The Originals City, Hotel Le Lion D'or

“Enjoyable stay”

I found it hard to decide how to rate this hotel but overall we had a really good and enjoyable stay so yes 4 stars :) Arrived late to find that the 2 rooms we had booked were in separate buildings, neither with a lift so not ideal for the 2 elderly ladies with us. We spoke to the young reception… lisää

I found it hard to decide how to rate this hotel but overall we had a really good and enjoyable stay so yes 4 stars :) Arrived late to find that the 2 rooms we had booked were in separate buildings, neither with a lift so not ideal for the 2 elderly ladies with us. We spoke to the young receptionist (Leah??)the following morning, who was exceptionally kind, friendly and professional and found a solution so that we would both be on the same floor and on the first floor. We also met her on the square one evening as we were taking photos and she very kindly stopped and offered to take one of the four of us together! Much appreciated! Overall, staff were very friendly and professional. Breakfast was great, decent continental, with plenty of variety and good quality food, which was consistently topped up. We had dinner twice in the restaurant attached to the hotel and found the food and service very good. Fantastic location in the town with free parking at the door. Chinon is an absolutely gorgeous little town!! Both rooms were clean and of a good size. What a lovely touch to have a kettle and tea/coffee making in the hallway!! Our room was of a decent standard and comfortable with good bedding, no complaints whatsoever, and a beautiful view of the nearby church spire. The ladies' room, however, was an apartment, quite substandard for a 3 star and in need of renovation. No natural light or window in the kitchen/sitting-room, which was painted an ugly yellow. It was however clean and well-maintained so was not a major issue, and most importantly thanks to Leah? the four of us were accommodated on the same floor! Grand merci to all at le lion d'or chinon, we had a lovely stay with you!!

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“A Lot of Positives But Check Room Size Before Booking”

We had a very mixed experience at this hotel. I’ll start with the positives. The location is very convenient. It is well-placed for sight-seeing and we were able to walk to all the main sights and nearby restaurants and cafes each night. It’s also very reasonably priced. Although there is no on-s… lisää

We had a very mixed experience at this hotel. I’ll start with the positives. The location is very convenient. It is well-placed for sight-seeing and we were able to walk to all the main sights and nearby restaurants and cafes each night. It’s also very reasonably priced. Although there is no on-site parking, free car-parking is readily available in the streets around the hotel and in the large car-park opposite but (and its a big but), your car will be towed away if you leave it there on a Wednesday night. The weekly market takes place on Thursdays so the car-park is an absolute no-go zone. If like us, you are there in June during the annual vintage car rally, then parking is a nightmare. The carpark and surrounding streets are closed for parking for the entire weekend and it's almost impossible to park anywhere at all. Admittedly this only happens once a year but we were disappointed that the hotel did not warn us beforehand, especially as I’d asked about parking when booking. The other positives were the staff and the breakfasts. Staff were consistently friendly and helpful and we noticed how hard they worked during the busy car rally weekend. The breakfast (€12.50) is in a pleasant dining room and was buffet-style. It was one of the best breakfasts we’d had in similarly priced hotels. In addition to the expected tea/coffee, juice, cereals, croissants and breads, there was ham and cheese, bacon, scrambled and boiled eggs, and a nice range of cakes. The main problem was our room. It was absolutely tiny. What we were given was essentially an attic room, with sloping walls, on the top floor. It would have been tiny even for one person. There was only enough room to get out of the double bed on one side and there was not enough space for suitcases. The shower also had a sloping wall and was so small that the door did not fully open, making it awkward to get in and out. Again, it was disappointing that we weren’t made aware of the room size when booking. With no a/c, the room was unbearably hot. We were unlucky and there was a heat wave and although a large fan was provided, it didn’t help much. There’s no lift and each floor has two sets of stairs so if you’re on the third floor like us, you’ll be dragging bags up 6 flights of stairs. So there were a lot of positives but some real drawbacks too. If you’re considering this hotel, I’d strongly recommend that you ask about the room size before booking and if you have heavy bags, then I’d also recommend checking which floor your room is on.

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“Underwhelmed”

I have to say that I was rather underwhelmed with the room that we were allocated during our stay. The room looked nothing like the photos that are on the hotel's website. The wallpaper was very drab and the carpets were well-past their sell-by date. The bed was lumpy and the bathroom was cramped a… lisää

I have to say that I was rather underwhelmed with the room that we were allocated during our stay. The room looked nothing like the photos that are on the hotel's website. The wallpaper was very drab and the carpets were well-past their sell-by date. The bed was lumpy and the bathroom was cramped and dated. I asked the receptionist if we could move into a room like the ones on the hotel's website, but I was advised that all the rooms were the same as the one that we were allocated. I felt deceived. I expected rather more for the price that we paid. Needless to say, we won't be coming back.

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