Hotel Carlton

“A kindness at Christmas”

We visited Lille for a pre Christmas break and weren’t disappointed, the city was beautiful as was the Hotel. But this review is about the kindness of the staff. After a lovely few days we checked out and went for dinner prior heading to station. I then received a text saying the Eurostar was can... more

We visited Lille for a pre Christmas break and weren’t disappointed, the city was beautiful as was the Hotel. But this review is about the kindness of the staff. After a lovely few days we checked out and went for dinner prior heading to station. I then received a text saying the Eurostar was cancelled. 5 days before Christmas, nowhere to stay, and no apparent way of getting home we headed back to the hotel. To say the lady on reception was kind would be an understatement, while I was franticly checking alternative travel solutions she quickly found us a new room, then she upgraded the room, and the. gave us vouchers for free cocktails that evening. What could have been an awful 2 day delay became a wonderful extension to the holiday. Thank you Hotel Carlton

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“Great hotel”

Great hotel in a very good location. Rooms are comfortable and a very good size. Staff are all extremely helpful. Good buffet breakfast in a lovely room over looking the square/opera. A few reviews have criticised the soundproofing in rooms but this wasn’t a problem at all.

“Strange Xmas Break in Lille at the Carlton Hotel.”

Strange Xmas Break in Lille at the 'Boutique' Carlton Hotel. We booked the break on booking.com. Who should really state that this hotel may not suit English only speaking people that expect a certain level of service that we get in England and other countries. Positives. The train journey there... more

Strange Xmas Break in Lille at the 'Boutique' Carlton Hotel. We booked the break on booking.com. Who should really state that this hotel may not suit English only speaking people that expect a certain level of service that we get in England and other countries. Positives. The train journey there was excellent. The hotel is a 10 minute walk from the station. Excellent location. The view from our room on the 4th Floor facing one of the 2 main squares was amazing especially on New Years eve. The rooms are very spacious and well equipped. The overall condition of the hotel was very good in all areas. The cleaning staff as were most of the reception staff really polite and helpful. The continental breakfast was excellent in content and choice of food. Lille itself is a lovely town with a good Xmas market and many, many restaurants but all menus are in French and not in English? It was nice to walk out during the daytime and the evening, very safe to do so with lots of French police walking around this port of town in groups of 2 & 4. We found 2 decent restaurants that could understand our English needs and one even had the English translation under the French wording, Negatives. We thought as this was being advertised in England that it would be able to cater for some of our English needs. It's just not geared up for English only speaking people. Hardly any of the staff spoke good English apart from the manager and as we do not speak French it was difficult at times to say the least. Except the Xmas temporary Student staff, brought for the Xmas and New Year period as they spoke very good English. The was no welcome pack in the room to tell us of the hotel services amenities. Fire escapes meeting points etc. Nothing in English in the room at all to help find out about the hotel amenities and facilities. No room service was available as no snacks menu in our room either. Nothing to tell us of the breakfast times, special events over Xmas and New Year, the small health club location or times of it opening. Nothing to tell us how to reset the small safe which was over 6ft off the ground of located in the top shelf of the wardrobe so if you are under 5ft 10 very awkward to get to and operate. When we asked at reception about a hotel guide to services in English they just shrugged their shoulders. Nothing is in English including the Drinks and bar menus. The Room has a nice large screen TV that has many Standard French stations but none readily available in English so you cannot relax and watch TV programmes in English in the evening. The is no Netflix/You Tube or other enjoyable platforms in English to enjoy. There is no restaurant for an evening dinner meal so you have to eat out, you have no choice. We had to send the bar menu to our daughter in England via what's app to arrange translation into English (see photos) so we could know what we were ordering in the hotel bar which has a typical bar menu for limited food/snack options all in French. Lots of beggars on the street pavements. Everyone seems to smoke, we saw no-one that was vaping. If we go to Lille again we would do our homework first to find if possible a hotel that can cater for mature English couples such as us. Or may be, just stay here one night for the amazing location. But as I say you cannot fault the location of this hotel. It is a lovely hotel. FS

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