I think this was sometime in December of 2010. We checked in at the Mercure upon arriving via Eurostar at the Gare du Nord close to midnight. We were prepared to walk a little but the hotel was in fact right smack in front of the train station! What a relief.
Check-in was uneventful though they could do better with quicker service. There were quite a few of us waiting to be served and our own waiting time was close to 20 minutes due to the long queue. We didn't kick-up a fuss though because we could see that the staff tried their best to accommodate the lot of us who came in with last minute / ad-hoc check-in requests. (it was during the winter period where all outgoing public transportations from the UK and around the European countries were snowed in including flights, the Eurostar, etc thereby disrupting travellers' plans). We were quite lucky that we even got through the Eurostar with our tickets to arrive in Paris a night later and a room near the train station, to boot! Complain we will not.
What surprised us the most was that the hotel room was modern in contrast to the lobby as well as the surrounding buildings. Indeed a welcoming sight for travellers like us who had to endure more than 10 hours of total waiting time to either get on board our plane or thereafter, the train!! This included tasteful, modern furniture, comfortable bed, flat screen TV, ample space (unlike some of the typical European hotels that're cramped!), and a very clean bathroom with basic amenities (though they could consider revamping the bathroom as well to reflect the overall modern interior - maybe in future?).
Breakfast spread was good with plentiful choices and you could also sit yourselves by the bay windows so that you can "monitor" the taxis and people rushing into the train station!
The breakfast staff were more than attentive, efficient, and helpful and the reception team upon check-out was equal to their task. Upon our exit, we noticed that the location offered quite a number of eateries so you won't be hungry if you prefer not to partake in the hotel fare.
More often than not, our friends would advice us against staying near any of the main train or bus stations in any country simply because of our safety and security but due to its close proximity to the station, and if you are really careful with your belongings, and stride with a purpose toward the station which is only meters away, safety issues can be reduced to a minimum. Furthermore, if one chooses to stay at the Mercure for longer periods to enjoy Paris, taxis are plentiful anyway right at the doorstep and you don't even need any waiting time thereby prolonging your worry if your bags or self will be safe!
We certainly recommend the hotel and their staff and will definitely consider staying there again (if we don't get snowed in again, that is).
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