good place to stay affordable great loaction good staff standard good breakfast

we tried to rent a room in this nicely looking and affordable hostel. Great location, well equipped with travelneeds and cosy looking in the reception- and restaurant area.
The staff though was rather unfriendly and almost rude as we tried to look around a bit, which made us feel rather unwelcome.

We stayed here on 25th and 26 November in a private room. I booked this hostel as the name suggested it might be stylish in an old fashioned sort of way. But from staying there, it just means old and decrepit. The reception staff were friendly and the reception area is clean and pleasant. Wifi is free but you need a code.The breakfast is 1 croissant or roll per person, juice, cereal, coffee, or tea or hot chocolate. The bread was very fresh and the coffee lovely. There wasn't any cold water supplied though. It all goes down hill once you leave the reception area. The steps up to the rooms are very narrow, the lift can only fit 2 people in it and is very strange. We stayed in room 504. Check in is not until 4pm so bear this in mind when booking your travel. We walked into the room and were hit by a smell of mould, dirt and sweat. The hostel is in need of complete refurbishment, wallpaper, carpets, beds, bed clothes and bathroom suite. The carpet is filthy all over and threadbare in places. The beds are tiny and uncomfortable with scratchy old blankets on. The sheets smelled too. Free towels are provided but we didn't dare use them given the state of the room and bedclothes. There is a flatscreen TV in the room but it didn't work, possibly because you need to pay to use it. The bathroom is horrrendous, apart from the frightening 70's style tiles on the walls, the woodwork is mouldy, the bathroom furniture is decrepit and it's in general need of an extensive clean. The bathroom is small and the not so clean shower curtain sticks to you as you shower. However the water pressure is very good. The decor of the bedroom leaves alot to be desired, totally mismatched and shabby. The plus points to the bedroom are the small balcony and wardrobe which has a decent amount of hangers inside and a safe. The net curtains were filthy though. There is a kettle in the room but no cups or tea or coffee etc. There is zero sound proofing in the room and it's difficult to sleep. To add to this, we were asleep and I was woken up by someone who was outside our door trying to get in. The sound stopped and I went back to sleep only to be woken up about 10 minutes later by someone actually coming into the room. They had been given a key by reception despite the fact that we booked a private room. This was very worrying. We paid 225 Euros for 2 nights. The location is great as it's a short walk from Gare Du Nord. Personally I would not stay here again. It is worth no more than £20 per person for a private room. However, it's fine if you don't care about hygiene or aesthetics and just want a place to put your bags/sleep for the night.

My wife and I stayed one night at the Vintage Hostel (Paris) in November 2011. We paid around EU$100 and got a double sized bed, a bathroom to ourselves, a tv, wi-fi, and a safe. The room was quite small but met our needs without a problem. The front desk was courteous and helpful. The included breakfast, consisting of assorted cerals, croissants, juices, and coffee, was good. The hostel is a 5-10 min walk to the Nord Train station. The area isn't bad during the day but gets a bit dodgy at night. That said, we had no problems. I would definitely consider staying there again.