36 rue du Marechal Joffre, 44000 Nantes

Hotel The Originals du Grand Monarque Nantes Gare

Name: Hotel The Originals du Grand Monarque Nantes Gare
Address: 36 rue du Marechal Joffre, Nantes, 44000, FR
Price range: 61 EUR
Rating: 3.95

Hotel 2-star in Nantes

Presentation

Hôtel du Grand Monarque, 36 rue du Maréchal Joffre, in Nantes. Five minutes’ walk from the station, and the same from the Jardin des Plantes.

People often arrive there with a bag still on their shoulder, eager to drop off their things before heading off to the Château des Ducs de Bretagne or Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Cathedral, just a stone’s throw away.

The façade does not look like much. It is when you push open the door that the tone changes. The reception occupies a small, welcoming room, where you are greeted straightforwardly, often by a face that returns from one year to the next. The staff’s loyalty is felt in these small details: they remember a room requested facing the courtyard last year, and they offer it without being asked.

There are twenty-nine rooms, and they favor calm over size. Some retain an Art Deco touch, with veneered wood and clean lines, a reminder that the building had a history before becoming a hotel. The room is pared down to the essentials: a desk, a private bathroom, a flat-screen television. Nothing extraordinary, but everything works. The property has no elevator, and on the upper floors you feel it in your calves after a day of walking around the city center. It is better to mention this when booking if you are traveling with a heavy suitcase or limited mobility: the reception is happy to arrange a lower-floor room.

On the ground floor, the bicycle storage room is busy as soon as the good weather arrives. Nantes is traversed on two wheels, and the hotel knows it. The parking, however, is paid and fills up quickly on weekdays. A call before arrival avoids circling the surrounding streets.

From morning onward, the breakfast room smells of coffee and warm bread. The buffet remains simple, with pastries and juice, and the day’s newspapers laid out on a low table, but no one leaves hungry. You will meet regulars there, coming for a meeting at the nearby convention center, and travelers out for a stroll around Bouffay.

In the evening, the neighborhood takes over. Bars and restaurants light up just a few meters from the entrance, and you can close your room door without having had to take the car out.

One last point for the morning: breakfast service ends sharply at 9:30 a.m., so it is best not to linger in the shower if you still want to find warm croissants.

Summary of a few positive reviews read on the Web

Courtyard-facing room, no street noise during the night. The bathroom is small but clean and well designed.
Arrived after 10 p.m. on a weekday evening, and someone was still there to welcome us and give us the keys.
No elevator, but after mentioning a heavy suitcase at reception we were offered a first-floor room without any problem.
Simple breakfast, the staff brought coffee and croissants directly to the room, more than enough to start the day.
The wifi cut out once in the room, fixed in ten minutes after a call to reception.
Closed and convenient bicycle storage, useful for keeping equipment safe all week without having to think about it.