Hotel Mercure Lille Centre Grand-Place

Mercure Lille Centre has a wonderful location but the building itself is amazing : a pure joy of Beaux Arts style matching with the near by Opera. Rooms are large and very comfortable, the buffet very generous and the staff always very helpfull!

A one night stop between the eurostar and tgv. Chose this hotel as very central. Was a great hotel in a historical building. Room was extremely comfortable with a very small balcony that was nice to step out onto. Bed was comfortable and had a good night sleep. Bar was good with a very generous helping of gin. Would give a shout out to Hugo in reception who was very informative and helpful during our stay

Hard to give a rating as the room was great - quiet, spacious, clean, and the hotel in an excellent location. However, the customer service was poor. I received an email 2 days before my stay saying that I could check-in online, which I did do as i thought it'd save time in the hotel. To complete check in, I had to pay a deposit of €90 for taxe de sejour and for any minibar or restaurant expenses. I didn't intend to use the restaurant and thought €90 was an excessive for one night's stay (taxe de sejour was about €5) but I paid it on my debit card (I specifically chose a debit card as I don't pay currency conversion charges). However when i arrived at the hotel i was asked for an additional €60 for the same purpose. I pointed out I'd already paid this but couldn't get the receptionist to understand either in French or English. So I paid an additional €60 and instead of the online check-in saving time, it took extra time as I tried to explain and the receptionist failed to grasp my point. Why my booking was not showing that I'd already paid €90 is not clear. It's now been 3 days since I checked out and the two payments are still showing as pending. I've contacted the hotel about this and they say I should contact the bank. The bank says it could take 30 days and if i want the money back sooner i should contact the hotel. In the meantime, I can't spend the €150 (£124) that should be in my bank account. So if you go there, *don't* check in online and pay cash for the deposit.

Arrived late on a Sunday evening and was checked in quickly by the night staff. As an Accor gold member, I was offered a free bottle of beer as my complementary welcome drink (the bar was closed). The location of the hotel is excellent, both for car parking but also visiting the sites, bars and restaurants that Lille has to offer. WiFi worked well. I didn’t eat breakfast in the hotel. One big issue was the lack of functioning air conditioning, which was problematic given the prolonged period of hot weather (daily 35C+) in France during my stay. I appreciate Mercure isn’t a luxury brand and this is an old building, but decent air con at night is a must in four star hotel in summer. I changed room and was given an upgrade to a first floor mini suite, which had an excellent view but wasn’t much cooler. It was an uncomfortable night’s sleep. The only redeeming feature was that my original privilege room and the suite have free soft drinks (including Evian) in the mini bar. I will avoid this hotel in the summer.

Having stayed at Mercure for a long period (23nights) I would recommend it as a great option for those travellers looking to explore the bubbly city of Lille and its surroundings. The room met the 4 stars rating, with a comfortable bed and a spacious bathroom. The cleanliness standard was very good, which I found especially important due to current Covid 19 circumstances. Indeed, the hotel was rigorous in its Covid policies which made me feel safe and comfortable. The room I stayed on, on the 3rd floor, also had plenty of natural light and a good A/C ventilation. As a matter of personal taste, I was not particularly impressed with the bedside wallpaper but the room itself and it's amenities make it exceptional value for money. With regards to F&B, the breakfast was good, with plenty of options available and decent coffee, and the eating area is pleasant and well lit. The main downside of my stay were the lunches and dinners, which were basically a number of set pre-prepared dishes available in a fridge that could be heated in the microwave. Context is always key to any evaluation and I was explained that the current Covid restrictions made the hotel create this system, so hopefully in the future the F&B will evolve to a different level. Where there is certainly room for improvement in this area, in the short term, is the lack of vegetarian / vegan options available to guests. Finally, some words to describe the true strength of this hotel: its staff. The friendliness and professionalism of everyone that I came across during my long stay was impressive and typical of a 5 star hotel. In resume, while the hotel has certainly points for improvement, its staff transform Mercure into a fantastic option for those travelers wanting to feel at home. While everyone was warm and available, I have to highlight some 'superstars': Sofian (F&B), Marion (Reception), Juliana and Natalie (Housekeeping). Hopefully the management will look after them and keep them for long. As Sir Richard Branson once said: "take care of your staff and they will take care of your guests"...