Hôtel de la Bannière de France

Lovely old hotel near the cathedrale. The owner was so nice, very welcoming and thoughtful. It is old and it could do with some tlc but I would stay here again. Its not ideal for families or anyone with mobility problems as it doesn't have a lift but we managed okay (onlt one flight of stairs) and it's clear when you book it you are staying in an old hotel which is part of its charm. Public parking just round the back if you don't make his onside garage in time. He charges 10 euro for parking if you do. Restaurant wasn't open when we were there so noting it's a small town with limited opening hours get there us time for dinner out! Options within a few minutes walk.

Absolutely wonderful charming traditional French hotel in a great location. The warmest of welcomes from the lady receptionist/owner who spent some time explaining what was on offer in the town and helping us with our pronunciation. Our bedroom was spotlessly clean and large with two very comfortable double beds. Secure parking which is in short supply in most hotels in the area. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and laid out and the food is excellent. Breakfast was the usual continental offering. There is also a small lounge area in which to sit and have a drink and relax. Previous reviews have mentioned that the decor is a little tired and to some extent I would agree, but that is the whole beautiful charm and character of the place. This was our first time in Laon and unfortunately had only one day to explore the place, but we will be back next year and without doubt booking in at this hotel. Highly recommended.

My husband and 3 young children stayed at this hotel as part of a long journey home. We arrived at the hotel about 8.20pm after a very long day driving and initially it seemed quite charming in a beautiful location near to the beautiful cathedral. However on arriving we were taken up to our room which albeit seemed clean was very outdated with damp on the walls and skirting and was in dire need of an upgrade. There is no aircon in the room and the street outside was very noisy so opening the windows wasn’t an option. There was a fan provided thankfully but I wasn’t keen to leave it plugged in all night. When we were taken up to our room, the staff member asked if we wished to have breakfast in the morning. We were unsure as we had another long drive in the morning and didn’t know what time we would be leaving so asked if we could decide in the morning and were told this was fine. Around half an hour later which was then nearly 9pm we had the manager at the door insisting we decide if we wanted breakfast or not as they had to pre order it. We then decided not to as we were trying to get our 3 young children to sleep after being disturbed and the breakfast was going to be an additional $36! On checking out the manager was clearly hacked off we hadn’t ordered breakfast making a few comments. I left the hotel in order to put our luggage in the car and the manager sarcastically said goodbye whilst tutting indicating he wasn’t impressed I had left without thanking him. Rather petty behaviour from the manager.

A few positives and a lot of negatives. We were offered private parking on site, received a warm welcome and were shown to our rooms. It really was a case of if we didn’t laugh, we’d cry. The rooms were dirty, overstuffed with unnecessary furniture and loads of cheap soft furnishings. The wallpaper was hanging off various walls, the paintwork was stained and dirty and the overall impression was actually unsettling rather than comforting. That said my we were fortunate to have two queen size beds and after stripping off the woollen blankets, cheap bedspreads and removing loads of nasty cushions and cleaning the dirty wall behind as the beds didn’t have headboards, the white sheets were clean and the mattresses comfortable however that could not be said about the other room that our friends had been given - one ancient bed with a mattress that dipped in the middle and had seen better days. The minuscule bathroom door didn’t even shut, the loo was angled across the front of the door, the bath mat was damp and smelly, the loo brush dirty - they both were put out of sight. When leaving our room, we struggled to lock the door as the door lock had clearly been jimmied over the years. The hallway was poorly and the stair carpet tired and dirty. However we did manage to sleep OK. Breakfast was quite simply, the worst we’d had all holiday and yet the same price as other far superior hotels. The low point came when, on clearing a table, the manager offered us croissants and sliced bread (sliced bread!) left over from other guests. The fruit was old, the meat and cheese tired, fresh bread lacking, no granola/muesli…. And yet the manager was friendly and charming, perhaps that’s why we just paid and left - I think the hotel is simply too far gone to bring it back from the brink of squalid - sorry.

Charming French hotel, needs a little tlc but you could argue this is part of its charm. Although our room was starting to look a bit tatty, lock on door broken and bathroom could do with some modernising Staff really are lovely and friendly.Dinner in the restaurant was good . Good breakfast. Central location with free parking

We had an excellent dinner and bottle of wine from the limited but interesting wine list. Sadly the night was interrupted by regular 'waterfalls' of liquids sloshing through pipes in the room. Avoid room 8 at all costs! Otherwise it is a quaint old hotel and the half board offer is good value.