Hotel des Etuves

"Hotel des Etuves is very conveniently located next to bars, shops, restaurants, the Old City and the main square. You can see all of Montpellier on foot with this hotel as your base. The is no elevator and narrow stairs going up to the rooms. This didn't bother me, considering the great location and price. I paid 48€ per night for a single room, not including breakfast. I didn't bother with breakfast because there is a great cafe right across the street on a side alley - it's called Fairview Coffee and they serve breakfast. The hotel was dark and dingy and had a musty smell (especially in my room), but it was clean. The furniture was old and weathered. There's no AC but there was a very powerful fan. There is no separation between the toilet and shower and the rest of the room. The room was equipped with a new .t.v. And packets of shampoo and shower gel. The internet connection was free but it was such a pain to use. Every 2 hours it logs you off. Then you need to try to reconnect and this was very difficult to do on my iPad. My iPad wasn't recognizing their wifi and allowing me to re-log in. I spent an hour trying to get it to work again. It eventually did but I had the same problem again 2 hours later. Another major problem was the noise. On weekends, there are absurdly loud drunk people screaming in front of the hotel. Even with the windows closed, you can hear them loud and clear. You can also hear guests in the neighboring rooms and above you. It sounded like they were in my room. I wore ear plugs, closed the window and turned on the fan. Then I was able to sleep and didn't hear anything. So if you can tolerate those issues, it's a convenient and clean place to stay."

"The room was clean and quiet. I was in a room with the window inside the court. Such rooms have very little light not because of the size of the windows, but because of the court. But their advantage is that during the night it was quiet like in a countryside."

"The Hotel Etuves is incredibly recommended in the Lonely Planet guide, perhaps that says something about Lonely Planet but let's say something about this hotel.. if you are large or pregnant it will not be suitable because you will never fit up the "quaint" spiral staircase (it is less than 1 meter wide) nor for that matter would you fit into the shower cubicle which is built for a 10 year old. Heaven help you if there is fire, you will never get out, I suppose you could climb out the window onto the roof but mind the stink pipes which deploy noxious gases into your room. The taps drip, there is no breakfast, no phone and the mattress if two pieces of foam. If you think it represents good value for money then be reminded that they don't take credit cards, appalling. The only saving grace is the location but there are several hotels at the same price nearby, try the Nova which is 30 meters away."