Des Deux Acacias - Paris, France 

This hotel was awful. Sent here because our hotel booked had water damage. Rooms disgusting, damp, dirty, walls chipped and marked, lift tiny (although we did laugh trying to get suitcases and people in together). Carpets filthy. Breakfast room tiny. We refused to stay here. Man on desk was of help though. It was not his fault. I would not recommend this to anyone unless desperate. Found another hotel.

We booked through the tourist office at Gare du Nord. We needed two rooms (2 adults; 2 adults+2 kids) For a 2 star we thought it was a bit pricy 95E & 150E. Once we saw the larger room we really thought it was pricy - 4 beds cramped in with no walking space. But this is Paris and once we moved the room around it was fine. The man at the front desk said we could have the room for 120E because it wasnt the room we had booked and our room wasnt ready yet. Saving 90E (we stayed 3 nights) is great, esp when you convert it into NZ$ and CAN$. Walking around the corner and finding the Arc d' so close was breath taking. The rooms were not as clean as they could have been and we were missing towel, however the small room was very sweet. Our problems came when we left. A woman was now at the front desk and she insisted we pay 150E a night. Nothing would change her mind and there was no way she was going to talk to the other man. So we paid, grudgingly. It had been a good stay until then, we didnt expect a glossy, modern building, we expected a bit of "Paris Charm". if only this could have extended to the woman at the front counter. Our lesson - we should have got the man to write down his quote for us. Lesson well learned. If it wasnt for her attitude I would have rated our stay as average.