Hotel La Pace

The room had cracked tiles, patches of plaster on the walls, a broken shower head, loose wires and a broken light. The TV and air conditioning worked, which felt like a bonus. Breakfast was one coffee and one croissant, with a choice of two juices and two cereals. On the last two days, the foyer smelled of engine oil. At check-in, they tried to charge city tax for four people because we'd booked a quadruple room, though there were only three of us. In the end, we paid tax for three.

The first room we got looked nothing like the online photos. It was on the second floor, had one window facing a tiny square courtyard, and got practically no air or light. It also had no balcony, even though the booking said it would. The next room was just as bad, with cigarette burns on and around the sink and on the floor. I asked to have both rooms changed. The evening staff member said we'd get different ones in the morning, but the woman on the morning shift said there were no rooms available. She changed only one. When I went up to check it, I couldn't work out the unusual key and round doorknob. The desk clerk opened it for me, but when I shut the door and got stuck again, he explained the steps as if I were stupid. You have to unlock it, turn the key all the way right, pull hard, turn it further, then push. He could have told me that before handing over the key. I don't recommend staying here unless you have no other choice. The booking mess started online. I wanted a room from April 3 to 7, but the confirmation came back for April 4 to 7. I booked again with the correct dates, expecting to cancel the first reservation and get a refund, but that confirmation had wrong dates too. Both bookings were prepaid. The booking agency emailed the hotel several times asking to cancel and refund one room, but the hotel never replied. I called to sort it out, starting on March 12. One man said only the morning shift could help, but the next morning the person who answered didn't speak English and told me to call in the afternoon. In the afternoon, it was the same man who'd sent me to the morning shift. I kept asking him to tell the morning staff to reply to the email, but it didn't happen. For about a week and a half, I tried calling at different times and either got someone who couldn't speak English or someone who said they couldn't fix it. After all those calls and worries, I was furious when I finally spoke to the English-speaking man. He then said he'd check with someone about what could be done. I asked to book April 3 directly with the hotel so we wouldn't end up sleeping on the street. He agreed, but charged 80 euros for that night, even though the previous bookings worked out to 50 euros a night. I accepted and booked it. When I checked in on the 3rd, he said he'd ask someone what could be done about the two rooms I had for the next day and told me to ask in the morning. I did, and they said they couldn't do anything.

The location worked perfectly for us, with everything within walking distance. Yes, the city noise can be loud, but that's part of being in the centre. The room was clean, with fresh sheets, towels and amenities each day. The air conditioning was only okay the first night, then seemed to be checked and fixed, and worked perfectly after that. The shower needed repair, though it was still usable. The reviews seem much harsher than our experience.

We had a pleasant stay and I'd recommend it. The hotel isn't far from the tourist sights, and the staff were welcoming and kind. They cleaned the room every day, changed the sheets and left fresh towels and soap. Breakfast is mostly sweet, with croissants and pastries as the main choices, but it was fine to get us through the day. On a few nights other guests ran around and shouted. That's not really the hotel's fault, and the staff did speak to them and calm things down.