Grand Hôtel Magenta

This place is a dump! It's dirty and noisy and the beds have bedbugs. It should be shut down. If you want to live in Paris and have no money, a transient hotel like this one is perfect for you. If you are traveling or on vacation, go somewhere else. You have been warned.

I visited this hotel in March 2005, and within two hours of being there had booked reservations at a different hotel. This place was awful - it was very dirty, with visible stains on the bedding, we didn't have an en suite room so the shower was three flights down and cost 3 euros. I didn't even bother looking for it. Situated adjacent to the red light district, it did not feel safe at all. The police sirens outside our window kept us up all night. There were no shades on the window, so the sun woke us at 6 am. The metal chair in the room was falling apart and had cigarette burns on it. My girlfriend and I are college students, and are by no means prissy travelers who need high-class accomodations. We spent our entire trip through Europe in low-cost hostels and enjoyed every other place but "Grand Hotel Magenta." The staff was indeed very friendly. And we were just as friendly back to them as we told them that we had found other accomodations.

I visited this hotel in October 2003 and found it an excellent value for the money. The staff spoke English and were very helpful. It was comfortable and had everything a budget traveler could want. At 27 euros, with an en suite bathroom, it was a fantastic value and much cheaper than many other hotels in the area. It is not a grand hotel, and you get what you pay for. There was no TV, but I did not go to Paris to watch TV. I kept all of my valuables with me at all times, or with the staff at reception.

I stayed at this hotel for a few nights in November 2004. Whilst it was extremely cheap and very near to the Gare Du Nord for Eurostar, it is situated in a quite "dubious" area if you're out and about in the evenings. Staff are quite miserable at times, and if you don't book an en suite room you have to pay 3 euros for a shower, which they don't tell you before. It was cheap and uncheerful.

I visited this hotel in October 2004. During my stay a number of my personal items were stolen, including a mobile phone from the hotel room. The staff were extremely unhelpful and informed me that only the cleaning staff had access to the room. In addition, while the staff entered the room every day, they failed to change the towels or give more toilet rolls which would make you wonder why they went in there in the first place. This is a very, very poor hotel.