Hôtel Mercure Saint-Malo Front de Mer

This hotel doesn’t deserve 4 stars. The entrance lobby consists of a leather sofa and a receptionist desk, it is everything but welcoming. The main disappointment remains the room and the ensuite bathroom. Absolutely awful decor and a ridiculously tiny bathroom! No 4 star amenities either in it… We booked this hotel because we only stay in Mercure hotels when we visit a new city/ region but also because the photos shown on the website were very appealing. Well this hotel has been recently renovated and the vibrant colours are gone and have been replaced by a very old fashioned 70s style wallpaper. They should have updated the website photographs but didn’t bother!

The location is great, right over the road from the beachfront, we had a partial sea view which was fine. The room was clean, a few maintenance issues which we notified reception about which weren't attended to during our stay so we left a note when we departed, no big issues though. Of interest was the bathroom which had a fabulous walk in shower, good water pressure and temperature, but the hand basin we had was simply enormous and stuck out from the vanity so you were far away from the mirror to shave and put on make up, it was very strange. The decor of the room was the old mission brown, not sure if it was old or refurbished but not the freshest of colours! Breakfast was excellent, as were the breakfast staff. However, staff at reception weren't the best, we were kept waiting for long periods while staff sat at the computer near the bar and only after 15 mins did they attend to us. A guest had left a bag on the reception couch which wasn't investigated until we told staff about it. We felt sorry for the only staff member we could see on the Friday night of our stay, she had to staff the reception area and attend to about 15 guests in the bar all by herself. The bathroom downstairs hadn't been cleaned by 0800 on the Saturday morning after the Friday evening guests. The hotel has so much more potential, staff need to be invested in, they are worth it!

Located right on the sea front, the rooms are comfortable and we had a great view. It is an easy walk along the promenade to the delightful old town, with its ramparts, bastions, restaurants and bars. The shower was great, which you cannot say about many hotels in France. Parking was easy to find but Paybyphone did not work and a surprising number of machines were not functioning

Location was great. (And this is the reason why I give it 2 stars but not 1) Room was below average: the worst of Mercure that I have ever seen. It is not better than any Ibis. And the room was still dirty after cleaning (see pictures). Air-con doesn’t work properly. Service was a disaster: it is incredibly understaffed during the august high season. There is often a queue on the reception desk. The receptionist is also the bar man/women. It seems that there is no additional staff outside the breakfast time. If you have any questions/requirements for them, you can expect the answer: “no, I can’t/I don’t have time/we don’t have this”. Staff just ignore you when they see you. Facility is a disaster: 1- they often claim that they have a parking shared with Ibes, in reality, they only have 5 spaces and no one get parked there (wondering if their staff uses the parking personally?). 2- no restaurant/dinner They treat Accor members as a s**t: as we were not happy with the room so we mentioned “we are gold member with Accor, is there anything that you can do?”, the receptionist cut us off by saying “there is diamond member staying here and we can do nothing for them”. Overall it is the worst experience I have ever had with Mercure or Accor in general (as Ibes is better than this Mercure). Anyone should avoid this hotel to save your holiday. Any average hotel/Airbnb would work better. The booking is not under my name, if Accor want to investigate further, we can share the booking detail.

Why only 2 star? I stayed at this hotel ten+ years ago and thought it was nice. and a good location. So months ago . as an Accor member. I booked a "Classic Room with the Sea View." for three nights. I really enjoy watching the sea, especially in Northern France with 6+m/18ft+ tides. So our room is actually on the third floor with a small window view. Large windows are on the 1st and 2nd floor.. At the reception, they said they are fully booked (no surprise) and some guy behind the counter (not the receptionist) gives me some attitude and says I should have requested a big window. Excuse me, but the big window is in the reservation picture!!! On top of that, this room has a big support post in the middle of the room, next to the bed. A real nose breaker in the dark. So BEWARE... If you want a good sea view, order a room with a large window. Otherwise, the hotel is OK. Clean. People are friendly. Good breakfast. Quiet.