B&B HOTEL Maubeuge Gare

The bed was good, and the two people I met at reception were very kind. There was free parking nearby, but that was about it for positives. The room was dark, and the breakfast was poor. The bathroom felt like a cupboard, with no window, and its ventilation fan was hanging loose or missing, maybe stolen. It was dirty too, with hair on the sink, a dirty toilet seat, and dark marks in the toilet. The soap bottles were empty. The hairdryer kept switching off after a few seconds, was weak, and took ages to heat up. Anyone with long hair would be unhappy with it. I won't return to a hotel with hygiene this bad. Never again.

There's no hotel parking, but Maubeuge Gare has free secure parking less than 100 metres away. Entry and exit are controlled by ticket, and the gates stay locked. The hotel itself is under 100 metres from the gare, so it's handy if you're arriving by train. The reception area is pleasant, with table football and the usual facilities. It makes a good base for touring the Ardennes. The building seems fairly new, or recently refreshed.

The room was freezing, like an igloo, because the heating didn't work. The duvets weren't properly made up either. The covers had just been tossed on the bed, so we had to put them on ourselves, and they smelled awful, like old socks. At check-in the receptionist with dark hair and glasses was abrupt and unprofessional. She pulled faces, seemed annoyed, and made a sarcastic comment about us not speaking French. For a hotel, not having basic English at reception is unacceptable. We rode through 8 countries in a week and stayed at 8 hotels, and nowhere else was as awful. I can't recommend it. The location was the only positive.

It's next to the railway station, with a TER train to Paris Gare du Nord every two hours. I've stayed here many times going to and returning from France. It used to belong to a bigger hotel chain, but now it's a good B&B hotel. Not much feels different to me: the staff are friendly, the room is good, and the breakfast buffet is adequate.