Zoe T.
Google
❌Review for Hotel La Parizienne – Paris❌
My cousin and I stayed at Hotel La Parizienne and, while our stay started well, it ended in an extremely distressing and unsafe situation that left us shaken and ultimately unable to recommend this hotel.
To begin with the positives:
The location was fantastic and perfect for our trip. The room and bathroom were basic, but as expected for the price. Housekeeping came daily to refresh towels, make the bed, and empty the bins, which we appreciated. The only minor issue was a strong smell from the shower drain, but we initially chose to overlook this.
Unfortunately, everything went downhill during checkout.
Our flight was at 10:45am, so we checked out at 7:30am and struggled to get an Uber due to heavy morning traffic. We asked the man at reception if he could call a taxi for us. He abruptly told us he would, that it would arrive in 10 minutes, and insisted that we “must not” accept an Uber once he had called. We found his tone sharp, but assumed he was being helpful. We also double-checked that the taxi would accept card—since we had no cash—and he told us all taxis in Paris accept card.
When the taxi driver arrived, he greeted the receptionist warmly with a hug and spoke to him in French. He barely acknowledged us, which immediately made us uneasy. Within minutes of driving, we noticed he had not started the meter. When we asked, he claimed it was a fixed fare of €75 to the airport (Uber was typically €50). We asked again if he accepted card and he looked at me through the rearview mirror and very coldly spelled out “N-O.” His energy shifted instantly—it felt hostile and threatening, and as two young women travelling alone, we felt genuinely unsafe.
He then began talking aggressively—either to himself or to someone on the phone—and insisted on driving us around the city to find an ATM. When we got out of the car, we immediately agreed we did not feel safe getting back in. The ATM wasn’t working, and when we told him, he suddenly said he would take card after all and produced a card machine, contradicting everything he said earlier. By this point we were extremely stressed and just wanted to get out of the situation.
We told him we were no longer going to the airport and would pay only the fare up to that point. He started arguing in French on the phone, refused to listen, and tried to pressure us into contacting the hotel so they could arrange another airport ride. I repeatedly asked for our luggage and he ignored me until finally he opened the boot, handed the bag over, and sped away.
For two 23-year-old girls in a foreign country, this was terrifying. His behaviour felt threatening, manipulative, and unsafe. Whether he was attempting to overcharge us or whether it was something more sinister, I don’t know—but the hotel set us up with this driver, and that alone is enough for me to say: I would not stay here again.
After escaping the situation, we had to navigate public transport on our own, running with heavy cases through the city and airports, barely making our flight. What should have been a simple check-out turned into an ordeal that overshadowed our entire trip.
In summary:
The hotel itself is decent for the price, but the staff’s involvement with this taxi driver created a frightening and potentially dangerous situation. For that reason, I cannot recommend Hotel La Parizienne.
