Hôtel Le Saint-Hubert - Gare de Lyon Bastille

The staff were great, and my room was very clean and comfortable. It's a charming little hotel just steps from Gare de Lyon. The room was tiny, about 80 square feet, with a double bed.

The hotel's location was the best part, with lovely restaurants and bakeries nearby. We figured out the train and used it to get to the opera, the Eiffel Tower, and Champ elyesse. There’s also a Holiday Inn across the street and a couryard marriot near the station. We struggled to communicate. We speak English and Spanish, and even with a translator it was hard. Only one person, from housekeeping, could explain the bill to us. The elevator is very small, especially with luggage. One person can fit with two suitcases. Room 106 was so cramped that we couldn't open our bags and walk around the bed at the same time. We had to close the bags and stand them upright to move around. The mattress was old, and I think the room was about 10 by 12 feet, smaller than the cabin we'd just spent 11 days in on a ship. The air conditioning seemed to be off. I went downstairs and told the man we couldn't stay in the room without it; he flipped a switch in the kitchen, and we had air for all three nights. Breakfast cost 13 euros. The selection seemed good at first, but we found a black hair in the eggs. I also saw the woman preparing food eat from the pan, and arrange the ham and cheese on plates without gloves. It didn't seem sanitary. Since we couldn't speak French, we didn't try to explain, and we skipped breakfast there for the next two days.

We stayed eight nights and loved how easy it was to get around. The metro, cafes, and a grocery store are all within a block, and walking back from canal st Martin after fete de la musique was easy. The location couldn't be better. Our room was clean and comfortable, with a great mattress, a large bathroom with a deep tub, and a cute view. The air conditioning worked really well. The stairs are beautiful, and the tiny elevator was fun. Everyone we met on staff was kind, helpful, and courteous. We did wish there were mini fridges in the rooms. We had drinks and cheese to keep cold, so we bought a cooler. A mini fridge would have made a big difference. We'd happily come back. Thanks to the staff!

The location is ideal, opposite the metro and train, and the staff were sweet and helpful. We told them we didn't like breakfast, and they cancelled and refunded it, which I appreciated. It took asking twice to get the refund for the other three breakfasts. Breakfast was a letdown. We ate it only on our first morning of a four-night stay. The croissants were so bad they weren't tolerable, which was disappointing in France, where they're such a signature item. I'd later heard hotel croissants often aren't good, but still wanted to mention it. Much of the food was packaged, including cheese and yogurts. The orange juice and coffee were pretty good, though, and you can always get breakfast at a bakery instead. The rooms look old-fashioned, which can be atmospheric, but the floors creaked and the curtain holders on the walls were loose or coming off. We had two matching rooms, and one upstairs had a small balcony with a nice view. Some doors, including one room door and an elevator door on one floor, needed extra effort to open and hold open. Moving luggage through the narrow corridors while holding a door open was difficult. The elevator was the biggest annoyance. It was so small that one person and two large suitcases filled it completely. It was slow, too, and around 9 a.m. cleaning meant waiting about five minutes for it to become available.