The Hostelz.com Review
If you want a quiet evening; a nice glass of red wine; and a calm, spacious room, Peace & Love Hostel is probably not the hostel for you. However, if all you’re looking for is a bed and a lively, noisy bar is top of your list, then this is where you need to be.
The Location
It’s not the most central hostel in Paris but it’s only a one-minute walk from Jaurès metro stop and three minutes away from Stalingrad -- from here it will take you around thirty minutes to get to most of the city’s sites. On the other hand, Peace & Love is just a five-minute walk away from the Gare de l’ Est and Gare du Nord. Because you’re a bit further out, you’re shielded from the hectic hustle bustle of Paris’s touristy centre. Here, there’s some great bars along the canal with mainly local’s enjoying a fairly cheap beer -- well, for Paris standards.
On arrival, many tired and delirious travelers wander into the hostel confused by the fact that the reception is posing as the bar, don’t walk away –- you've found it! Also, the hostel only accepts cash on arrival, so to save yourself extra stress when you arrive all hot and flustered, bring some money with you.
Rooms and Bathrooms
Rooms and bathrooms are very clean; however, space is a different issue -- there is none. If you wind up in the fourteen-bed dorm, do not expect to fit your bag in anywhere. However, if you have decided to invest a bit more in a three-man room, this will buy a cabinet for your luggage, a lower probability of being in a room with a horrific snorer, and less of a wait for the toilet in the morning. There are no lockers in the rooms, but there is a trusty safe behind the bar for small valuables and laptops.
Common Spaces
Hardly anyone ever occupies the kitchen, whereas the bar is often fairly busy. During the daytime, the bar is full of people tapping away at their keyboards before 6 p.m. (when you have to pay). During the evening, the bar is abuzz with foreigners on tour and a handful of local, slightly sleazy men (they're pretty harmless, though). There’s also often a sprinkling of travelers from around the world who are often keen to mingle over an expensive pint or two.
Summary
Overall, Peace & Love hostel is a fairly secure abode with friendly staff, clean rooms, and a great place to meet other fun, sociable travelers. However, if you want a "tranquille" night’s sleep, maybe think again -- not only do ambulances pass by pretty much every ten minutes during the night, as a young, party hostel, the bar is pumping until 2 and it’s extremely likely your roommates will be creeping (or stumbling) in during the very early hours.
The Location
It’s not the most central hostel in Paris but it’s only a one-minute walk from Jaurès metro stop and three minutes away from Stalingrad -- from here it will take you around thirty minutes to get to most of the city’s sites. On the other hand, Peace & Love is just a five-minute walk away from the Gare de l’ Est and Gare du Nord. Because you’re a bit further out, you’re shielded from the hectic hustle bustle of Paris’s touristy centre. Here, there’s some great bars along the canal with mainly local’s enjoying a fairly cheap beer -- well, for Paris standards.
On arrival, many tired and delirious travelers wander into the hostel confused by the fact that the reception is posing as the bar, don’t walk away –- you've found it! Also, the hostel only accepts cash on arrival, so to save yourself extra stress when you arrive all hot and flustered, bring some money with you.
Rooms and Bathrooms
Rooms and bathrooms are very clean; however, space is a different issue -- there is none. If you wind up in the fourteen-bed dorm, do not expect to fit your bag in anywhere. However, if you have decided to invest a bit more in a three-man room, this will buy a cabinet for your luggage, a lower probability of being in a room with a horrific snorer, and less of a wait for the toilet in the morning. There are no lockers in the rooms, but there is a trusty safe behind the bar for small valuables and laptops.
Common Spaces
Hardly anyone ever occupies the kitchen, whereas the bar is often fairly busy. During the daytime, the bar is full of people tapping away at their keyboards before 6 p.m. (when you have to pay). During the evening, the bar is abuzz with foreigners on tour and a handful of local, slightly sleazy men (they're pretty harmless, though). There’s also often a sprinkling of travelers from around the world who are often keen to mingle over an expensive pint or two.
Summary
Overall, Peace & Love hostel is a fairly secure abode with friendly staff, clean rooms, and a great place to meet other fun, sociable travelers. However, if you want a "tranquille" night’s sleep, maybe think again -- not only do ambulances pass by pretty much every ten minutes during the night, as a young, party hostel, the bar is pumping until 2 and it’s extremely likely your roommates will be creeping (or stumbling) in during the very early hours.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
October 2011
Their Description
Peace & Love Hostel Details
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Peace & Love Hostel Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Pretty Bad By far the worst hostel I stayed in during two months of backpacking. It was dirty. There's no way to lock up valuables (except to leave them at the bar). There's only one key per room. This was a huge problem-our room was locked and when we went to the bar to ask for the key, they said another guest in the room must have it so we should go back and keep knocking. We did -- pounding on the door for about ten minutes. Finally, we went back to the bar, as it turns out, the key was there the whole time, the bartender just didn't look very hard. The only good thing I have to say is that the one girl who runs the bar is nice and friendly and it's close to the metro. — Lindsey , USA (2009-05-27) Meh I stayed in the summer of 2007. To get to your room you have to climb a set of narrow and steep stairs. The room I stayed in consisted of a triple bunk bed with about two feet of space all around. having the shower open right into the room meant that the room could get pretty steamy. The area is not your typical tourist area, but lots of little grocery stands and cafes around from what I remember. It was a fun hostel. Met lots of people there. It was closely situated to the subway system. — LP , Canadian (2009-05-23) Terrible I was backpacking around Europe and i didnt have any problems with hostels, but this one, i must tell... I cant belive it still exists!
Its dirty the reception is a tiny bar very disconfortable to arrive with bags. The stairs are really, i mean REALLY tiny!!! And the woman at the reception tried to make me pay for one more day.
There's only one key per room. And yes, people get totaly drunk and vomit anywhere! The rooms smells! And its located in a terrible place!
I left the next day cause i couldnt stay one more day there!
Totally not recomended for girls... Even dangerous! — Lara , Brazil (2009-05-21) Pretty Awful My friends and I ended up here because everywhere else was booked. It was the least enjoyable hostel experience I had. You don't get a key for your room-a HUGE pain. You have to return it to reception every time you use it-and at one point we went to pick it up, they said they didn't have it-we had to wait almost an hour for them to figure out they DID have it. There are no lockers. It's pretty dirty. The bunks are triple (the middle bunk is NOT recommended). Reception is a bar, there was a girl working there who was friendly but the rest of the staff was not helpful in the slightest. — Lindsey , USA (2008-12-08) Yikes Staff is extremely bitchy and cliquey. The reception doubles as a bar and if you need help with anything they kind of "get around to you when they can." I saw one of the employees scream at a customer calling him stupid and telling him to "get the f*ck out of her hostel" in front of his parents because he had made a mistake with a reservation. There were a bunch of older men who would come to the bar at night who were not staying at the hostel. I didn't feel safe the whole time I was there, and I especially wouldn't recommend this hostel to a girl. I was constantly harassed by a certain member of staff, as was every single girl that I spoke to. It wasn't even just verbal, although being propositioned for sex was bad enough. I know of at least one girl whose room he walked into without her consent, and another who he grabbed and locked in the kitchen. Additionally, the area of town is not very nice at all. We thought it would be close to Montmartre, but it really isn't that close and it's not the safest area to walk at night and there aren't many bars in the direct vicinity, you would have to spend money on a cab. And if you do that, you should keep in mind that 24 hour reception does not mean that there is someone at reception all night. it means they go to bed after the bar closes, and if you are out and want to come inside, you have to ring the doorbell and wake them up to come let you in. Awkward. Really, don't stay here, there are better hostels in Paris. We switched half way through our stay and the other was much nicer. On a good note, I met really cool people, but I think I could have done that elsewhere without having to feel unsafe. — Katie , USA (2007-12-28) Awful It all started when we were followed back from the bar. my friend Lucy got jumped on. we tried to run into the hostel for help but the staff locked us out and told us we had to deal with it on our own. overall the accommodation was average, but staff horrible! don't go there! — Zara Hillops , England (2007-11-12) If you're desperate. I stayed here in 2001 during summer. It was pretty expensive, so I ended up sharing a single bed with my boyfriend. All in all -- it was a lot of stairs, tiny bathroom/shower, hectic bar/reception, and the kitchen was dirty. We still had a good time but I've never come back. — Anette , norway (2007-09-08) Absolutely Fantastic! This hostel is absolutely fantastic! Absolutely Amazing! If you are in Paris for a romantic time with your boyfriend/girlfriend and want to spend quiet evenings, the do not go there! But if you are a young, adventurous, fun individual who would like to see Paris but also want to have fun in the evenings then this is the place to be. Fantastic people at the bar and the reception, great crowd of young happy travelers, and party, party, party. if you want to dance your ass, get drunk, have fun, party, party, and find some love, then Peace and Love is the place for you! I have been there once and I am going again! Love it! — AJ , Belgium (2007-07-17) What you see is what you get. This is a party hostel. The reception is a bar. Pretty loud but comfortable. Not amazing in any way. The rooms are very cramped and there is a small shower inside the room. The one-star ratings aren't appropriate but neither are the four and fives. — Sam , USA (2007-07-02) I found the Peace and Love hostel a good time. My group and I stayed for four nights and enjoyed the bar, staff, and assortment of board games we played with other guests. They had a great tour of the Montmartre area that was only 5 euros. The rooms were a little small for three and the stairs suck to climb, but the people we met and good times we had made up for it all. — Jami (2007-01-28) Unless you are just looking for a place to pass out after you get trashed, do not stay here. We arranged for two nights and left after the first night, without a refund, because the place was so terrible. The hostel is located in a scummy part of town. the bedrooms and bathrooms are filthy -- the internet access is a joke (one very dirty, barely-functioning terminal). there is no lobby, only a bar where they don't want you sitting unless you're buying drinks, and no lockers or any safe place to keep your bags during the day. Moreover, you don't get your own key to your room. Forget sleeping -- the bar is insanely loud, and so is the noise from the street below; you also have to worry about drunken hostellers barging into your unlocked room at night and (as we heard) vomiting on your stuff. Add to that the fact that the place is downright dishonest -- they double booked one of our beds for our first night, and then tried to refuse us a refund when we told them we'd had to share a bed after paying for two. — Elizabeth and Mark (2006-07-15) This hostel was awful. The worst (by far) in our fifteen-city trip. Though I booked the room far in advance, we were on the eighth floor, one hundred and twenty-two steps up a winding staircase. The staff was incredibly rude, both to us and other guests, the room was so hot I slept on the roof, a one hundred twenty-pound girl has to turn sideways to even fit in the sliding-door shower, the area of town is very, very sketchy (one of our party got attacked in the phone booth directly outside the hostel), and worst of all, on our second day, we arrived in our room to find hundreds of ants crawling around on the bedclothes and pillows, in our backpacks, everywhere on the floor. the staff refused recompensation. As we were leaving, a staff member followed us out of the hostel to remind us (unkindly) not to say anything negative about the hostel online. She told us if we had had any difficulties, it was all our fault anyway. — Jessie (2006-06-20) Phone and confirm your room before going! Internet booking is not enough. I had booked a twin room en-suite and ended up sharing with six others. Almost missed the train back to the U.K. because I was waiting for a chap having a forty-five minute shower! Nice people and open twenty-four hours, so great for a couple of nights. Probably best to travel light but cheap and cheerful. But if you are trying to book a room or small dorm -- phone them first to confirm booking -- they speak good English and are really helpful. — Dan (2006-04-18) I booked my daughter at Peace & Love, as she was visiting a friend in London, who is going to design school there. My daughter came to Paris alone, and felt very overwhelmed by the language barrier. She found Peace & Love, which I thankfully booked her at. I cannot tell you how kind the clerks at the desk were, helping her get over her initial fear of the language barrier, being in that large city all alone. Naomi and another woman took excellent care of Maddie. They were booked for the second night, or I would've booked Maddie there again. Maddie stayed at the absolute the next night, but came back to the Peace & Love to party the second night.
I have thanked Naomi and her friends at Peace & Love for being so kind to a poor little lost kid in Paris that first night. A lot of people, no matter what country, or what city, would've been cold and cruel to Maddie, who was crying in the lobby desperately trying to call me, but not Naomi, and not Peace & Love.
I think it is a really nice place, and Maddie said she would DEFINITELY stay there again, the next time she comes to Paris.
Thank you again, Peace & Love Hostel, for making my daughter feel welcome at your hostel.
We surely do appreciate it,
Molly & Family in Los Angeles... — Molly (2006-02-07) well god forbid you actually had to sleep on a mattress! i am sorry but i totally disagree with some of the posts. if people wernt so lazy they might have abetter time inme while travelling thats all i have to say. it was nice place to stay it wa sclean and it did have hot showers and they helped us out when they didnt have any room because we were walk ins. so we went back when be left the other hostel. it was real nice there. — jenna (2006-01-13)