Balladins Lyon Est

The receptionist the next morning was friendly, spoke good English, and apologized for how our check-in had gone. She offered us breakfast, but we had to leave. I’d stay here again: it was clean and functional, and the staff member I met was lovely, even though the place felt a little Fawlty at times. Getting into the hotel was an odd adventure. We arrived after booking through Booking.com and found it as empty as Hotel Overlook in The Shinning. Another guest arrived about five minutes later and called the hotel staff. Since he spoke French, getting the door code and check-in instructions from them seemed easy for him. He then walked me through the process himself. I’ve never been checked in by another guest before, but it was a delight. He spoke English well, knew the routine, and even offered me breakfast for the next morning. I assumed hotel staff would be around, since I’ve never had to put together my own continental breakfast from the supplies of an unfamiliar hotel. Just in case, I declined. The room had been cleaned well, though it seemed like it might not have had a guest for a while. I don’t blame the hotel for possibly having fewer customers, with Covid continuing to affect the world. A few things struck me as funny: both taps, hot and cold, produced hot water, and the lights by the bed were pretty lifeless. My friend and I had booked two singles but got a double bed instead. We were both missing our ‘significant others’, so we avoided alcohol in case we ended up spending the night spooning. The rooms are fairly soundproof, but the amorous couple next door managed to overcome that with enthusiasm. Not the hotel’s fault, but it added to the comedy. The hotel is under a flight path, too. There was no duvet on our double bed, but with 30 degrees outside I was glad of that, and the AC was great. En Route Pour Ma Chambre! You could take this review negatively, I suppose, but it really depends on your attitude to life, especially staying in France as an English speaker.

The kitchen was very good, and it’s a good hotel.

It was so good that we stayed an extra night.

It was decent.