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I don't particularly recommend Le Vieux Carre in Rouen

Posted by (USA) on

Pros:
Price is great!
Location is great!
Breakfast is really good with fresh pressed orange juice.
It's clean

Cons:
No instructions about how to be admitted into the hotel and the gate was locked. No one answered the 24 hr phone number when I called twice. Finally we saw a lady cleaning an upper floor through a window and got her attention. She let us into the lobby but no one was there. So we waited about an hour total.
Shower was so tiny it was impossible to not touch the shower curtain and I had to fight the thoughts of wondering if they change the shower curtain between guests
Bed was very "mushy." I was aware it would be small but it wasn't really comfortable either, aside from the size.
Our room opened into the courtyard which was beautiful, yes, but also a smoking area so it wasn't helpful for freshening the hotel air from the strong scent of the detergent.
We couldn't see if there was a light for the staircase so we navigated that in the fair dark. The hallway floor is quite angled/not level.

I knew it'd be small, but it's in the RS Guidebook as charming. I believe I'm moving on from checking his books for recommendations or at least will cross check other places before using again. It was really frustrating to get to Rouen (by train, not that it matters) and be locked out. I was looking up another place to stay in case they wouldn't ever let us in but I guess in the end it worked out.

It was an adventure, I guess. And their hotel was full when we were there so they obviously stay busy.

Posted by
35838 posts

were you trying to get in after hours or to check in?

did you ask the desk where the light switch is?

Posted by
250 posts

To check in. They did give us the code after we checked in.

We didn't ask, so it's a minor inconvenience, and I will take the blame for that, but there wasn't often someone at the desk when we walked past. I imagine there was a light.

Edit to add: I'm not trying to pile on complaints about them. I did include things they did well. I just wouldn't stay there again.

Posted by
8934 posts

Rouen was my first city during my last trip to France. I stayed at the Mercure Rouen Centre Cathedral - mainly because of the location so close to the cathedral where I would be at night to watch the illumination show on the face of the cathedral. I like quirky small hotels, but for my first nights I want a good night’s sleep, so this is a more modern choice. It was excellent! I picked it out from options on Booking.com. I trust the reviews on Booking because they only allow people who stayed there to submit a review. They send me a link after I’ve checked out of a B&B or hotel.

Posted by
250 posts

I think you made a good choice, Jean! I am thankful we had the 2 nights in Rouen and we saw a lot. One of our overlord guides said it was too bad we were staying in Rouen, because it was so commercialized. He recommended Le Havre if we had a car. We didn't have a car and I wanted to see the Cathedral and Joan of Arc historical sites. I'll write a report later but we're home safely and overall had a great trip. I hope this post didn't sound complainy, I just thought since it was in the guidebook, I would have liked to have known what I posted before I had made a decision about where to sleep in Rouen.

Posted by
11402 posts

Don't worry about it sounding complainy. Your info is good. They should have sent you the code before you checked in. And if no one is at the desk, you can't ask where the light switch is located. And I'd hate the shower curtain, too. It sounds too hands-off for me.

We used RS hotels on one trip. Period. Now, I search on my own, sometimes modern corporate, sometimes quaint. But I always check to see how well the desk is manned. One RS hotel had staff one hour a day to do breakfast and we were the only people in the hotel that night. Kinda creepy.

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