We booked this hotel for 1 night in late September 2011 based on Trip Advisor reviews. We phoned the hotel to check the car parking arrangements beforehand and were told that, although they had no car parking of their own, there was plenty nearby, and in particular in a street at the side of the hotel. We were also told that we could unload our bags right outside the hotel then park the car.

What we discovered was that the segment of street containing the hotel is in fact “no entry” except for taxis and buses It’s actually against the law to drive a private car up to the entrance, and you certainly can’t park or unload. When I asked the receptionist what to do she told me that it’s OK to break this law as generally nobody takes any notice. Given our other experiences of the hotel, I doubt they would offer to pay any fine incurred.

We also couldn’t find any available car parking space within 300 meters of the hotel. The hotel receptionist told us that “there is always space”. Well, I can assure you that there isn’t. Everything was full.

My attempts to cancel our reservation were unsuccessful.

We finished up parking in a public car park 300m from the hotel and in a location unsuitable to leave luggage in the car overnight. Since we were on our way to St. Malo and the boat home, it took 5 trips - 3 km in total - to carry our bags to the hotel. Then we needed at least as many trips up and down in the tiny elevator (one person + 2 bags is about it) to get to the room. We initially arrived at the hotel at 4 p.m. and were in the room with the bags at about 7 p.m.

The room was small and dingy with chocolate brown paint. The bathroom with separate toilet was adequate but the towels were small and thin. The beds were comfortable and although the nightlife continues until about 6 a.m, the hotel isn’t in a particularly noisy spot so that wasn’t really a problem.

We didn’t try any of the food – including breakfast – as we spent almost all of our time unloading and loading the car. We did manage to find an excellent late dinner in the city centre.

In the morning we had to start our multiple trips back to the car park at 6.30 a.m. in order to make St. Malo and the relief of a comfortable ferry journey home on time.

If this is Trip Advisor's No 4 hotel in Rennes, it doesn't say much for the standard of accommodation there.

We stayed at the de Nemours for 3 nights in early August. It is a small bed and breakfast type of hotel. Perfectly placed not far from the city centre and all the sites. Only a cheap taxi ride from the station and just down from the fresh food market and around the corner from the laundromat and supermarket, it ticks all the boxes for a brief stay.

We had a superior room with a view of the street. It was neat and tidyand not a bad size for european standards. A nice flat screen TV, but with no english speaking channels. Free WifFi. No coffee making facilities or fridge, but this is fairly typical. Renovated recently by the looks, but as indicated in one of the other reviews, I wouldn't hire the painter as there were paint drips in the bath.

The staff were terrific, very friendly and helpful. Bed was good and the typical french breakfasts were great. Would I stay there again ... for sure! The main downside was the noisy locals wandering past at night (the street has traffic restrictions so aspect is is okay). Yep, the lift is the smallest I've ever seen, but take a photo and show your friends! At least there is one!

Just a comment on Rennes ... what a great town, plenty to see and central to lots of other beautiful parts of Brittany.

This hotel is a short walk from the train station and consists of 5 floors. Everything seems updated but perhaps not professionally since I noticed workmanship errors in the room (screws, paint, etc). None of this affected our stay.

If you travel with a lot of luggage, the elevator is tiny even for European standards and may just be good for your luggage or 2 people. The stairs are steep but doable.

The room was small, but very clean. Although there was a/c, it didn't work very well on the 5th floor. Luckily the weather was a bit chilly.

The plus points:
relaxing, muted colour scheme
very friendly reception, English spoken well
Huge Toshiba tv (for size of room)
Nice toiletries
Nice decor, furniture, fittings
Nice comfy bed and white linen sheets
free wifi
good location
I arrived early and left bag at reception while I walked around, and when I returned the receptionist had kindly put it in my room.

The minus...-
very small lift for over-sized people or if you have a couple of large cases
It could also be argued that certain places (speaking about my room) need a touch up with paint in small areas.
The bed have a thin but quite warm duvet. When I visited it wasn't cold but at night I was too hot with duvet on so I put on the a.c. to lowest setting, 19c.

Overall a good choice in the 2 star bracket.