Residence Les Jardins

We couldn’t make our intended stay from 9/14/23 to 9/15/23 after our flight to Brussels was canceled because of a pilot’s strike, less than 24 hours before departure. That meant we couldn’t get to Dunkirk. I contacted the hotel promptly to ask to cancel and explained what had happened. I’d faced something similar in another country before, where the hotel was understanding, replied quickly and made a simple cancellation with a refund. Here, the staff didn’t seem concerned about circumstances outside our control. I wrote in English, but they kept replying in French, which made the exchange confusing. At first I thought they understood and would cancel and refund us, but they denied the special cancellation and refund request Booking submitted. I assumed there had been a misunderstanding and sent all the needed information, including our canceled flight tickets, explaining that we couldn’t travel to France on September 14, 2023. Their reply was still in French, and I wasn’t sure how to handle the cancellation. My further attempts to reach them got no response, and the issue remained unresolved. Our booking was refundable, with free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance, but the airline’s last-minute cancellation left me unable to communicate effectively with the hotel. In the end, my credit card company investigated and refunded the charges. I can only hope the hotel noticed the funds had been withdrawn from its account. Based on this, I have no intention of staying there again and can’t recommend it. When a serious problem came up, it seemed they put profit ahead of customer satisfaction. Given their diverse international clientele, I was surprised they didn’t have staff who could communicate in a common international language, which made it much harder to resolve the problem. The experience left me thinking the hotel is poorly managed in hospitality.

The receptionist greeted us kindly, and we were so grateful to her. We arrived right at 9pm, genuinely afraid we might have to sleep in the car in an unfamiliar city, and we had no idea if that was even legal there. She gave us the key to a large, comfortable room. So grateful!

I only stayed one night. The staff were friendly and welcoming, and the bedding was clean except for one hair, which didn’t bother me, though I know it would bother some people. The mattress and pillows were soft. Getting into the place felt a little odd because there’s a gate. Breakfast costs extra, which I didn’t have. The room had everything you’d need, including a fridge, cooker, microwave, safe and TV, plus a toilet and shower. The only issue I found was the thin walls. You can clearly hear someone else’s television through them.

The shower was so cramped for me at 5’2” and 100 pounds that I could barely move, though with no hot water there wasn’t much chance of taking a proper shower anyway. There’s no air conditioning, window screens, internet, or parking. The beds feel like camp beds with flat pillows, and the room has just one outlet for everything. Both lamps that worked sparked when plugged in. The walls are orange and covered in 45 singles. Avoid this place unless you’re desperate for a lumpy bed.