The location was good, but the room wasn't terribly clean and the air conditioning didn't work. Even though the weather wasn't terribly warm it was still stifling in the room and made it feel even smaller than it was.

We stayed at this hotel for 3 nights. We were given one of the rooms that seem frequently mentioned in the bad reviews in the court yard. We were in #3 or #4. The bathroom was huge compared to other pictures I’ve seem from reviews. It only had a shower which was fine with us. The room was not huge but not bad for a Parisian hotel and had a lot of storage space (i.e. closet and shelves. The decor was more modern. The staff were friendly at check in and answering our questions. There were absolutely no bedbugs in our room. I thoroughly checked the bed for evidence of bedbugs and found none. We also did not have any bites. The air conditioning was broken and we informed the staff, who said they would have it fixed the next day but no one came the entire stay we were there. This wasn't much of an issue as we did not need this. I've stayed at a 2 star in the Latin Quarter before and this definitely was a nicer hotel. The location was good and very close to the metro. There were not a lot of restaurants close by and nothing open very late. We tried to get a very late supper one night and could find almost nothing close by, a bar down the street did turn on its stove and make us steaks, even though the kitchen was closed. The price of the mini bar was pretty expensive. The continental breakfast was descent and I know my husband liked the hot eggs and bacon which had been lacking from the previous hotels we had stayed at. I would recommend this hotel. I do think that a view would be nicer but we were happy with the room.

My 20 yr old daughter and I stayed at this hotel for one week. The room was very small but we expected that from the reviews we read on this sight. We had a room on the 4th floor facing the street which was fine for us. Rue Monge is a busy street, and the hotel is between two metro stops within a 5 minute walk. The only problem we encountered was the hotel didn't have the key to the room safe. The people before us left with it. We put are valuables out of sight and had no problem. The room was very clean, and the bathroom spotless, probably because when you took a shower the whole room got washed, as there is no shower curtain. We also ate breakfast at the hotel, which was very good. They offer a selection of fruit, yogurt, sausage, bacon,eggs,cereal, juice. The price of breakfast was included in our package. The staff was helpful in giving directions, making reservations, etc. My daughter is working in Paris for the month of June, living in a dorm, and Valerie at the front desk gave her the business card for the hotel and told her to call if she had any problems. We bought water, soda, etc at the market down the street. The price at the hotel for a bottle of water/soda is outragous. RueMoffetard, located behind the hotel is a great street filled with small, inexpensive cafes and shops. We ate there several times. I wouldn't recommend this hotel for a romantic getaway. Overall, this hotel is what we expected.

We stayed at the Des Nations for four nights from 25th April 2008. Wonderful location in Rue Mongue close to the Place Mongue Metro station. Good first impressions and reception staffed by a friendly man. We were given room 3 and were warned that the carpet had just been cleaned and may be a little damp for a couple of hours. That wasn't a problem as far as we could see, especially as we were going to dump our bags and head off out. Room 3 was behind the reception area in a little dank courtyard with three other rooms all facing inwards. The small window looking on the courtyard was the only means of light but due to complete lack of privacy the curtains had to be drawn at all times. The room was very small and, as warned, the carpet was soaking. There was also a musty smell. When we returned close to midnight, the carpet was still wet, but we were so tired we soon slept without giving this another thought. The next morning, we were both unable to shower as there was simply no shower curtain. Not wishing to complete drench the bathroom we had to make do with baths. After a full day sightseeing we returned early evening. The stench on opening the door was overpowering. Mould, mildew, rotten carpet, the smell cannot be adequately described and, yes, the carpet was still wet. Why we did not complain immediately is still a mystery to me. We spent another night in the room, and only on returning the following afternoon to be faced with the same stomach-churning smell did we ask to be moved. And the carpet was still wet over 48 hours after arriving! The man behind the reception desk was reluctant to move us and wondered why we hadn't complained when we arrived. We tried to explain that we had hoped the carpet would dry and the smell would disappear, but it hadn't. He then begrudgingly handed us a key to a room on the second floor and said if we liked it better we could move. This room was perfect. Dry, smell-free, a window that overlooked the street below and a shower with an actual door! Our next two nights were comfortable and we were completely satisfied. I can only think that when new guests arrive the front desk try to put them into one of these four ground floor rooms, and if they don't complain all is fine. The only conclusion is that there has to be a serious problem with damp. The smell we experienced could only be caused by a long-term damp problem. The rest of our stay and the hotel was absolutely fine. The breakfast room was too small and we had to wait at least half an hour for guests to finish breakfast before we could take ours. However, the buffet breakfast itself was fine. This is my first bad review and I do believe we should have complained the moment we arrived. Hopefully this review may tip off other travellers who are due to stay at this hotel. Paris by the way was wonderful!

Paris hotels like this a treading a very fine line between being charmant and plain unacceptable. Small rooms, thin walls, shabby chic public areas are all kind of OK if one is not paying too much, but this is 180 euros a night if one walks of the streets. The des Nations is no better or worse than other Parisian hotels in this respect, but in most cities one would avoid it.