Brit Hotel Mâcon Centre Gare

Handy place to break up a journey, with a spacious garage available for an extra charge.

We arrived late, hoping to sleep before an early start. The staff were friendly, and we liked that secure parking was available for an extra charge. We were surprised when they told us to call reception if the neighbours made noise, before we'd even got our room keys. As it turned out, the neighbours in the room next door were arguing loudly at 11pm, then stomping around and apparently moving furniture or throwing things just as we were trying to sleep. Reception came after our first call, and things went quiet for a while, but the noise started again an hour later. We called again and were told that if it continued, the receptionist would give us another room. It did continue, and at 1.15am we finally got moved, with a 6am wake-up ahead of us. The new room was quieter and had a working air-conditioner, so at least we managed some sleep. The air-conditioner in the first room was broken too. It dripped water onto the carpet, and the room was so hot that sleeping without it wasn't possible. We had to put a trash-bin under it to catch the water.

The hotel itself wasn't bad, but the staff's attitude bothered me, and that's why I rated it lower. I walked in without a booking and asked for a room. They offered one for 85 euros, but the next morning I realised rooms were available for 66. I also asked to park my small motorcycle in the secure parking and was charged the same 8 euros as for a large car. When I questioned the price of my small room, they looked at me as if I were causing trouble and suddenly seemed unable to understand English. I had breakfast somewhere else.

The staff were pleasant, but the stay was completely unsatisfactory. In Room 109, the “cosy” room option left such a narrow gap beside the bed that getting in and out meant squeezing through, which felt totally unsafe at night. In the shower, you have to stand close to the controls to keep water off the bathroom floor, so it's easy to brush them by accident and suddenly change the water temperature. Even when we tried to keep close to the shower, the floor was still a mess. The 11 Euro breakfast was poor too. The hard-boiled eggs didn't taste fresh, and the fruit definitely wasn't fresh: the watermelon was slimy and the other fruit was mushy. We've stayed at plenty of moderately priced European hotels, and this chain is off our list.