Kyriad ECO - Perpignan Nord Aéroport

It was easy enough to reach, but the hotel sits on a busy, noisy roundabout. The room was clean, though small and very basic. Breakfast was laid out in a shared kitchen. Everything seemed fresh, but nothing was covered. We won’t be coming back.

I’m travelling by motorbike, and being able to park right outside the entrance made it easy to carry my luggage up to the room. The staff were kind and helpful. It’s a basic place, but comfortable and a nice place to stay.

The bathroom was tiny, the shower head looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in ages, and the glass on the stand-up shower had cracks in it, as if someone had punched it. The bathroom door wouldn’t close at all. The room looked run down at first sight, and the bed light didn’t work when I tried it. The wall behind the TV was an awful yellow. I wouldn’t recommend this room or hotel.

We were already stressed after our car got two flat tyres in one day and broke down for the second time. It was 9:30 at night, and we were limping distance from Sortie 41 on the A9 in Perpignan-Nord, France. Our Spanish insurance company then told us its tow service couldn’t operate on French national roads under the treaty. We were also on our way to a family dilemma, so we were, as the French say, “Très stressé.” We were relieved to find Kyriad Direct right where we needed it. It wasn’t the only hotel at that exit, but it was the one we chose. My wife booked a room online just to be safe, then we walked about a quarter of a mile from the car, parked just beyond the toll booth, with our overnight bags, our pet parrot in his travel cage and me carrying his overnight cage. The receptionist greeted us in flawless English, which was a great start. She also put up with my fractured French, understood me when I spoke Spanish, and even joked with me in Catalán. She made us feel at home. Our room was cozy, maybe a little tight, but clean and comfortable. The bed was so good I was asleep in seconds. I was exhausted, physically and emotionally, and might have slept on a bale of hay or even concrete, but I woke up warm and snug. It almost let me forget the family emergency for a moment. Breakfast was available, the usual road-stop hotel sort, but my stomach wasn’t up to eating. I did have coffee, and the French really do know how to make a good cup. The morning staff were every bit as cheerful, welcoming and multilingual as the night shift. We needed to speak to a garage twenty minutes away in French, which my Duolingo hadn’t prepared me for. A young man at the desk passed the message along, then helped arrange a tow truck after I got approval from the insurance company. Voilà, Fait acomplí. Checkout was at 11, but there was no issue with us staying until noon. In fact, we waited for the tow truck until 2 pm. Our hosts were incredibly generous with their help, and the affection they showed our little parrot was genuine. My wife and I took him to the restaurant next door for a while, where we got wood-fired pizza, then came back to the lobby to wait for our wrecker in shining armor. These people could have been bored and uncaring about our troubles, but they weren’t. They were honest, caring and kind, and went out of their way to make our emergency overnight stay as pleasant as possible. If we lived near this hamlet, I could imagine becoming friends with them. Stay here when you can. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. And tell them Mango says “Hi!”