Trigger Warning: bedbugs.
The short: we had a horrible time in Paris because of this hotel, it's long-term bed bug infestation, and the manager's decision to not do anything about it.
The long: when we first checked in to the hotel Regina, (at 2 pm - the check in time) we ended up having to wait for 3 hours to go to the room because of the "cleaning fumes". First sign.
We stayed in room 1003. If you are staying or get put on the first floor, you will have bed bugs. I promise.
We are from New York - we have dealt with bed bugs before. We know the signs. We kept waking up with horrific little groups of bites. In two nights the amount of bites we had were making any task excruciating. In all honesty, we probably should have gone to the emergency room - but we don't speak much French. And we wanted to try to enjoy the rest of our trip. We tried to give them the benefit of the doubt and figured they could be mosquito or gnat bites. However, I awoke at 6 am one day with one crawling on my arm. We jumped out of bed and counted, taking pictures. TWENTY. Never in my life have I seen an infestation this bad. It was absolutely foul.
We ran downstairs to get someone and literally had to yell in the lobby to get someone to show up. The guy had been asleep in a back room and barely spoke English (which is fine, we were in France and it's not his job to speak English) but we demanded to speak to the manager. He said he would come at 8:00 to take care of it.
THREE AND A HALF HOURS LATER the manager graces us with his presence (half dressed and incoherent). He reimbursed us in full but through asking a series of questions we discovered that THEY KNOWINGLY PUT PEOPLE IN BADLY INFESTED ROOMS "we clean them so it's okay!" WRONG. The bedbugs are living in the mattress, headboards, and walls (and probably the nasty moldy carpets). They were completely aware of the infestation and chose to put guests there anyway.
Also, due to the harsh chemicals (which, after use, you should not sleep in that room for TWENTY FOUR HOURS not THREE) we have had sore throats. Although that could have been from the moldy, disgusting carpet. The shower has no barrier, just a drain in the bathroom floor, so the carpet gets soaked every time you shower.
The fact is it was nice they reimbursed us but it was clear they'd had guests this upset before. It is completely irresponsible and inhumane to put paying guests in their rooms. read more