Hôtel Mercure Lille Centre Grand-Place

I like old hotels in Europe and keep on trying them. I have found some gems but this was not one of them. 1. The room refrigerator has nothing in it except an invitation to buy a water bottle at reception. I hate this. It embraces the idea that water in clear plastic bottles (polyester aka PET) are ‘single use plastics’ and this is simply not true. They are re-usable many times over at a personal level. And the PET plastic is amongst the easiest plastics to recycle. 2. My room was small with a huge waste of space for an entrance foyer. The toilet was next to the entrance with the bathroom around the back. Strange. 3. The room and the bedding stank of cigarettes 4. The shower is a drop in plastic affair that is as slippery as all hell. 5. The TV fell off the wall and just missed my foot

A very busy and loud weekend due to the festival but the windows provided no insulation. Bathroom door did not shut properly. The second morning they ran out of cream cheese. I had the do not disturb sign on the door yet housekeeping entered my room and cleaned it. None of the English language TV channels worked so it suffices to say I am very disappointed with my stay. For the price they charged I definitely do not recommend!

We were a bit apprehensive after reading some of the reviews, but our rooms were really nice, clean, fresh and in really good condition. The hotel is ideally placed if you are in Lille to visit the old part of the town. Staff were really helpful. We struggled a bit with the parking, but arrived Saturday evening - used Parking Lille Opera - which has an exit right by the hotel.

Excellent location and room was compact but great. The staff were particularly good (Romain on reception was particularly helpful with excellent recommendations). Found the housekeeping staff to be very professional and considerate. Would definitely use again