Best Western Saint-Etienne Porte du Forez

The bathroom bin still had rubbish in it, and the complimentary water bottle was empty. The room was clean enough, but the WiFi kept failing to connect for more than a few minutes.

I usually stay here quite often, and the breakfast service was pleasant again, as was the bar in the evening. This visit, though, left me with a bad feeling. My room wasn't cleaned all week, from 28.3. to 1.4. I asked reception for a 5:30 wake-up call and a breakfast bag for my taxi at six, since breakfast only starts at six. They confirmed both, but neither happened. When I complained, the receptionist even smiled.

The breakfast was technically continental, but there was a nice range and the quality was good. It made me think twice about the waffle maker I usually settle for at hotels back home in the Midwest U.S. Kidding, waffle maker, I still love you. The hotel is a little outside St . Etienne. Bus 38 takes you into town, then tram 1 or 2, or a walk if you've got the energy, gets you to the old downtown architecture. The staff were really helpful about my very limited French, and they all spoke English well, so I barely had to butcher the language.

The restaurant staff were really friendly and nice, but the rest feels like it belongs in the 1980s. The decor is dated, the vent is tiny, the AC doesn't work, and the room smelled a bit stale, so I had to open the windows. There's also an odd old couch in the rooms, with worn fabric and a smell. It would be best to remove it soon.