dressed like we were going skiing and decided to leave earlier, around 5:30 am. Worth mentioning that the person who was at the reception in the morning (Jan. 6th, ~ 5:30 am seemed nice, although the interaction was brief).

Well, what can I say. The really only good thing about this hotel is the location. The area is amazing and full of life. Directly at a metro station, all the bus routes and a major train station. So easy to use the metro from here. The hotel itself basically is a place to sleep. But don't look for any luxuries here. We didn't have a working heater in our room for four days. Zero degrees outside. About 60 inside the room. The breakfast is ok, but no meat. Just bread, hard boiled eggs, cheese, applesauce, juice and coffee, with a small selection of pastry breads. You literally eat in the hotel lobby entrance. Right next door is an amazing Italian restaurant and next to that is a crepe stand. Highly recommend both. So Hotel Alcace is a bit jank, but it's in a great location. Expect to see your regular street trash around this neighborhood, such as the old lady sleeping in front of the hotel on the sidewalk yelling at everyone, the other old bum mumbling to himself nonstop going no where, tons of tourists and regular people doing whatever. You know, regular big city shi7. It's an awesome place. Like I said, a lot of life. So stay here if you don't care about hotel luxuries and just want a place to crash while you explore Paris. It's perfect. But don't expect anything special. Two stars for the hotel, and five stars for the location.