Antigallican Hotel & Hostel

The Antigallican Hotel looks just like the pictures -- clean, modern, bright, and airy. The rooms have recently been remodeled with new furnitures and carpets. In the three-bed room, there is a big closet for each person (three total), three night stands, a small TV, and coffee and tea. This is not a typical hostel you are talking about! There is an instead water heater in the shower, which means unlimited hot water. The walls and the toilet are clean, without hair or other nasty stuff from the people before.

We stayed there for three nights in May 2007 and had a very positive experience. We got upgraded to an en-suite room. All the staff members are super friendly and willing to help. The breakfast is a nice spread, with plenty of toasts, butter, jam, cereals, coffee, and tea. When you go for seconds, staff members don't give you the evil eyes.

The kitchen is well stocked and the common area is decent. It is right next to the kitchen and has several old sofas -- not super comfortable, but at least they are clean. Some other nice Antigallican touches include free towels, free wi-fi (kind of slow in the common area, but much faster in the bar), and laundry service (the charge is very reasonable). There is a bar on the ground floor that serves good and reasonably-priced food and beer.

One downside is the location. It is a bit far from all the tourist spots, and it takes the slow train twenty-plus minutes to reach Waterloo Station. Also, it's not really a "backpacker" hostel and socialization is limited. Most folks were like us, a bit older, traveling with someone else, and just too tired to get drunk. We would have hated this place ten years ago when all we cared was to "hook up." Now, we are older; wiser; and just want a clean, quiet, and cheap room -- Antigallican is that perfect place.

-- Recensione esclusiva Hostelz.com