Hotel Nijver

The room looked perfect and was clean, and the staff were helpful and quick to respond. But the heating problem was never fully fixed, so the room stayed cold and wasn't comfortable for sleeping. I had to sleep in my winter jacket. Without that issue, I'd have given it five stars.

The location is very central, but three things kept this from getting five stars. The front rooms have single glazing, so every sound from the square comes through. Breakfast isn't good value for the money. And the thin mattress toppers aren't secured with Velcro, so they slide around whenever you turn, and you can end up falling off the bed. The owners should add double or triple glazing, offer more breakfast choices or lower the price, and put Velcro on the toppers.

By our second stay, we'd been put in a dark, dingy back room that was hot as an oven. On the third visit, the room was even dingier and right by blasting music on the Main Street. They apparently thought it was suitable to sell as a hotel room. They gave us a portable Aircon, but it could only be used with the window open. Our host said we should have asked for a silent room. Really, what are people supposed to do, stay awake until after midnight when they need to get up at 8 for an early flight? The first time we stayed, the sheets weren't changed once in five days, and the housekeeping was very poor. There was mould in the bathroom in room 3. Housekeeping was noisy, too. One morning, staff sat on the terrace of a room they were servicing, only two meters from us, talking loudly and smoking while we were having tea and enjoying the quiet. Just a sad experience all around.

It's an okay sort of place, and it seemed to be run mostly by kids or students. At 2200, I asked if we could have another drink and was sternly told it would be our last. It turned out they wanted the place for their own after-hours staff disco party, which didn't feel very welcoming. The food we had there the next morning was particularly good, though.