ibis La Villette Cité des Sciences 19ème Hotel in Paris

This was honestly the most terrible hotel / hostel I've ever been in my life.

First of all, soundproofing.

I couldn't even imagine that it could be so poor. Even before booking the hotel, I read reviews and several people wrote that in this place you can hear absolutely any sound four floors above. I thought that this was some kind of exaggeration, but no. It really is so. Trying to sleep off after an active day, every day I woke up at 6-7 in the morning from an explosion. Yes, you saw it right. Absolutely any person closing the doors in this hotel on your floor or four floors above creates the sound of an explosion from which you will wake up in a cold sweat. You will not sleep in this hotel. Ever. Period.

Next: the bed and pillows.

The cheapest horror that can be. Instead of a pillow, I slept on my clothes. The mattress is just as terrible.

Next - the temperature.

The room is very cold. Not just cool, but uncomfortably cold.

Next: the bathroom.

I can only say about it that you can't even turn around in it. Standing in the shower stall, you can't turn around without hitting the wall or the stall door with your elbow. The bath, toilet, and washbasin are in one room measuring about two square meters.

Conclusion:

If you respect yourself, your sleep and vacation overall - never in life, I repeat, never book hotels in the Ibis chain. Especially in Paris for this enormous price.

Definitely should be considered a 2 star. Out of 3 week stay in Europe this is not the top of my list considering the price point. Staff were initially rude at the front desk, however on our last night this lovely guy did make up for it by grabbing us a fan as we were so so hot (the fan didn’t work….but we appreciate the gesture) This was supposed to be the only fan in the hotel? Like why not provide them to the rooms anyway
Again, it is stinking hot and should not be considered 3 star. The fact that there is nothing to keep you cool etc. my allergies flared up for the first time in the trip, as well as that the bathroom you could barely move in.

Given that your establishment is presented as a 3-star hotel with pricing to match, I had certain expectations – unfortunately, almost none of them were met.

The overall design felt extremely cheap, and the room was very small with hardly any space to move around. The bed sheets kept slipping off the mattress throughout the night, making it impossible to sleep comfortably. The soap dispenser in the shower didn’t work, and there was no mini-fridge in the room, which I would expect as a basic amenity.

The breakfast was well below standard – poor quality and very little variety. We also found the drinks at the bar to be subpar. To add to the frustration, parking cost €25 per night, yet the parking was cramped and barely functional. On our departure, we were stuck for 30 minutes because a staff member’s car was blocking the way, and it took far too long for them to move it.

The staff overall lacked energy and attentiveness, which unfortunately contributed to the feeling of being unwelcome. On top of that, the soundproofing is nonexistent – we could hear everything from the hallway and from outside, making it hard to relax or sleep.

Overall, the experience was far from what we expected from a hotel in this category. There is a real gap between what is advertised and what is actually delivered.

Terrible experience. The room and bathroom were tiny, the bed was uncomfortably small, and there were no basic amenities like slippers. Walls were paper-thin — we could hear everything from the next room. Breakfast was repetitive and basic, the same every day. The surrounding area didn’t feel very safe or welcoming, especially at night. Definitely not worth the price. I wouldn’t stay here again or recommend it to anyone.

*EDIT* visit was November 2019.

Actually a very nice hotel for the price in quite central Paris. Rooms small but functional. However the staff were no good.
We booked our rooms as twins however the hotel had accidentally booked us doubles. I had an email to prove and confirm our booking of twins. The man behind the desk, didn’t want to help us at all and said there’s nothing he can do as all his twin rooms had now been given away. Was extremely rude. Eventually made him give us all our own double rooms but it was unnecessarily hard work. I always call our hotel in the afternoon before we arrive to confirm, and everything was set so not sure what went wrong.
I also left some electronics in the room, I know they were there, when I asked the hotel they said there was nothing there. So basically, house keeping stole them. Interesting staff.

Breakfast was good.