Walled Off Hotel Paris

This place has the bones to be exceptional, but it falls badly short of its potential. The location is excellent, easy to find from Gare du Nord and with plenty of bars, shops and cafes nearby. It's in a bustling and fun part of town. Each wonderful member of staff I encountered were polite, friendly, patient and kind - they are a credit to the hotel. They have a lift too, which is very useful. My booking was for a shared toilet on the same floor, and that was not a problem - it was cleaned regularly, and always available when I needed it. Where the hotel fails is in its rooms. For the price charged, and the 'Banksy' leaning theme, I expected more. The first 4th-floor room I was assigned was dirty, worn, threadbare, stained, and there was mould all over the shower room. I tested the door lock and it actually didn't work so they had to move me to another room. This room was slightly cleaner but the tiny shower room was awkward and cramped to use. The shower head itself was on a loose inflexible fixing which meant the water was directed to the wall unless you physically took the head off and held it over yourself. All the while, your body is touching some part of the tiles, the controls, and the shower curtain because the shower cubicle felt designed for small children! The water temperature varied wildly with bursts of scorching hot and freezing cold. My shower curtain rail was held up with a bit of string. The room was very cold despite me trying to fiddle with the radiator using the instructions given, and I had to sleep under piles of my clothing. There were no coffee/tea making facilities, and only one small space to hang anything. No full length mirror, and the tv remote was sticky. The bed however, was clean and comfortable with a good mattress. My window opened out to the street below but was well soundproofed so I didn't notice much noise. But the walls between rooms are paper thin and I could hear EVERYTHING. It's such a shame that the place isn't maintained well, and hasn't been lifted up just a few notches in terms of quality and comfort because they have a great core staff team and a great location. It could be so much more!