巴黎坎城鬱錦香飯店 (Golden Tulip Cannes Hotel de Paris)

I booked 6 nights here in July. When browsing for the room type to book I decided I didn't want to stay in a Chambre Classique Duplex and paid more for a Balcony Room. When I arrived, which was almost 1am due to a flight delay, I found that I was in the room I paid more money not to be in—a Chambre Classique Duplex. The room is small, dated, and had a musty smell. It is not the modern rooms pictured, but what I am guessing are the older rooms. I went to the reception to explain I had been placed in a room that is of a lesser category than the one I paid for. The person at reception, who told me his name is ****, responded that the hotel was full, there was nothing he could do, he has already checked me in (with the implication that the job he was paid to do was done), and if I wanted to I could check in the morning and maybe I would get moved. While I truly believe that there was nothing he could have done at that moment in time, I find this attitude to be quite uncomfortable, especially as a woman travelling solo. I felt a fear that if something had happened to me, I am running the risk of them treating me in the same way. As it was 1am, I returned to my room. I spoke to 永安, who are very helpful. I requested for the difference in the room I paid for, and was actually placed in, to be refunded, and for the rest of my stay to be refunded, as I find it uncomfortable to stay in a place like this and no longer wish to stay. They helped me to speak with the hotel and I received the same response—that there is nothing they can do right now. And so the next morning, I went back to reception to speak to them. They told me that the Chamber Classique Duplex I am placed in is one variety of the Balcony Room I booked. Note that I have no actual proof of this—only what they told me. They offered to move me to a different room and wanted to show me first, but a refund will not be possible because it is a non-refundable booking. At this point I had only had a few hours of sleep in the room, which I found very uncomfortable; the air conditioning didn’t seem circulate around the room. The hotel is marketed as a 4-star but there is no coffee or water in the room. I asked if it is possible for me to get a coffee and come back to them. Around this time, I was informed by my family that my grandmother could pass away at any time back home in Hong Kong, and I so needed to leave immediately. When I got back to the hotel I explained the situation; I said I will accept the explanation about the night I already stayed, and will not seek a refund in the difference, but I still would like to have a refund for the rest of the stay. I was met with the same response: it is a non-refundable booking. The lady at the desk, ***** (sp?) seems nice, but she offered the same answer over and over—it is a non-refundable booking. I can’t speak for what she was thinking or how she does her job, but the feeling I got was that people here don’t really care what you think, what your opinion is, or what is happening to you; they will smile and nod, but they don’t care. You as a guest just need to know the money you paid is the money you paid, and you will get whatever you are given. I left the hotel without a conclusion on the refund, raced back to Hong Kong a few hours later, and a day after I got home, my grandmother died. 永安 kindly continued to liaise with them on the matter and it was the same answer: it is a non-refundable booking. I never did get a refund from the hotel. As I said, I believe in karma. But I hope that rushing home from abroad to be by a loved one’s side as they take their last breaths never happens to anyone who owns or works in this hotel.