Hôtel Mercure Paris Porte de Pantin

A lovely hotel.

Spending 60 to 80 nights a year in Accor hotels and being an All loyalty member, I can compare hotels. Ibis, Adagio, Novotel, Pullman and Sofitel usually don't differ much in quality whereveryou go. Mercure does have more independent properties that differ a lot. The Mercure Porte de Pantin is definitely more of an Ibis than of a Novotel, although the desk is from wood instead of plastic. For €108 a night outside the Paris centre zone, I had expected more. Only one of the elevators was working and there was a notice on it that this would continue throughout the month of May. The room (414) is one of the smallest I have ever been in, smaller than in an average Ibis. For the first time in a least 50 stays, not counting Ibis, because they don't have different room types, my loyalty status didn't get me upgraded to a privileged room or even a superior one. And a classic room in this hotel really is basic. The floor if the room was not clean. When I came out of the bathroom and wanted to get on my socks, I noticed long hairs and dust on my soles, although I had just showered. And having to pick a piece of used chewing gum from the carpet didn't make me happy either. If you sit down on the toiletseat, your knees are against the wall. The showerhead disperses water left and right and could not be raised because an attachment was broken, but not to the middle where my body was. The sink of the washing basin was clogged and the water didn't get away. Still, with two more night to go. I will score this hotel as (barely) passable. The bed is comfortable and that is important for a good nights sleep. I did get a voucher for a free drink ant the bar that has decent beers on draught. The staff is acting in a professional manner and speaks decent English. And although this hotel is not in the centre, it is close to a metrostop (Houche) with a good connection to the city centre. The neighbourhood is very rough and multicultural, but this doesn't bother me. So, there are some positive points as well.