Online booking is not offered for this Hostel. Contact them for availability and reservations (any contact info we have is listed below).
Please see Lille for other available Lille hostels and accommodations.
Please see Lille for other available Lille hostels and accommodations.
The Hostelz.com Review
HI - Lille Hostel is a five-minute walk from the Lille-Flanders train station and about ten minutes by foot from the newer Lille-Europe station. The hostel is open every day from 7 to 11 a.m. and reopens from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday and 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Everyone must be out of the dormitories by 10 a.m., which is also check-out time.
The Location
It is located just around the corner from the beautiful Porte de Paris old city gate with the giant belfry tower next to it that can be seen from many parts of the central city. The hostel is also within reasonable walking distance of the Old City with its many historic buildings.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The furnishings are average to poor -- the bunks are old and creak at every move. Of the two downstairs toilets, one had no seat when we were there, and the other had a flimsy plastic seat that slid from side to side when someone sat on it. There are no lockers in the rooms or anywhere else in the hostel. The only way to secure small valuables is to keep them on your person or leave them at the front desk. There is an unadvertised locked storage room near the reception desk, and if asked, the desk clerk may allow you to store larger items there when you are out of the hostel. Bicycles can also be stored there.
The showers are basic with push-button valves that allow water to run for a short time after each push. There is hot water in the showers, however, something not found at all HI hostels in France.
The silliest thing about staying there is the constant search for the room key. There is only one key per room, although the room may have five occupants. The last person to leave the room locks the door and leaves the key at the front desk. However, when several of the room's occupants are in the hostel and one of them wants to get into the locked room, that person must go around asking who has the key. It would be much simpler to issue a key to everyone and perhaps hold the person's youth hostel card or a small deposit until the key is returned at check-out.
Common Spaces
The small common room where the reception desk is located has two free internet-connected computers, and there is also free, secure Wi-Fi for those who carry their own laptops (ask at the reception desk for the WEP key needed to log on). When we were there, the lighting was too dim to read by after sunset. There is a separate TV room behind the reception desk with a widescreen TV (all programs in French).
There is a small kitchen on the ground floor with a refrigerator and several cooking burners. There is a meager assortment of cooking utensils but no plates, knives, forks, or spoons. Plastic versions of these items can be purchased for a small fee at the front desk. The kitchen is open afternoons and evenings only.
Breakfast is included in the price and is served from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. It is the basic French hostel breakfast of bread; butter; jam; Nutella; cereal with milk; fruit juice; and coffee, tea, or hot chocolate to drink. The mornings we were there, there was one other item that varied from day to day. Once it was thinly sliced cheese to put on the bread, the next morning it was chocolate mousse, and the third morning it was unflavored yogurt. The eating utensils are plastic.
Summary
Is the hostel worth staying at? We think it is if you are an HI member. Because of the extra charge to those who are not members, those in this category can probably find equal accommodations elsewhere at the same or a better price. It is not a fancy place to stay, but it is well located in a city with beautiful old buildings.
The Location
It is located just around the corner from the beautiful Porte de Paris old city gate with the giant belfry tower next to it that can be seen from many parts of the central city. The hostel is also within reasonable walking distance of the Old City with its many historic buildings.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The furnishings are average to poor -- the bunks are old and creak at every move. Of the two downstairs toilets, one had no seat when we were there, and the other had a flimsy plastic seat that slid from side to side when someone sat on it. There are no lockers in the rooms or anywhere else in the hostel. The only way to secure small valuables is to keep them on your person or leave them at the front desk. There is an unadvertised locked storage room near the reception desk, and if asked, the desk clerk may allow you to store larger items there when you are out of the hostel. Bicycles can also be stored there.
The showers are basic with push-button valves that allow water to run for a short time after each push. There is hot water in the showers, however, something not found at all HI hostels in France.
The silliest thing about staying there is the constant search for the room key. There is only one key per room, although the room may have five occupants. The last person to leave the room locks the door and leaves the key at the front desk. However, when several of the room's occupants are in the hostel and one of them wants to get into the locked room, that person must go around asking who has the key. It would be much simpler to issue a key to everyone and perhaps hold the person's youth hostel card or a small deposit until the key is returned at check-out.
Common Spaces
The small common room where the reception desk is located has two free internet-connected computers, and there is also free, secure Wi-Fi for those who carry their own laptops (ask at the reception desk for the WEP key needed to log on). When we were there, the lighting was too dim to read by after sunset. There is a separate TV room behind the reception desk with a widescreen TV (all programs in French).
There is a small kitchen on the ground floor with a refrigerator and several cooking burners. There is a meager assortment of cooking utensils but no plates, knives, forks, or spoons. Plastic versions of these items can be purchased for a small fee at the front desk. The kitchen is open afternoons and evenings only.
Breakfast is included in the price and is served from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. It is the basic French hostel breakfast of bread; butter; jam; Nutella; cereal with milk; fruit juice; and coffee, tea, or hot chocolate to drink. The mornings we were there, there was one other item that varied from day to day. Once it was thinly sliced cheese to put on the bread, the next morning it was chocolate mousse, and the third morning it was unflavored yogurt. The eating utensils are plastic.
Summary
Is the hostel worth staying at? We think it is if you are an HI member. Because of the extra charge to those who are not members, those in this category can probably find equal accommodations elsewhere at the same or a better price. It is not a fancy place to stay, but it is well located in a city with beautiful old buildings.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
August 2011
Their Description
HI - Lille Hostel Details
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Map
Location/Contact| Address | 12, rue Malpart, Lille, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France |
| Location | |
| Website | www.fuaj.org |
| Telephone | +33 (0)3 20 57 08 94 |
| Fax | +33 (0)3 20 63 98 93 |
How is HI - Lille Hostel rated on other websites?
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
Does its job I arrived late at night, at about 1:30 a.m. without reservation. A good and useful hotel, opened all night. Doors close after 1 or 2 a.m. for security reasons. Average comfort (co-ed toilets and showers) and rooms of six beds with a sink. They only give you one key for all the people staying in the room. Note it is often fully booked. Two metro stations nearby (République and Hôtel de Ville). Free internet access. It has its own private car park. — Jéronimo , France (2007-05-31) It wasn't clean (there was blood drained in the mattresses, the ceiling was full of some manly climax, it was dirty). we were brutally waked in the morning to leave the building and there were some pay problems. The location is ok, the bathrooms as well, but i've seen much better hostels. — Billie , Netherlands (2007-04-02) Not bad. A little dirty, but everything else was up to scratch. It seemed to be the only place in town, but it definitely did the job. — Anonymous (2004-06-06)