Le Phenix Hotel

Breakfast was phenomenal, and when the weather turned unusually cold over the holidays, I felt welcome, warm, and comfortable here. The hotel is an admired landmark, and it suits a gypset traveler looking for sustainable luxury. I was traveling solo and had the small single room facing the neighborhood. It was about the size of a Manhattan hotel room, so not especially tiny depending on what you're used to. If you arrive on a weekday night tired, hungry, and jet-lagged, I'd skip the restaurants in nearby Vieux Lyon and eat at the hotel instead. Those places in the historic quarter can be tricky, and it's easy to end up in a bad tourist trap. The hotel's food is twice the quality for much less. The amenities are designed to avoid waste, so hair conditioner, body lotion, and Q-tips aren't automatically in the room. You can get them at reception.

The room had a big carpet stain by the bed and more in other places. When we pointed them out, staff said they already knew. They should have reduced the price or covered the marks with another rug, but getting to management was a dead end. Everyone was vague about when the manager would be around, though the woman speaking with us turned out to be some kind of manager herself. We'd been put in an accessible room with an open shower and slippery tile that felt unsafe once wet. In the cold weather, we also didn't want to deal with a wet floor after every shower and spend our supposed downtime worrying about it. After several hours of this, they gave us breakfast and moved us to another room the next day. The woman made comments suggesting we were making trouble just to get a free breakfast.

The staff are nice and the location is great, so there is room for improvement. Room 402 looked old and hadn't been refurbished like the rest of the hotel. It also didn't match the rooms shown online. For a four-star hotel, it lacked basics like facilities for making tea or coffee. The only bathroom option was a narrow whirlpool tub, awkward for showering, especially in August, and that was supposed to be an upgrade. Breakfast had limited choices and wasn't worth €19.

We had lunch in the restaurant and enjoyed the food and the lovely river view. The hotel itself is right on the river, with a beautiful setting and plenty of attractions, bars, and restaurants within walking distance. Service was good, and most of the staff could speak some English, which made communicating easier. Our room was spacious and clean, with AC and effective blackout blinds, useful for the long days this time of year. There were plenty of breakfast options too. A great place to stay in Lyon.