Our stay at Novotel Paris Vaugirard Montparnasse turned into one of the most distressing hotel experiences we have ever had.
One morning, while we were in our room, the toilet suddenly began making unusual noises. Moments later, despite the fact that we had not used it, raw sewage and human waste unexpectedly erupted from the toilet.
The sewage quickly flooded the bathroom and spread onto the carpeted area of the room. The smell was overwhelming, the sanitary conditions were shocking, and the room immediately became unsafe and completely uninhabitable.
While sewage was still actively overflowing, we immediately contacted the front desk and requested another room. We were initially told that no rooms were available. During this delay, we had no choice but to hurriedly pack three large suitcases while trying to avoid stepping into sewage-contaminated water, adding unnecessary stress to an already traumatic situation.
The hotel eventually relocated us to another room. However, relocating guests from a room contaminated by raw sewage is a basic emergency obligation—it should never be considered compensation.
During the rushed relocation, my wife injured her neck while carrying our heavy luggage. The incident caused physical pain, emotional distress, lost vacation time, and significant disruption to our trip.
What disappointed us most was not only the sewage incident itself, but the hotel’s response afterward.
Not once did anyone from management proactively contact us. We received no phone call, no sincere apology, no expression of concern, and no follow-up to ask about my wife’s injury or whether we needed any assistance. We did not receive even the most basic courtesy of an apology.
Instead, we had to contact the hotel ourselves to ask how the incident would be handled. Management responded in a firm and dismissive manner, stating that because we had already been moved to another room, they considered the matter resolved and that no further compensation would be provided.
We were never asking for special treatment. We simply expected basic accountability, empathy, and a fair response to such a serious sanitation failure. Being moved to another room does not compensate for exposure to raw sewage, the stress of evacuating while sewage was actively overflowing, my wife’s injury, the disruption to our trip, or the complete lack of care shown afterward.
We have retained photographs and videos documenting the sewage overflow and the contamination of the room.
We cannot determine whether our background influenced the way we were treated. However, the dismissive attitude, lack of empathy, and unwillingness to engage in any meaningful discussion left us feeling disrespected, disregarded, and belittled.
A hotel cannot always prevent unexpected maintenance failures. However, it is fully responsible for how it responds when those failures occur. In our case, the response fell far below the standard we expected from an international hotel brand.
We strongly urge anyone considering staying at this hotel to think carefully. No guest should have to experience raw sewage flooding their room, suffer an injury while evacuating, receive no sincere apology, and then have their concerns treated as though they were insignificant.
The sewage overflow was an accident. The complete lack of empathy, accountability, and basic human compassion afterward was a choice.
