ibis Laon bintang 3

We had a one night stop over at the Ibis Laon France travelling on a 12 day coach holiday with leger, this was our last stop over hotel we arrived late and the bar and restaurant had closed at 9pm the young lady on the desk was very apologetic a few of us just sat around chatting in the foyer then made our way to our rooms which were very comfortable and clean, good nights sleep, we had a very nice buffet breakfast, enjoyed my stay.

After an eight hour drive from Clermont Ferrand over non toll roads, arrived to a cheery reception from the gentleman on duty, his faultless english as opposed to my halting french (seems to be the norm). Our room is, as expected, comfortably functional. For dinner I had the best glass of Grimbergen followed by the best burger. Located a small distance from housing and local roads, the hotel is not affected by traffic noise. Always a plus when there is a hotel car park.

Stayed at the Ibis Laon on the first day of a Leger tour. Firstly told that we couldn't get a meal at the hotel because it was fully booked. We arrived just after 20:00 hrs to find the restaurant empty. There was no porterage due to Covid 19 although I failed to see the connection between carrying bags and an increased risk of contracting the disease, especially as the bar staff had no such inhibitions serving drinks. The rooms are BASIC. What is advertised as 'satellite TV' is entirely French channels and there are no power outlets in our room to enable us to recharge 'phones, tablets etc. One positive, the WiFi works. Leger - stop using this place, it's not even second class.

A terrible nights sleep, my friend fell out of bed because the topper rode the mattress and was so dangerous she fell out hitting her head on a side cabinet. The bathroom is very old using a shower over a bath where the enamel has worn in places. The food was not available in the evening as they were fully booked, although we saw no other customers. Breakfast was a nonsense.

It was wonderful that after a long drive (amid a heatwave) just to leave the N2 road and see the signs ‘Ibis Laon’ and ‘Le Winchester Grill’ and straight into the (free) car park. Nous sommes arrives – Yay The plan was, after a good day on the road, to dine in the hotel. Unfortunately, this was not to be. Apparently, Le Winchester Grill is closed on weekends. On a Saturday??? In August??? As the hotel is outside of the town, way down the hill from the main part of Laon, we opted for a ‘hotel room buffet’ with hearty fayre obtained from the near-by Carrefour. The room we were allocated was a ‘disabled’ or ‘easy access’ room, with a double bed and a small single for our child. The room was not satisfactory. I do not know if it is poor staff moral from the people servicing the rooms or generally inadequate management. Firstly, as the room is fitted out for a wheelchair user it had a large sliding door to the toilet / shower area. The door was heavy and difficult to manoeuvre. I had to help my wife open and close because it was too difficult even for her. How would a wheelchair or other disabled person be able to operate it? The toilet bowl was stained with limescale. So much for cleaning. The heater in the bathroom was stained with brown splash marks. Again, further evidence of a poor cleaning regime. Th plug in the sink did not close and, if trying to fill the basin to wash your hands or shave, the water quickly poured away. A lot of wasted water. So much for the Accor environmental policy of saving water! The hair dryer was a nasty combo contraption which doubled up as a radio. The radio worked well. The hairdryer didn’t. Accor seems to have changed its supplier for handwash and shampoo bottles which were affixed to the wall. Now they supply free standing bottle perched precariously on handrails in the shower area. In the bedroom area was a plastic guard with a dirty sponge material left on a shelf. It seems to have fallen off the wall as part of some ventilation system. Do the room servicing team think it is acceptable to leave dirty implements on shelves? There was also an exposed electrical wall fitment with any covering. At breakfast the next morning, which was reasonable. My child wanted some toast. A toaster was provided but no sliced bread, only small rolls. I asked one of the staff if we could have some sliced bread. And, to my disbelief, was told they did not provide sliced bread. Why would you provide a toaster if it could not be used because you don’t provide sliced bread. This is a grubby little hotel with no efficient room cleaning or maintenance facilities. There does not seem to be any level of supervision or management to see that rooms and common areas are (i) Clean, (ii) Maintained and (iii) Safe. Overall, our room was not fit for us and would not be suitable for any disabled person. It was dirty. When I mentioned this at check out the member of staff simply shrugged their shoulders. Behaviour which sums up how badly this establishment is managed. The Accor hotel chain is generally a good brand. It's a shame that Ibis Laon is the fly in the ointment.