Grand Hotel de l'Univers

We stayed 2 nights at Amiens at the Grand Hotel de L’Univers. Its best features were the central location and value for money. Overall this was a convenient and pleasant little hotel and we had a good stay here. LOCATION: We caught a train from Paris to Amiens and the hotel was close enough that we could easily walk, even with our bags. Despite its proximity to the station, it is located on the corner of a pedestrian-only street so it was quiet. We could easily walk to the main tourist sites. Amiens is only a small city and it was less than 10 minutes to walk to the Cathedral. The restaurants at Saint Leu were only 12-15 min walk. ROOM: Our room was comfortable, well-maintained and had an attractive decor. The darker coloured walls and curtains meant that we could darken the room for a good nights sleep. We had a desk with tea and coffee making facilities and complimentary bottles of water. The bathroom was bright, modern and clean. Wifi was good. FACILITIES: This is a classical old hotel so do not expect gyms or pools. Facilities are simple but importantly, there’s a lift so we did not have to heave bags upstairs. There’s a small dining room on the ground floor where breakfast was served. This was a good breakfast, with a mix of cereals, toast, fruit and some hot options. The juicing machine for freshly squeezed orange juice was a plus. Staff were friendly, they spoke English, and the desk is manned 24 hours so there was someone available when we arrived late into Amiens. They have a number of brochures and WWI Battlefield guides and they were happy to hold our bags for us after check out so that we could explore Amiens a little further. CAR-PARKING: Once in Amiens, we picked up a hire-car to start the next stage of our travels. There is very limited street parking around the side of the hotel but these spots were never available and we had to park some distance away. I believe that there is a public car-park at the nearby Perret centre but we didn’t know about this at the time.

We chose this hotel using a gift voucher from our son. On check in we were advised the hotel was full due to the rugby and the room we were allocated although not the best it did have a balcony. We entered and could not believe the state of the carpet. The bathroom needed complete replacement. Balcony seemed unsafe to stand on. Bed linen was fresh and clean. All staff pleasant. Breakfast buffet good with nice coffee. Refuse room 22 until completely refurbished. .

The hotel is located directly in the centre of Amiens. Around the hotel are lots of shops and restaurants, a beautiful dome with a special light show during night time . Parking is not possible at the hotel, breakfast is very French ( a bit more variety in bred toppings wouldn't harm ). The rooms are very charming and authentic for French way of living. Lots of historique furniture makes the whole house very cozy and kind of familiar

The hotel is well placed in a pleasant area , few minutes from station . The staff are extremely helpful . I would recommend choosing a room with a shower ( which is a very modern walk-in facility ). Breakfast is satisfactory and one can choose from ' express ' or ' full ' which is a good idea with a significant price difference . All in all a good experience .

The hotel is very old and has been here for a very long time which explains some of the maintenance issues. The lobby was decently sized but there was only one lift which is not great for big groups. The room was hard to open and the lock was sometimes not working. The room was quite small, but each room on the level was of different size. The desk was small, but the bathroom in our room was quite big. There was an ok view from the room. It was good that it had a kettle and water. The breakfast place had quite a bit of food and the hot chocolate was good.

This is a great-value hotel within walking distance of train station, Cathedral and lots of restaurants and shops. The breakfast is good too. The staff are wonderful, especially Wendy and Bonilda and they made our stay in beautiful Amiens extra enjoyable. We will hopefully return to Amiens and will definitely stay here again.