Amiral-Fondary

This was a small, quaint hotel in an otherwise residential neighborhood about a 15 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower (we were hoping to get a view from our room but no luck). The hotel has a small elevator, and serves breakfast for about 13 euro but you need to reserve your space the day before. The room was clean (with exceptions), and the bed very comfortable. I especially liked the traditional French plant boxes outside the windows and we both liked the towel heating rack. It was nice not only for warming our towels in the morning but came in handy in helping us dry our rain-soaked clothes. Oh, and they have a sweet hotel cat, which helped give Jeff his daily “pet an animal” fix. I did find the lighting in the bathroom to be too dim for applying makeup, although the lighting in the room wasn’t much better. One thing we were not happy about was the fact that there was not a shower door so you ended up getting water all over the bathroom floor. Maybe French and Americans take showers differently, but we needed all of our towels just to dry the floor. And speaking of towels, as in Australia, this hotel did not provide washcloths. They did not even have any. We asked. The room did look like it was ready for a refresh or at least a deep clean, as you could see areas, like corners and the space between the wall and shower, that had a build up of dirt and dust. More noticeably, and my biggest negative, is that there was a significant amount of mold or mildew in the bathroom grout, not just in the shower but the tiled walls as well. The carpet also appeared heavily stained in places, although it could have been shadows. Overall, for now we can recommend this hotel, but I think they need to address the cleanliness issues soon or this would be a less than desirable place to stay.

My first impression of this hotel was, sadly, not very good because of the dirty and trashy streets and sidewalks leading to the hotel. I know the cleanliness of the city streets is beyond the hotel's control but nonetheless, it had an affect on my overall satisfaction. The hotel front is somewhat obscure from the street but we easily walked to it from the subway, which by the way, is about two blocks away and around the corner. I'm going to list my Pros and Cons as it will probably be easier to read than a long post. PROS: Location is good - easy walking distance to Eiffel Tower as well as The Arch. It's also within walking distance to a hop on/hop off Seine river boat taxi. We were able to get on, have a lovely river ride and it had stops at the Louvre and Notre Dame. Staff was very nice and helpful. Water kettle in the room. Comfy bed and pillows. Several good pastry shops nearby. Several good small restaurants nearby. Hair dryer in the bathroom. Adequate closet space. A luggage rack was in the room. A towel heater is in the bathroom. CONS: The elevator is only capable of accommodating two people at a time with light luggage. The elevator limit stated a 150 kg limit which converts to 330 lbs. Since I visited Italy a few years ago, this kind of elevator was familiar to me so I wasn't too unnerved by it, but just be aware. My room was on the third floor. Upon exiting the elevator there was no hall light on. I had to fumble for the light switch, in the dark and dimly lit hallway. The timer on the light was relatively short....perhaps a minute at most. So as I was struggling to get off the elevator with my luggage, and then fumbling with the key and lock to my room, the hall light went off. I had to flip the light switch again so it would light up the hallway so I could see well enough to unlock my door. The carpeting in the room appeared stained in several areas. There appeared to be sand in the shower and mold on the shower ceiling. The towels in the bathroom were dull and dingy and are need of replacement. They look to have been in use for awhile...they were not fluffy or soft by any means. The shower is not fully enclosed so be prepared to stand strategically or you'll get water spray everywhere. There is a rain shower head and that helps some, but there's still splash when that is in use. The daily housekeeping needs improvement. I know hotels have cut back on daily things to conserve water but our bedsheets were not changed one time during the 4 days we were there. They would make the bed, but the sheets were never changed. How do I know? There was what looked like a small, circular ink stain on the sheet and I noticed it each time I pulled back the covers. I probably should have inquired, and that's on me, but I shouldn't have to ask. I expect the sheets to be changed at least once during an extended stay. The coffee/tea tray contained two coffee cups...I used one. I expected housekeeping to change the cup but it sat on the tray for two d