Walking from the hotel to the centre of Lyon (downtown) takes about 30 minutes. However, the hotel is located close to the metro station (about a 3 minute walk), which means you´ll have access to most parts of the city within few minutes.
The hotel was under renovation as I was visiting. Although I didn´t notice much of the works that were going on, I did notice "knocking" sounds and several workers entering and exiting the elevators and stairs. I also found the smoke alarm to be missing in the bedroom, which could be related to the renovation works. Also, the elevator looked like a complete mess, due to renovation works. It actually felt like the elevator would fall apart any minute, and I´m happy I am not claustrophobic.
The hotel staff seems nice and appears to have a decent comprehension of English. There was no "French arrogance" to be found among the staff. The hotel breakfast was rather boring, but provided a wide enough variety of food to keep things ok.
The hotel room was a bit disappointing. Although the bedroom and bathroom were both quite big, the room was very dark, and the view from the bedroom window was quite depressing (then again, the hotel itself is located at a pretty depressing/boring area, with bears more resemblance to an industrialized area than a cozy, French neighborhood. The light switches were also frustrating to control, due to the fact that they seemed to behave differently for each new day! Also, the bathroom was quite cold, and there was no possibility of turning up the temperature (although this was possible in the bedrooom). Finally, I would have liked a small fridge, although this is more of a wish than a complaint.
As for the positive sides, there was a desk with a chair in the bedroom, which is perfect for studying, writing etc. I also found the safe to be practical and easy to operate. However, the hotel room was only ok at best, and for approximately 145 Euro for one night, I expected a bit more.
- Accor Lyon Lumiere
