Hotel La Maison Blanche - Montpellier, France 

The Maison Blanche is a decrepit old wooden building set in an attractive part of town, more a rooming house than one might call a hotel. The rooms are are musty and drab. The staff is pleasant enough, but service is non-existent. There was not even a porter on site when we checked in. It merits mention only to warn travelers to seek accommodations elsewhere.

We have just experienced a hotel from hell, which does not merit even a single star (much less the three it now has plus rave reviews in most guide books). La Maison Blanche is decrepit, with chipped and pealing paint, worn out carpets that are filthy in spots, and battered furniture. Dirt is everywhere, with stacked up tables and broken chairs on the verandah that have not been moved for months. Plastic wood is everywhere, frequently battered and scratched. Our supposed deluxe room (206) reeked of mildew with ineffective air conditioning that switched off at 4.15 every morning. Everything is done to avoid expense – small sachets of shampoo, minute and cheap pieces of soap, no cable television (simply a few local stations including a [---]channel), light bulbs of the lowest wattage, making it impossible to read day or night. Typical of this penny pinching is the breakfast – no hot milk for the coffee, small and nasty croissants, and no choice of juices. The management simply does not care. A year ago, the local health authority condemned the swimming pool, a notice at the entry states, as substandard and advised what needed to be remedied. Nothing has apparently been done. The management is lazy and incompetent. All complaints are treated with disdain. NEVER STAY AT THIS HOTEL.