Non Monsieur, Pas de Climatisation

Imagine my indignation at paying - well, someone paid for it, not me necessarily, but it reads better this way - 80 Euros per night for a room in a three-star hotel in France, when the weather outside is -- mmm, warm, I'd say (40C or so, give or take a pint of sweat) -- only to discover upon check-in that, in fact, this recently renovated hotel does not actually boast in-room air conditioning.

As a result of my incredulity I went ahead and did a little research online. It seems the French hospitality industry has overlooked this bit of in-room technology. This oversight seems to be pandemic. On the three largest French language hotel booking websites (expedia.fr, hrs.fr, hotels.fr) you can't even specify Air Conditioning as a search criteria. The hotels that do feature A/C all tend to be 4-star and upward establishments. Granted.

I think my favorite part is the dismissive condescension in the voices of the Concierge personnel from whom I solicit this information. The simple question, "est-ce que les chambres sont climatisée?" has been met with more scoffing and French clearing-of-the-throat sounds than I thought possible. They also don't seem to be so keen to have me book a room with them after hearing the question, a phenomenon I attribute to latent feelings of inadequacy with regards to the hotel itself, because, deep down, they know they should be able to offer rooms in which actual sleep can be accomplished when the temperature outside is over 90F at 11:00p at night. I'd seriously have a better night of sleep in the car, in a parking garage, with the engine and auto A/C on.

It's a good thing all that cheese, baguette, veal and wine tastes so fantastic.