Firstly, this hotel is on the outskirts of Paris, right on the city ring road. The hotel has a cheap, secure, underground car park for residents and is served by frequent public transport links (bus and metro). As Parisian roads are always so chaotic it takes a good 30 minutes on the bus to reach the city centre. The bus ride is really insightful though, passing through the suburbs and carrying all types of Parisians going about their daily business.

The hotel restaurant was high quality and reasonably priced. The rooms were clean, comfy and secure and all residents have access to free wifi. On the 18th floor there is a gym and sauna (not all the equipment appeared to be working but as my 9 year old son and I were the only users this wasn't a problem). There is no swimming pool however even though one is advertised.

The staff were very helpful and friendly but there simply was not enough of them. Be prepared to queue at the check-in/out, restaurant and bar. We got a fabulous deal for this hotel on lastminute.com (it was the mystery hotel). The only criticism would be that the air con didn't seem to be working in our room. I would certainly recommend this hotel to others.

My husband booked this trip as a present for me and having read the hotels self description of only five minutes from the heart of Paris though it perfect.

On arrival we were horrified to see the pavements and roads leading to the hotel inundated with refugees fighting over clothes and other items, with huge amounts of police trying to move them on, thank god we got a taxi from Gare du Nord, which dropped us right by the door. My last sentence sounds snobbish and that is not my intention, for a foreigner and a 6 month pregnant one at that it was a scary situation which even the police seemed totally overwhelmed by.

the hotel is indeed close to a metro station but I personally did not feel safe walking in the area around the hotel so we instead chose to taxi in and out of the centre of Paris (around 12-15 euro each way)

Downstairs in the hotel is funky and modern, and the bar and reception staff were helpful and attentive. It unfortunately ended here, the lifts were tired, with a cracked floor in one and a trip hazard for a carpet in another. Our room was basic but clean and pleasant, being on the 16th floor meant it was quiet and at night it had a fairly good view - during the day you saw the motorway and social housing blocks!

A good shower blew away the cobwebs of morning and the bathroom was of an ample size. However the noisy extract fan ran throughout the night, keeping me awake for a long while! On the second day the maid had not refreshed the tea and coffee meaning no milk, or breakfast tea and minimal sugar.

We didn't eat in the hotel, the menu seemed basic and to be honest not particularly french.

If you could pick this hotel up and move it even five minutes toward the centre I would stay here again but otherwise I would not recommend it at all.

Stayed there in september, and found the hotel itself great, but was put off by the surrounding area. When we first arrived at the Gallieni metro station beside the shopping center I was, truthfully, a bit terrified by the area. There were beggars everywhere, and it seemed like men were staring at us. We decided to go back one stop to the porte de bagnolet station and walk so that we wouldn't have to walk through the large groups.
I'd say it was definitely worth using the Porte de Bagnolet station to get to the hotel, and we did that for the rest of the trip. The surroundings on the walk were quite nice despite roadworks and there was a supermarket and a boulangerie nearby too.

The hotel itself was fine! The room was spacious and clean, and staff were very friendly. The bartender seemed to get a lot of abuse from tourists and we witnessed this firsthand. Staff at the reception were friendly and spoke several languages well. I opted for franglais, as it seemed the preferred choice all round. To be honest, i had no complaints about the hotel, only the area. I was sad that I couldnt use the hotel again, as I didnt mind travelling into paris but for that short walk in a poor neighborhood. By the end of my stay I was convinced however that the area was safe enough, it just wasn't very pleasant when you're on holiday.
As many have mentioned here before, there were people selling various items on the streets nearly every day. Many of the items looked stolen or discarded by the original owner. eg. one shoe, old cables, unpackaged batteries, battered boxes of cheap perfume. On our way home, one man chased us quite a distance calling out that he wanted our telephone numbers, and we rarely left the hotel without men in vans pulling over to ask the same. I know this happens, but in this area it felt threatening. Sometimes distressing if you don't feel safe.

Positves:
The beds were nice and comfortable and we had an of corridor room on the 8th floor which was deadly quiet.
Free good wifi.
Luggage storage room free to use anytime.

Negatives:
Our room key did not work. So we got it changed which eventually also gave up on us.
Cleaners seemed to use our bathroom for drinking and smoking. The first day our room was 'cleaned' it smelt of beer. The second day it was 'cleaned' it smelt of cigerettes. With all the drinking and smoking there was obviously not enough time to clean the room so the cushions were put on the sofa neatly and a few extra towels were put in our room. That was all they seemed to do.
We called room service twice. The first time they took so long we had to hang up. The second time they took our order and said they would be up shortly - they never arrived.
The shower head would not stay in its holder as it was broken so you had to hold it yourself whilst showering.
It did not have a swimming pool, however this was advertised.
The gym was small for such a huge hotel and half the machines were broken in some form.
Our fridge broke down on our last day.
Reception take ages to serve you and to do anything once they do.

For a hotel that costs quite a lot per night it is definitely not the type of bad quality and service you would expect.