"I was very pleasantly surprised when I stayed at this hotel and would certainly return in the future. It is amazingly close to both the Gare du Nord and Gare de l' Est, the latter reached by navigating several corners. I had expected it to be quite noisy as Gare du Nord is not even 5 minutes away, but the thick black-out curtains in the room and double-glazing blocked out all the street noise. It is in a busy area though, so with window open in the day it is certainly noisy. It is in a colourful part of the city but well away from most notable tourist attractions. The metro is just two minutes away so getting around is not a problem.
My welcome ( Lan Nguyen?) was efficient and warm, though my emails requesting an upper room seemed to have gone astray.( I later found the replies in my spam folder when I got home! ) As there were no such rooms free, I was told, I ended up on the first floor. This was a double room, though two single beds had been pushed together, a common Continental practice, though the hotel website clearly shows the two options available.
In the event I had secured a fairly last minute Spring Offer so with breakfast included was very satisfied at paying just £178 for two nights for a 3 star hotel which I think was very good value indeed. Street noise turned out not to be an issue, after all, although corridor noise was at times audible.
Returning to England, I raised the matter of the double bed and was given an any time 10% discount for future use, so will be using that. Need to make sure though that it is one big bed!
The lift was a quaint almost triangular mirrored little affair, certainly not meeting modern expectations. It was a tight fit for just me and a small suitcase! The building is a period property however and retains a certain faded charm. Everything though was very clean and tidy, with a smart modern bathroom.
Breakfast was ample with a fair amount of choice and the popular but limited range of cooked foods ( scrambled eggs/sausages/boiled eggs ) was replenished quite quickly. You certainly would not go hungry though I did note on my first morning that the bananas were well beyond ripe.
The only small gripe was that the bottled water in my room was not replaced after the first day, even though coffee etc were.
I would have awarded 5 stars on the basis of value for money but the double bed issue prevented me from do so. The beds were however very comfortable and I had no issues with sleep quality.
And that in a strange bed is the most important thing of all!"
