Mercure Rouen Centre Cathedrale

Summary: No sleep, no parking, awful stay, avoid - though well located and staff nice. Aside from a kind staff and great location, this was my worst hotel stay in many years. While the common area looks ok, the bedrooms are truly depressing and awful. Most importantly, the AC doesn’t work - tried two rooms, and it didn’t work in my brother’s either. And it wasn’t hot outside. It was in the low 60’s all night, but couldn’t even open the window more than 5 cm (2”) due to a chain lock thing they have on it. And so the room was warm and sticky. The AC not even good even to deal with the heat from one body. Also, dismal lighting in the room - very dim and in the bathroom, it was flickering and buzzing, like in a horror movie. A very cheap hotel - two sheets of paper in the tiny note pad, no conditioner, poor water pressure. We were counting on the parking - on a 2 week road trip. They announced the morning of the stay that you have to drive through a bollard to get into the city center, and we tried and it was ver complicated getting to the hotel. And then, of course, no parking available. So we parked in a public parking structure about 5-6 blocks away and rolled our bags each way. I really wish that we hadn’t stayed here.

Location: amazing - right in the middle of the city near all the attractions with restaurants, shops, tourist spots and anything else you want within a few minutes walk. Near the river as well which is perfect for anyone who likes morning runs. Access by car: Rouen city centre is protected by retractable bollards, which you need a code to get past. The hotel provides that - we did a little bit of planning and it was no issue getting to the hotel. The actual car park itself is quite narrow and small - but we have a Peugeot 5008 and were able to park comfortably. When we visited it was quiet but imagine in peak season it might be harder to park / might not be any spaces; the spaces are limited and cannnot be booked in advance so if you arrive late in peak season you could be in trouble. Rooms - nice room, clean and decent space. 4 starts as the bathroom was a bit tired and toilet quite cramped but overall it was fine. Breakfast is classic France - pastries, cooked breakfast, and slabs of cheese. Very good. Visited September 4/5.

Nice hotel in a superb location. Room was a good size and clean though the pillows were awful. Staff were helpful and I'd be happy to return though they lose marks for having a fire alarm at midnight on our first night which though it isn't the hotel's fault could have been handled better and the really narrow staircase and tiny lifts meant it took ages getting back to our room after the unexplained evacuation. Can't comment on the breakfast as it was too expensive but plenty of decent boulangeries in the area for a morning croissant

We had 3 nights here with our adult daughter. So 2 rooms. Sadly no interconnecting rooms at this hotel but we were able to have rooms next door to each other. The rooms aren’t massive to very clean and have everything you need (fridge, tea & coffee, large tv). The parking spaces are tight but we never had a problem getting one (and we were there during the Jean of Arc festival so the place was busy). We didn’t eat in the hotel at all because it’s so well positioned with loads of patisseries, cafes and restaurants around. Beautiful town and easy 1 hour train into Paris for the day.