Appart Lille Centre

I booked this for one night on a work trip, but it was so filthy that I couldn’t sleep there. The photos say it all. Renting a place in that condition is unacceptable.

We were burgled, so I’d absolutely avoid this place. My two colleagues and I had booked a weekend in Nice for a football match. The apartment was in a less touristy, somewhat unsafe area, and it was run-down with a foul smell in the bathroom. We went out for a few hours on Saturday, and when we got back, all our belongings had been stolen. Whoever did it knew the code for the building and the key box. We left straight away. We’re waiting for the insurance company to handle our claim and for the landlord to reimburse us. I’d stay in the city center instead.

I booked the studio on Booking for a rental in Fives, close to where I had a work appointment. An automatic message said to collect the keys at hotel Napoléon, near Lille Flandres station. It wasn’t convenient, but I went. The welcome was friendly, I got the keys and took the metro back. Ten minutes later I was at the door, but the key didn’t work. I called, but there was no tone and the voicemail was full. I also sent an email and a message through Booking, and I’m still waiting for a reply from the property. After half an hour I went back to Flandres, another metro ride and another ten minutes. They simply told me it wasn’t number 19 but number 22, and that they must have forgotten to tell me. That was it. They left me there with barely an apology and no compensation. I went back to the apartment, this time to number 22, and the door opened. Miracle. I wasn’t expecting anything amazing for the price, but I did expect an acceptable clean. There were still crumbs under the tables, and no toilet paper at all. I tried calling the property again, but the phone didn’t even ring. I didn’t feel like making another round trip at my own expense just to get a roll, so I bought some myself. I thought I’d get some work done from the apartment, but the Wi-Fi didn’t reach the kitchen area where the table was. It’s great having to camp out for a video call, which ended up using my phone’s hotspot because the connection was so bad. The customer service was awful, or completely absent, and although the accommodation looked attractive, the quality was really poor. Avoid it. Maybe the property will get back to me one day. Who knows.

What we found on arrival was nothing like the room shown in the Booking.com photos. It was a complete dump, and I really wouldn't recommend staying here.