After Balladins in Brussels, this one was truly gruesome. The guy at Brussels must have known what it would be like because he hedged that 'remember not all Balladins are like this one'. How right he was - this one was a cramped and stuffy little ground-floor room that bore absolutely no resemblance to the pics and write-up on the company's site (it is not 'near' shops and restaurants and the advertised internet wireless service did not exist. We had been staying at hostels in England and Scotland and had no unrealistic expectations of 'budget' accommodation, but the sorry state of this hotel (and being pickpocketed on the train on our way there) left a nasty impression of Paris. The staff were pleasant but did not seem surprised at our disappointment. I'm sure they'd heard it all before. more