Bonsai Hotel Dijon Sud

By 5:00 AM we were leaving as quickly as we could. We had come with our four children, a family of six, and after arriving at midnight we ended up crammed into one two-person room with two of them, three of us in total. We hadn't felt safe enough to stay in the other room, whose broken lock could only be opened with a master key. The doors in these rooms couldn't be locked, so someone could come in at any time. We barely slept, afraid someone might walk in, and the rooms smelled of smoke and alcohol. They were filthy and very outdated, with dirty floors, no curtains, and an awful-smelling bathroom. The first room we were given had clearly been used and not cleaned, and we couldn't open the door to the second. After we complained, a staff member gave us a card that opened every room, plus two new two-person rooms upstairs. The keys came at random from an unmarked box, and we were told to try them and see what worked. The key card system on all the doors had been removed and was out of service. At midnight, the staff member either couldn't speak English or pretended not to. We know it's a budget hotel, but for €60 per room we expected basic hygiene and security. We'll never return.

We didn't sleep at all, with no good choice between keeping the window open or closed. There was no carbon monoxide detector or vent in the room, so we didn't feel safe sleeping with the window shut. But traffic was so loud that every time a train passed at high speed, we woke up. In the morning, while we were changing, a strange man opened our locked door. We don't know who he was. When we went downstairs to ask how it could happen, nobody was there, and we had to leave the card in a basket anyone could access. The room hadn't been cleaned either. For a low-priced hotel, we weren't expecting much, but this wasn't worth it. It was the worst experience we've ever had.

The rooms were clean and the beds freshly made. All the fire doors were propped open, though, which isn't good. It's cheap for a reason. If you arrive and think the place is abandoned, you may well be in the right spot.

We had trouble with one room's card key during a very late check-in. We called reception, and a staff member showed up within minutes with a replacement. The staff were helpful and attentive. It's a basic place at a low price, and a good choice for an overnight stop.