corilow

Hello,
Just a quick question to those of you who have stayed at the Madison in Paris. I was reading reviews of the Madison on Trip Advisor, most of which were glowing. However, I came across one reviewer who was most unhappy and one of his complaints was that the front doors were locked every night at 10:00 pm and that for access you must ring a bell and wait to be buzzed in. He said he had to wait 10 minutes, most of the time, in the winter cold. Is this true? I am just curious, as I will be staying there in January and would like the information so that I can bring my heavy gloves Thanks!!

francophile03

I think what occurred was a one-off. Never heard complaints about that since then.

Underhill

We came back after 10:00 one evening last month and the front door was still open.

padbrasher

The front door of the Madison Hotel was locked every evening at some point between 10-11pm when we were there last March. We rang the doorbell and were buzzed in after a short wait. However, I did overhear a very angry woman complain one morning that she stood outside and waited alone for 10 minutes to be let in the hotel.

Christina

This isn't unusual, so it will probably occur at many hotels, at least smaller ones. The problem is that the desk clerk may have to go to the bathroom, check on something, etc. So, he could be gone. Ideally, not for long, but it can happen. The same thing happened to me at the Hotel Amadeus in Seville, and I had to wait about 10 minutes. I don't remember what excuse the clerk gave me as to where he was for that long.

I would hope the Madison's desk clerk is not in the habit of going off somewhere for that time period, and this was probably just bad luck as to that one time it taking so long. I wouldn't worry about it.

LoveItaly

I think the thought that the deskclerk had to go to the bathroom or whatever is probably what happened. Most small hotels (at least in Italy) do this when they have to leave the reception area for a few minutes. For security..
but 10 minutes in the cold can be a long time, especially when you do not know how long it will b.

hopscotch

Have you seen the web site for this hotel? Voyant incroyablement! http://www.hotel-madison.com/

Having a locked front door after midnight is common for small 1 and 2 star hotels in France. The night clerk sleeps in the foyer and responds within a minute when you ring the bell.

Hotel Madison has 3 stars and 55 rooms. I've never stayed there but it is probably equivalent to a 2 star hotel, buoyed to 3 star by location and room amenities. You can certainly find a better deal on a side street in the neighborhood.

Underhill

The Madison is most definitely NOT a 2-star hotel; it is a fine 3*. As for the locked or unlocked door, I remember one evening that a homeless person came in and made a bit of a fuss--perhaps that's why the door is locked sometimes. But the hotel does have a regular night receptionist who does not sleep in the foyer but is behind the front desk.

Ann41

When we checked in the Hotel Clos Medicis, which is also a 3* in Paris and often people on this site end up choosing between that hotel and the Madison, the desk clerk made a point of telling us that the door would be open 24 hours a day. And it was.

SeaUrchin

I think it is better for a small hotel to lock its doors after a certain time, certainly safer. If you have been out and about all night, what is a few minutes more? Bring the gloves and warm shoes and do some jumping jacks while you wait.

SandC

Stayed at the Madison for 4 nights in the summer of 2003, two of the 4 nights we returned to find the hotel doors locked. Both times the door was promptly opened by the front desk clerk (who appeared to been sleeping).

Robespierre

Um, have you all ever heard of Customer Service?

I don't think placing the convenience of the desk clerk above that of a guest paying $300-$500 a night is very good relations, much less value for money.

I would never stay at a place with such a reputation.

SeaUrchin

Sometimes I stay at the quirky little Lorelei Londres in Sorrento, they lock their doors at midnight, you ring a buzzer, the nightman who sleeps on the couch or watches tv in the "den" gets up and lets you in. I think it is better than allowing anyone to roam in from the street at any hour of the night. To me, that is customer service.

Patrick

"Author: Robespierre
Date: 10/17/2004, 12:51 pm
Message: Um, have you all ever heard of Customer Service?

I don't think placing the convenience of the desk clerk above that of a guest paying $300-$500 a night is very good relations, much less value for money.

I would never stay at a place with such a reputation."



Interesing concept, Robespierre, so how would you handle the situation? Only hire employees who never have to go the bathroom? Provide them with urinals to use discreetly behind the desk? Tell them if someone rings them and needs some problem in their room handled, for them to answer to go to Hell, as they have to stay there at the desk in case someone comes by? Or would you hire an extra couple of employees so there are always two of them for those very rare occassions and just raise all the rates to pay for the extra salary?

padbrasher

Guests could be allowed the responsibility of unlocking the front door with their own key or electronic code. It worked well at the Hotel Zum Turken in Berchtesgaden!

francophile03

Blunt reply, Patrick, but so true! Locked doors occur here in the States too. I have stayed at a small town hotel in Kansas where the night clerk locks the door late at night and you have to ring the bell to get inside. One night we obviously had awakened her! She slept in a room behind off
the front desk.

Underhill

Many owners of small motels lock the office doors after 10:00 p.m. for safety reasons, with a buzzer for use in emergencies or for after-hours guests.

Robespierre

I didn't say I would "handle the situation," Patrick. I said that for the kind of money the Madison charges, they should be able to spare their paying guests the inconvenience.

The Trip Advisor poster &quot;said he had to wait 10 minutes, <i><b>most of the time</b></i>, in the winter cold.&quot;

I don't know what the sample size was (number of entrys, mean time to response, and so on), but this sounds to me more like a defective policy or an employee who needs straightening out than a &quot;call of nature&quot; coinciding with a guest's arrival.

I might cut the hotel some slack if this shabby treatment didn't occur in a predictible pattern. But in any case, it's their job to &quot;handle the situation,&quot; not mine.

WillTravel

Combining this topic with another thread, does the Madison require that you leave your key at the front desk?

Underhill

No keys; just electronic cards.