Last November as we searched the internet for a three star hotel in the Montemarte /Pigalle area, we came across this little beauty (?) on one particular website. This website told us at first glance that L'hotel Armstrong was in Montmarte. Wrong. It's in Arr. 20. Bumtown. The equivalent of a rough spot in Harlem as one of us was spat on during our first evening trip to the metro. Nice.

So:
1. We found it really hard to find.
2. The first receptionist was very unhelpful and quite rude.
3. The room was small, dark, cramped and damp. The ensuite bathroom was filthy and tiny. Do not be fooled by the photos on their website - they are nothing like the reality. The rooms are also freezing - the heating is timed. We had to ask the very nice night porter for extra blankets which were old and not very clean.
4. The hotel is very far away from the centre of town - on average 15-20 stops on the metro. This made it quiet difficult as we went in January when it was very cold. We couldn't return to the hotel in the afternoon because it was too far away and so were forced to stay out in the city centre for hours. This ended up being very expensive and made the days very long. We also couldn't return to the hotel by taxi or late at night (metro stops at 12.30)because it was too expensive and the area was so rough.
5. The breakfast was very plain but as we had been told that it was included in the price by the receptionist on the first day, we ate there every morning (coffee and croissants-nothing more). We were told that to take our breakfast in the room cost 8 euros but as you wouldn't want to spend any time in the room we had it in the tiny dining area. Upon leaving the hotel and paying the balance for our stay, we were shocked and dismayed to find the price had gone up by a further 48 euros. This was the 'price' of the breakfast. We were very upset by this and the receptionist merely laughed at us telling us there was nothing she could do. We felt forced to pay as they had our credit card details.

Although Paris itself was incredible and a must-see, I have to write about this terrible place. Please please don't go here - we were robbed and it could have ruined our stay had we not remained positive about the whole thing.

P.s. The night porter was the only shining thing in our whole Armstrong stay.