Hotel berhampiran Digital Campus Rennes, Rennes

We were on our way back from the Brittany coast and we stopped in Rennes for one night, staying at the Balthazar. Hotel was a bit tricky to drive to because of street closures and restrictions. Hotel staff were very welcoming and helpful. Because we were leaving very early in the morning, we couldn’t use the valet parking service but one of the bellmen accompanied and directed me to a nearby self-park garage. I considered this going above and beyond. We had lunch in the hotel restaurant and thought the food was quite good. The rooms and public spaces are very stylish and clean. Rooms were a little on the small side but well lit and furnished. The WC in our room was separated by several steps from the room with the sink and shower. A bit unusual but in no way a deal-breaker. We would have been happy to spend more time in Rennes at the Balthazar.

This was my second time at Le Nemours, and again I was very happy with the experience: Friendly staff, wonderful room with a nice size (rare in France) and tasteful furnishings. I requested a quiet room in the back (courtyard) since the first time there seemed to be quite a lively party in the street below that lasted until 3 am (I think however, that is not the norm, but rather a weekend thing). The courtyard rooms are absolutely super quiet and wonderful! Location is perfect, just behind Place Republic, so easy Metro access within a 3 minute walk - and the airport express bus (C6) stops just a 2 minute walk up the road in the other direction. The water carafes in the rooms and refill fountain below is a wonderful ”green” idea. I'll admit I was a bit overwhelmed by the egg cooker at breakfast: no directions (I guess French know how to use it) ... Was it even turned on? How hot was the water - warm, or should it be boiling? How long should an egg boil for soft/medium/hard? I ended up not eating eggs for this reason. The WiFi in the back was a weak and slow, but everything else was very good!

I expected so much more out of this big chain hospitality company. But, sadly, like many of these big companies, they try to cut as many corners as possible. Here are some pros and cons: Pros: The location is excellent. The hotel is sort of tucked away from the main street so it is very quiet. Also, it is not too far from public transit. Both bus and metro stops are very close and easily reachable by foot. The main lobby itself was relatively clean. Cons: The front desk staff was just okay - they were not rude by any means, but not overly friendly either. They were just...there. The only coffee they had in the room was horrible instant coffee. Then, they charge you 2.50 Euros for an espresso that uses a pod. I have stayed in many, many hotels in Europe (smaller boutique hotels with smaller budgets) that provided a machine with pods in my room. Those that have not provided a machine have never charged me for one espresso. I am sure had I made a habit of it, they would have charged. But seriously, 2.50 for one pod of espresso? Mercure can pony up. We are also convinced the cleaning staff did not properly clean our room. There was something on the ground that sat there for days in the bathroom. We saw it after the first day thinking it was strange it was still there. As a test, we left it there (it was a door sign) to see if it would ever be picked up, but it sat there for days. My BIGGEST issue with this hotel was the SMOKING AREA. They have tables and chairs right outside the front doors of the hotel where people can smoke. Every morning and evening their would be many people sitting out there puffing away. So, each time we would either leave the hotel in the morning and return in the evenings, we would have to walk through a cloud of smoke. The smoke would also enter the lobby and dining area where you could easily smell it. Nothing is more unappealing when you are trying to sit there, eat breakfast and you have to breathe in disgusting, foul cigarette smoke. Overall, I just expected more from a big company such as Mercure. Like I said earlier, I have stayed at smaller boutique hotels where they have smaller budgets. Despite this, they put a real emphasis on customer service and pay close attention to details.

We chose this hotel as we were traveling through Brittany for 2 weeks by train. The hotel location is like a 5-8 minute walk from train station. Street easy to find hotel. The room we had was a decent size and we liked the large bathroom- large shower. The breakfast buffet had many choices. I feel it was the best during our visit through Brittany. There are 3 really good restaurants next door that we enjoyed during our 3 night stay. The old town is maybe about a 10 minute walk to the old town. Excellent housekeeping service every day! I realized I had left a vest at the hotel after we moved on to our next destination. I called the hotel and housekeeping had found it. I was lucky that at the end of our Brittany trip we were stopping at the Rennes train station again on our way to Paris and I was able to walk over and get my vest during the layover. The front desk staff had my vest all wrapped up and waiting for me. Great service all around. Thank you.

The hotel was very difficult to find. Our GPS kept sending us down a barricaded street. The hotel staff were aware of that and we were surprised that they did not send us a better set of coordinated. That being said, the hotel is perfectly located for train access as you can walk to the station in 2 minutes. I found it clean, well appointed and the bed was fine. However, the pillows were very thick and very hard, rendering them completely useless. I tried to get a different one from the receptionist (who was very accommodating) but that was all they had. Eventually I created my own pillow using towels and their pillow case. Otherwise, the hotel was great.

Hotel sympa , il est à coté de la gare, la chambre était bien, les lits confortables. Le personnel très aimable et souriant.Le petit déjeuner est très bien, il y avait beaucoup de choix et c'était plutôt bon, avec même du jus d'orange frais! Hotel avec un excellent rapport qualité-prix.

Нам отель понравился. Очень удобно расположен. Рядом железнодорожный вокзал, что очень важно для нас из-за раннего отъезда. Недалеко до старого города и других достопримечательностей. Чисто. Персонал доброжелательный. Завтрак очень вкусный.

We had brunch and our experience was not memorable at all. The service was extremely poor! 1/ we booked a week in advance requesting to sit by the window. When we arrived, we were shown to a table in the center of the room. I asked for the table requested as I could see that there were a few tables by the window unoccupied, but was told that it’s all full!!! I insisted and had to wait for them to come back with a negative reply. All this time while waiting, the people who arrived after us were shown to the tables by the window. So, not wanting to be petty, we accepted the table. 2/ the waiter explained to us that brunch is from 12 noon to 16:00. So you would assume that you could stay until then. At 13:30 we were told very rudely that we had to leave as there will be a second service. All this, without an apology, or an advance notice that we need to vacate the table! Very very unprofessional. 3/the plate of my niece was literally taken away under her nose, as she was finishing her dessert! We were so shocked that we didn’t even have time to make any comments! There are more but I wouldn’t bore you. Suffice to say we were not impressed at all by this restaurant. Food was so so. It wasn’t even on the rooftop. Anyway even if you still want to go, there is no need to ask to be seated by the windows as there is nothing to see. I am shocked that such a well know brand of hotel/restaurant is providing such awful service. I would not recommend this restaurant

Personnel très agréables Chambres spacieuses, et propres (Pour affaire ou en famille) Literie confortables,, Emplacement idéal pas loin du centre ville mais en même temps quartier très calme. Je recommande fortement.

I wanted a hotel to be near my daughter in student accommodation. There really isn’t another hotel anywhere near so I had no choice. I have to stay there again in a few months time and I will take a kettle and a European plug adapter as there aren’t any USB ports in the room. There isn’t a kettle in the room but there is a machine for hot n cold water in reception- just be aware that it can be quite busy in the foyer area at times and so I felt a little uncomfortable making my drink! There isn’t a lift but the stairs were not steep. The bed was really comfortable and the duvet n pillows were super soft. The carpet/ Lino was very worn and needs replacing - I was glad I took my slippers! Shower was a French-style in-the-bath type so no super-luxury bathroom sorry! Room was quiet and private. It had a large window with a decent curtain and had an adjustable radiator. Smart flat-screen TV worked fine. So overall it was okay apart from the carpets and lack of kettle. The receptionists were really helpful and polite. They all speak several languages. Someone is on reception 24/7. You can buy drinks there and I had a pitcher of wine. They charge 13€ for breakfast which I didn’t have as I thought that was expensive for a basic hotel. I think the hotel is used for conferences during the day. Parking was right outside main entrance and it seemed to be safe.