My wife and I recently stayed at the Agate Hotel in Paris for seven nights. We found the hotel to be located just a short walk from a Metro station making it a very convenient location for the sights of Paris. Around the hotel are lots of shops, supermarkets, restaurants and cafes so one need never go hungry. There is also a local market right outside the hotel on Wednesday and Saturdays.

The Hotel's rooms are contemporary in fittings and are kept spotlessly clean however our room was very tiny being only four by five paces in area so about 13 sq meters which we both found quite claustrophobic. In the bathroom you certainly can not lift your arms out to your sides, so neat and clean but tiny rooms. We also experienced a huge amount of noise transmission between rooms which means out of a seven night stay we only managed to get one nights complete sleep and don't expect to even try going to bed before midnight. I had read about the noise problem on Tripadviser before we booked and had taken ear plugs along but even they did not keep the noise from other rooms out and certainly when a guest in the next room goes to the bathroom it really does seem as though they are in your bathroom.

For the rest of the hotel the reception staff are friendly, helpful and speak excellent English and the Hotel breakfasts are good value and may be taken a small courtyard weather permitting.

A nice hotel just such a pity about the microscopically small rooms and awful noise transmission between rooms.

I booked one night at Hotel Agate because I thought the price was ok (70 euros), the location was decent (RER line A, we were just coming in from Disneyland) and i was (falsely) impressed by the photos of the rooms.

Upon checking into the hotel, the man at the reception gave me a really hard time (read: was an [--]) for not warning them that we had a 5-year-old with us. We were fine with paying the 20 euro charge (not overjoyed but accepted it) but he INSISTED on putting in an extra bed. We told him that my kid never sleeps alone, and the double bed should be large enough for all 3 of us. Even if he put the bed in, it wouldnt be used, but we would pay the extra charge, no problem. But he wouldn't budge and was plain rude. (Actually at this point I burst into tears out of tiredness and being fed up). We still ended up in a tiny room, made smaller with a lousy foldable bed that filled up any available floor space. The shower was also miserably small.

So a warning to parents: declare all children if you're going to stay at the Agate. Better yet, DON'T stay there.

The only thing that slightly improved my experience there was that the receptionist felt bad about ruining my mood, and the next day treated us to free coffee and juice and offered to keep our luggage for us. Yes, he tried to patch up for his errors, but the free breakfast did not make up for the horrible room and initial treatment.

I'm giving Paris a second chance this year (August 2009) and will be staying somewhere else (perhaps the Color Design Hotel, which I had intended to book last year). Hopefully this will be a better experience.

You will be glad you took a chance on the Agate. As a fellow reviewer said; it's not in tourist central, but get out your guide book, figure out the map and get on with it. The price was right which was the main reason for staying there. I didn't notice the area being dicey; but then again, I put on a haughty face and didn't waste time dallying around after dark. In travelling as a single woman, I've learned to look forward and keep moving.
I didn't do the breakfast; i wanted to get out and about and usually just grabbed a bite somewhere. The absolute shock of the shower size made me giggle.....when they say " hard to turn around in" they're not kidding. And I consider myself within normal limits for height and weight.
All in all; you get what you pay for; I got a cheap, clean room in Paris ~

I felt totally cheated by the staff. They charged me one more day, as I was 10 min delayed in coming out of check-out time.
I travel all over the world but never faced such situation.
Room reservations were all jumbled--up and I got a smelly, small room in the end.
Later I found out from another guest- that all rooms were like that.

Seriously people --- avoid going to this place.