DIFY Charmant - Saxe Gambetta

The room was filthy, with marks on the walls and mirrors, and there was no housekeeping or fresh towels during the week. The neighborhood was full of drug dealers, whose shouting carried on until 3:00 AM each night, even with the windows shut. Getting inside was a mess too. I emailed on Thursday morning to say I’d arrive Friday at 8:00 PM (20:00), but got no reply or entry instructions or codes. The door was shut when I got there, reception wasn’t operating, and nobody answered the phones. I ended up crying late that evening because the check-in was so disorganized. Please avoid this place. It was the dirtiest, most disgusting place I’ve stayed in Europe. This is not a hotel.

The shared spaces were dirty and felt unsafe in the evening, and the property is in poor shape and needs repairs and upkeep. Despite being promoted as a hotel or professional accommodation, it’s really a very basic hostel in a central but poor part of Lyon.

The bathroom was the worst part. The water heater was right above your head while using the toilet, shower tiles were coming loose, and the whole space was unclean and felt unsafe. The building itself felt like run-down student housing, though the beds were clean and fine. The walls had splatters and stains. Reception only runs from 9am-5:30pm, so I was lucky to check in early. An email said they closed at 7pm, which clearly wasn’t true. They call it breakfast, but it was just a bag of processed food, with nothing healthy and no proper coffee.

Great location, with lots of food and drink places and supermarkets nearby.