This was a last minute and unplanned stay for us in Caen. We had two nights and needed to be very close to the train station as we had 4 large bags and didn’t want to be bothered with taxis. Pros: This is the closest hotel to the station. If it was any closer, it would have a train inside it. It’s proximity to the station is the one of the few good things about this hotel. The elevator is efficient and clean and took the two of us and 4 large bags - so there’s a second good point - the elevator. The supplied Body wash/Shampoo was plentiful and pleasant smelling. The linen was clean, we didn’t use housekeeping for our stay, just swapped towels, which were clean. we are actually scrapping the barrel for pros. Cons: The front resembles the facade of a 70's office block. The ground floor windows are blanked out. Given the dozen or so young men loitering about outside, (all day) that is probably a good thing. We stepped out of the elevator and were assaulted with two odours a) air freshener and b) cigarette smoke. This is a floor of non-smoking rooms. The room has minimal/no ventilation, the window has a a chain on it opening 3 inches / 8 cm to let air in. We specifically wanted twin beds as in our experience European double beds are lucky to be 140 cm wide. (which these were). Room 317 was a ‘triple’ - which is a double with a bunk slung above it. however, the bunk creaked with every movement. also the beds are incredibly firm and quite thin. The room was run down. The bathroom is run down and old. It was superficially clean, but the grout in the shower is old and yellow. Showering is another adventure. There was good pressure and copious hot water. The problems arise if you dare to shower in the morning or evening when everyone else is showering. Then you can have a safe and perfect water temperature - which changes to scalding hot in a second. Special mention: The breakfast was included in our rate but otherwise €7.50. It was underwhelming. In the land that invented and perfected the baguette, to not actually have any at breakfast was bad form. Everything is wrapped in plastic and highly sugared. The juice was highly sugared, the processed fruit salad was in plastic (pc) and not great. The only remotely healthy items were apples, oranges and yoghurt. The only cereal on offer was cornflakes or brown/chocolate flavoured cornflake equivalents (which would be perfect for children). Everything was cold and on the first morning there was no toaster. Having already received a complete lack of interest, there seemed no point asking if there was a toaster and if it was hidden away. But surprise, surprise, there was a large contingent of english speaking men at breakfast on Day 2 - and suddenly there was a toaster. The small, par baked rolls were slightly better when toasted and covered in jam. The square bread looked over processed, sugary and not actually worth trying or toasting. There were no wholemeal or grainy offerings. The coffee machine was good and the most popular part of the breakfast offering which meant usually a queue of 8-10 people. On morning 1 there were only bowls. Seemed odd. We put it down to being a budget hotel. We ate our croissants out of a bowl. On morning 2, someone managed to find a small stack of paper/cardboard plates. Donot stay in Room 306, it was actually about 5 steps away from the elevator . It is the only room on the floor with a ‘cute’ sign painted in large letters on the door saying ‘Please be quiet, I am sleeping’ - Heck - the elevator may as well have opened directly into the room. Overall experience: Our check-in with the General Manager, was seamless. He speaks English well. He did however allocate us room 306. Perhaps there was a misunderstanding when I asked if the room was well away from the elevator and a quiet room. He said yes. We know we booked at the last minute, but this room allocation was ridiculous. We had stayed in a IBIS Budget years ago and it was fine (for a budget hotel). This one is not good, not fine and if there is a level beyond Budget - it has reached it. Budget’ should be a price guideline - not a company target. The IBIS Budget Caen has undoubtedly won the race to the bottom and is now striving to go even lower than low. It’s been years since we tried an ACCOR hotel (and we have stayed from IBIS Budget all the way up to Sofitel). We will not be trying one again anytime soon. This stay was so very, very disappointing. On checkout we asked the General Manager, for a contact email for ACCOR or IBIS as we had concerns about the stay. He could not provide one and offered us his business card instead. Complaining about the stay when he first asked accomplished nothing and garnered no interest. It seemed pointless to do so again which is why we asked for a national or regional contact address. It should be noted we filled out the relevant surveys highlighting our concerns, on writing this review we have heard back from the manager with no resolution.
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