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Auberge Internationale des Jeunes (AIJ)Paris (11è - Bastille/République Area) |
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 Location/Contact Details
Ratings & Comments
Flee! I travel a lot and have been in many hostel. this one is for sure the worst. I've made 2 reservations, 2 disasters! waiting time at the reception -- more than 1h30. staff unpleasant, service 0! 1st reservation, was not booking from there side. 2nd, book 3 beds in a room of 4 -- we have been separated in 2 different rooms, one of them was full. I called the manager, how tell me I told lies and if i was not pleased i should go in hotel -- ok!
I would not recommend it first, when me and my friend got there, we had a big surprise! We had to pay a little more than the price that was written when we booked this hostels (5 or 6 euros I think). When we asked why we had to pay more, the guy just said that this price was displayed on his silly computer screen, he did not try to see where the mistake came from, he did not gave us any reasonable explanation (maybe it corresponds to the resort tax but I swear that when we booked online it was not mentioned, and if it's anything else they've just robbed us). Second, shared toilet, but just one for each floor. Same thing for the showers (two only).Third, beware when if you have booked a room on the ground floor, the toilet is at the end of the court and when it's raining in winter, it's just perfect to get a cold! For the breakfast it's just a hot drink with bread, butter, and jam on plastic chairs. The staff is not so cool, depends on who attends you. So yes it's very cheap and the cheapest in paris in fact but don't be expecting quality and services!
Terrible This hostel was the worst hostel I have stayed at. It was so bad, in fact, that I decided to leave after the first night after realizing how terrible it was! First of all, the staff is unhelpful and rude. The luggage storage room is in basement, but water leaks down there and after only three hours, my luggage and its contents were very damp and smelled moldy. The room has an en-suite bathroom, but there is no soap, the shower does not work, and it is tiny and grungy. if you decide to forgo the en-suite, your other option is a shower room with showers without stalls or curtains and without a bathroom door, so anyone walking down the hall can see you in entirety, bathing. Those showers are also quite disgusting. There was also only one power outlet in a room for four people, and it was near the ceiling. The breakfast is a baguette and tea, there arent enough seats in lobby for even one floor to stay on (I believe there's four floors), so its awfully crowded and you'd have to take your food elsewhere. The people in my dorm were older -- not "jeune." there's only one key so i had to wake up my suitemates to get in and also the website says there is no curfew but they lock the doors at midnight. As if that is not enough to convince you not to stay, here is the kicker. They do not change the sheets between guests there! And there are many rumors of bedbugs and two guys from there had visible red marks! This is July 2009. Just don't do it! I've stayed at ten hostels, and this one is simply unlivable. I didnt have high expectations for hostels, and Ive stayed in many but this is simply uninhabitable. Purely. Also, they charge you the first night of each booking, even though i canceled over a week in advance! I wouldnt stay there if they let me in for free.
Great Value for Money! Clean and Comfortable I stayed here five nights in October 2008. I think this is an excellent hostel for it's price. Probably the cheapest in Paris! The place is clean, we stayed in a room with two bunks and it was pretty big. And comfortable enough to get a sleep, although be prepared for people partying in the hallway until the early hours of the morning. (shared bathrooms are ok, not super clean but good enough.) There are only stairs available so be prepared to carry your things up, the breakfast consists of a baguette and jam, which is fine because it fulls you up for the day! The only thing that was annoying was that everyone had to be out by 11 a.m. and couldn't return by 4 p.m. Made me a bit cautious about leaving valuables in the room because they go in and (not sure what they do, but they go in your room.) The staff are quite immature and not very organised or professional. And one guy that works there is very sleazy! On a positive, Good little bar across the road as well and the location is fantastic! Bastille is wonderful! Had no notice of bedbugs! Maybe we were lucky. Also, in the rooms with two bunks and probably the other rooms as well. if you are looking for a power plug it is at the end of the light above the mirror!
Too noisy and not really comfortable This hostel would be great because of its position and price, and the staff are very kind, but it is too noisy, since the basic rules of civilization are systematically ignored by almost everybody (staff and hosts). I've been in other hostels in Paris and in Germany, and I've never met such a messy management. Rooms are too small for the number of beds they have, corridors and rooms are very noisy, and it's very hard to sleep (unless you're so tired that you're almost dead, and don't care even if an airplane flights close to your head). In the rooms the space to put the luggage, some clothes and other personal stuff are definitely not sufficient, if compared to the number of the beds. Electricity access in the room is absurd and insufficient too. Through the corridors an extremely cold draft is constant, also in summer. Furthermore, I've asked for a four-bed room without bath, and was into a four bed room with an extremely noisy bath with shower everybody (except me, I used corridor showers) used in the dead of the night, keeping all others awake and in a steam cloud. Finally, only one key per room is senseless and foolish. The staff are very kind and friendly, but they can almost never really help you in solving any kind of problems. Though it is for me a topic without importance, I have to stress here that breakfast is minimal (bread, strawberry marmalade, and butter, with some hot beverages).
Friendly, Clean, Cheap -- Good value! We stayed for four nights in October 2008. Friendly staff, breakfast satisfactory, rooms clean, great location. No complaints at all, especially at such a low price!
Very dirty bedding, little privacy in shower (mixed genders) I stayed there for quite some days during the summer of 2000 (I hope they have improved the sanitary condition now). The worst thing I've experienced developing extensive red itchy rashes on my arms before I left the hostel, and it lasted even after I returned. I was puzzled, only after I returned from the trip did I realize it must be bedbugs! The bedding looked very dirty and disgusting as if they are not changed or cleaned for years (a good reason why the place is the cheapest -- they tried to save every penny). Another annoying thing is that both men and women use the same shower room. There are maybe four showers in a room, each had a curtain of course, which was the only thing that could provide some privacy, but you have to be very careful when you need to get something from your bag outside the curtain! I do not know if and how much they have improved the condition now.
It's not worth its salt I stayed there with a friend for three nights end of july. The hostel was even worse than my so far worst hostel in St.Petersburg in Russia! The staff is ok -- "friendly" is something different. I was quite shocked to pay 25 EUR per night. You get a lot more in other countries, even in eastern Europe or Russia. The rooms are very simple, naked flaggings, basins and mirrors with a film all over, and blankets without any cover (my friend had an old red CocaCola blanket, written in cyrillic letters). That's not feeling very well to sleep under such blankets. The toilets are ok. But there's no basin to wash your hands. You have to go back to your room or to the showers, different rooms. There are three showers for each floor. No gender separation. And the room where the showers are has no real door. It's a door like in a saloon -- you can look in. So it's not possible to leave the shower to put on some clothes without being seen by the people walking by on the floor. The breakfast? Baguettes, jam, coffee, on kind of tea, butter. No plates. You put you baguette directly on the tablet. And there's not very much space for all the people. You sit on plastic chairs. Well, next time I'd like to pay a bit more to get something much better!
I strongly don't recommend this hostel when you at least want to get a minimum of comfort like clean blankets or showers.
I would never recommend it! The people who are not in a group have no rights! Even if you have a reservation, it is not respected at all! After the sixth night I was banished from the hostel, although I had a booking for eight nights, the lady informed that it was not possible and that I had stayed for a long time in the hostel. After some time the reception lady said that I could go to the other hostel in the Louvre area, as if I were a package that she could move as she wanted! I was very disappointed because I had a confirmation for the Quartier Latin hostel, not the Louvre one, so I would have to move all my luggage at my own expense due to a disorganization of their service. The rooms are not well cleaned at all -- if you stay more that two nights you notice that they only take out the garbage of the room, nothing more! The staff is not helpful with exception to a young bond lady! But if you want to have a nightmare in Paris, go to this hostel!
Ok I cant say it's very clean but the location is quite good. it's very near to the metro station and to bastille where you can enjoy at nights. the breakfast was just jam, bread, butter, and coffee. but the staff was kind and you can enjoy in front of the hostel even if you had nothing to do at anytime of the day. also it is very cheap especially when you compare with the hostels in paris.
Cheap, basic, and clean I've stayed here a number of times in Paris, and it is/was the cheapest decent bed in town. Right near a metro stop, and no frills. It's not a real party hostel or anything, but if you just want a bed it will suit anyone fine.
Stayed here in summer '06. Overall, I had a good experience and I do recommend it. It is not the cleanest but it wasn't gross by any means. The shower was one of the push button ones that will only stay on for a short amount of time and then you have to press it again -- although a bigger issue was that it flooded the bathroom floor severely after each shower. Well, anyone who has lived in the dorms and dealt with gross bathrooms should be able to deal with this without too much concern. No problems with bedbugs either. Then again, sterile hostels are usually the least fun. Best thing about this hostel -- a great place to meet people. Everyone really seemed to mix and mingle -- the dining room area is not huge or anything but it was usually filled with at least a few new people to meet. Try to stay on the first floor, where you have an outdoor hallway rather than an indoor one. (That's where we stayed!) Also, that is a plus during the summer because I heard the upstairs rooms got very hot. I will admit that the hostel was not as organized as they could've been. One weird thing is that there is only one key to the room -- so the last person to leave the room is responsible for leaving the key at the front desk, then if anyone needs it you show your receipt at the front window. It didn't turn out to be a big problem, although it was an inconvenience. The location of this hostel worked very well for us. There is a really nice pizza place nearby (I am so craving that pizza!), a sandwich shop, Chinese take-out, and also two grocery stores. That is a huge plus -- although be careful because like everywhere else abroad the hours are limited -- opening at 9 or 10 and closing around 9. One great tip -- this was hilarious -- so if you have traveled in Europe you know that you can't buy cold beer or wine at a grocery store -- they just keep it on the shelf! So, on your way out in the morning -- throw some cans of beer hidden in one of the fridges by the cheese, then on your way back to the hostel you can find them and buy them -- cold! Also works for water! I am sure I wasn't the first person to think of this but with two groceries nearby it is an extremely great place to try this if you haven't before! Last thing about this hostel -- the staff. They ranged in personality from rude to professional to quirky. (One of the staff seemed drunk one night and was hitting on the girls.) So, it really depends on which staff member you get here. Just be polite and everything will be fine! I would return to this hostel especially because the price was the cheapest we could find in all of Paris!
This hostel is ok, the staff were friendly, but there were things i did not like about it, for example you can't enter your room from 10 to 3, you have to put your bags in the cellar, where anybody can come in and take whatever they want, there is no lockers in the room, and there is only one key per room, so if you're staying in a room for four to six people it can be annoying. i would not return here, however i have stayed in far worse hostels.
"This hostel ruined Paris for me." The staff is friendly and it's cheap but even with very low 17-Euro-per-night-expectations, it's extremely bad. I am very surprised by the comments that award this hostel with five stars. The beds are uncomfortable, people who are alone and check in late are put on the floor as a fifth person in a four-person bedroom. The toilet is pretty much open and next to the sleeping area, it's very noisy, the hostel is full of signs with regulations wich are ignored by everyone (staff included). There is only one key per room. So if you come home late and the key is already taken by people who sleep in your room, you have to wake them up in the middle of the night to get in. Comment of the staff: "that's ok, just wake them up." The beds were worst, ok it's not the Hilton, but the blanket was greasy with other people's body fluids. I am not extremely fussy, but chose to sleep in my clothes, because the blanket was to disgusting. That the hostel isn't luxurious is understandable and perfectly allright and Paris is an expensive place (in all of Germany you get wonderful hostels for the same price), but there is no good reason for the dirtiness and lack of good management (no good fire-exits, for example).
I spent three nights in this hostel during December 2005. First of all, I did not see or feel any bed bugs. The room where I stayed, a four-bed room, was very clean and although not very large, was spacious enough. The staff were quit friendly and the place seemed very safe. It is in a good location, just a few blocks from Bastille. The breakfast was made of coffee with a piece of bread, butter, and jam. Not bad if you paid only 13 euros for your bed. Given its price and location, I would strongly recommend this hostel. Have you visited this Hostel? Post your comments here.
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2.7 Average from 69 Ratings
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