Hôtel de Bourbon - Mercure Bourges

We don’t expect much from Accor’s Mercure chain of 3/4star hotels and we’re usually right. In Newport they forgot to service our room and the TV in the lounge of our junior suite didn’t work but Mercure Bourges is even worse, The first Privilege room we were shown was so dark we couldn’t seen as it had tiny little windows. The second was far brighter but painfully small. On checking the bed we found a paper mattress cover (yes really); a duvet cover as a bottom sheet as they have obviously run out of normal sheets; thin towels that are wet after one wash and no way to dry them; no face cloths; and a TV so close to the sofa that one person is too close to watch it. It looks good from the outside but if this is the best Bourges/Accor have to offer then it’s pretty poor. Depressing,

Excellent facilities and very comfortable - location is a winner too with easy walk right into historic town centre within a few minutes

The property is a beautiful former abbey with a magnificent dining room and very pleasant bar. The bedroom was spacious and had complimentary non-alcoholic drinks which we appreciated. The gardens outside were beautiful too. They must be lovely in the summer.

Very good value for money. The hotel is well kept and very clean, with comfortable rooms and a lovely patio garden. Customer service is always good and makes you feel welcome. The food is very good too and breakfast, buffet style, is varied and extensive. The restaurant and buffet areas are kept tidy and clean, unlike in other Mercure Hotel venues

rooms clean but tiny, staff v friendly + lovely outdoor space for drinks. Everything plummeted with the restaurant - largely weird menu (pork in watermelon sauce) which witha good chief would have worked here was vile & we were ill next day.

Would of been helpful to know the restaurant is closed on Sunday evening

It was OK. Bed was very comfortable, breakfast was vast if expensive. Some things I didn’t like - the biscuit-cutter layout with plastic moulded bathroom ( although good shower). I detest cardboard cups for water. Staff were friendly if not really engaging. It felt rather corporate, as if run by accountants rather than a hotelier interested in the clients. I would not go back: the local Logis Villa C was a much better all round experience a month previously

There used to be a time when the motto of the Accor group was “the surprise is… that there isn’t any”, meaning that you get something pretty predictable. Well, in this case it is not quite true, as we had the surprise to discover that, at 5 p.m. our bed had not been made yet. OK, after calling the front desk this issue was rapidly resolved, yet the person in charge had only replaced one bath towel. Nothing really dramatic, but why does this happen in a 4 star hotel? On a more positive note, breakfast is superb. Chances are that the bread from a neighbouring bakery is the best you will ever eat in France. Disappointing: Being an Accor silver card holder, I received a voucher for a welcome drink. The small print accurately states that the free drink is for the card holder only, and - as opposed to previous experiences when your accompanying person received a glass as well - they now mean it, i.e. you will be charged for the drink for the second person. Quite ungenerous in my opinion, so I mentioned the issue to the receptionist at checkout. He told me that there have been clear instructions from the head office in this regard. Basically it’s not about the five or six euros, but who invents rules meant to be irritating to customers?

Lovely hotel and unique building (formerly an abbey and extremely old). Wonderful restaurant and breakfast. Room service could be a little more diligent with filling the fridge with water, remembering to refill coffees in room and provide milk