Mercure Abbeville Centre - Porte de La Baie de Somme

Our holiday got off to a stressful start, but turned into a comfortable and relaxed stay. After finding cockroaches in the apartment we'd booked through Booking.com for a one-night stop in central Abbeville, we left within an hour of arriving around 6:30 p.m. We spotted the nearby Mercure and were lucky to book a family room there. It was a clean, elegant hotel. Thanks, Mercure!

We arrived very late, and Bev at reception got us checked in efficiently and gave us great service. Dinner was a nice steak, followed by a hearty breakfast at 6:30 a.m. All the staff were great and very accommodating. A good hotel with very good service.

The room was comfortable, and we had a lovely little balcony to watch the sunset. When we noticed the pillowcase needed changing, it was taken care of right away. The showerhead, though, was badly scaled and needed attention, and the water pressure was very low, possibly because of that. The service from two evening staff members was where the stay went wrong. Twice, fairly small requests, soup at 8 p.m. and later help emptying a small room bin after we'd been out, were treated as though they were extraordinary asks. When I gently mentioned the attitude, it softened, but the first response stuck with me. Bar service also felt distant and unwelcoming. There was an unwarranted aloofness that made us feel we wouldn't stay here again unless we had to, and left us questioning whether those staff belonged in the industry. That was a shame, because some of the other staff were genuinely pleasant and helpful. The gentleman who checked us in went out of his way to explain parking and make things easy when we arrived in Abbeville on a whim. Another staff member kindly found us fresh milk. Those good moments stood out against the off-putting interactions that colored what could have been a perfectly pleasant stay.

My wife and I ate at the restaurant most evenings. The menu was good and included daily specials, and the bar was pleasant too. The room was large enough, and the staff gave us superb attention. We had an excellent few days at this wonderful hotel and will be back.