HÔTEL LA VILLA EUGÈNE ^{* * * * *}

Booked Villa Eugene as noticed it on previous trip to Epernay. Beautiful hotel with well appointed rooms, a gorgeous bar and the most amazing staff. It can feel like a long walk into town on a hot day, but what a walk! All along the avenue du Champagne!! Thoroughly recommend and we will return.

Great hotel in excellent location at the end of the rue de champagne. 20 minute walk to town centre is really 2 hours stopping off for a glass or 2 or 3 - lovely walk. Staff great and could not do more to make us feel welcome.

Great hotel , wonderful staff but room very small for a double . Shower very tight for 6ft male of medium build . Pillows challenging but that a personal issue !

I booked for a 'PRESTIGE' room category at EUR405 per night and received booking confirmation for the same. I then received an email from the hotel informing me that they no longer had any prestige rooms available and so i could choose 'BUSINESS' for EUR 290 per night, or 'DELUXE PRESTIGE' for EUR480 per night.

I asked if they could put us in the 'DELUXE PRESTIGE' room for the same price i had booked and they refused. In the end we agreed to pay the higher rate of EUR 480 per night, and the hotel threw in breakfast to compensate us (EUR100 total for 4 meals). My debit card was charged at this time.

When we arrived, we were asked to provide a card for the hotel to take a block for the reservation. I was informed that the original charge would be reversed and that a new block payment was needed to secure the stay, using the card machine. I only had an AMEX credit card (which they don't take) or my debit cards. I thought we had paid already because the money had been taken from my account at booking.

In the end, my husband was able to provide a non-AMEX credit card and in the confusion, the receptionist mistakenly charged the full payment on his credit card, rather than just the temporary block.

She immediatelty refunded this charge, however, because she charged the full amount to his credit card - we were charged over £35 in foreign transaction fees. After this, she then correctly took the payment for the block. At check out I was able to pay on the original debit card that i had booked with in the first place.

On to the hotel itself -

1. Bedding - I had read online reviews that the pillows weren't good, so i brought my own pillow! I'm glad I did - as the pillows were very lumpy. The mattress also had lots of lumps and two dips on the left and right side from use.

2. Room - the room itself was very large and there wasn't any noise from the road which was great. However the decor is a bit cluttered/random. I appreciate this is a heritage building with a rich history and that some of the furniture is likely very expensive - however overall the decor is a bit confused/stuffy.

3. Receptiion - almost every time we came into the reception/front desk during the day - there were no staff members available. Guest luggage was left unattended in this area for long stretches of time.

4. Breakfast - if you are used to 5 star hotel breakfasts you will find this selection underwhelming. They had cold meats/cheeses/yoghurts and then for hot dishes scrambled eggs/mushrooms/beans. They then had fresh pastries and breads.

5. Bathroom - the toilet in our room wouldn't flush properly, in the sense that after the flush the water would run for hours afterwards. Water pressure was good, although difficult to get the right temperature. There was no conditioner provided - only shampoo.

6. Gift shop - one unsettling thing is that almost everything in the bathroom, or around the hotel had a little note on it suggesting guests could buy this from the hotel and the cost. This isn't something you see commonly in 5 star hotels ecept for robes and maybe an umbrella. This was on everything - the soaps, room spray, you name it - you can buy it!

Overall - we were pretty disappointed with the standard of the hotel. I wouldn't say it's a 5 star hotel, probably more a 3.5 or 4 star.

We did look up the star classification system in France and learned that there is a different system - and hotels are checked once every 5 years (and are also able to choose who is their assessor)! This is a helpful article: https://www.canaldumidi.bike/hotel-stars.html

In hindsight we would have been more comfortable staying in town, in a 3 or 4 star modern hotel.

I have provided my feedback to the hotel directly and their response was less than satisfactory. I explained that we were out of pocket due to the fx fees and the hotel replied - blaming us for providing the wrong types of cards to start with. It seems they are more interested in defending themselves/blaming us - than listening to their guests feedback.

Very nice hotel. Not cheap! Drinks at the bar are very high. Private parking, also not free. Nice room. Good beds and shower. Very nice staff. Beautiful pool. But roomrates and drinks are to expensive.