The circular tileing in the foreground marks the edge of the display in the centre of the lobby. The bar appears a sideshow to this instead of being a bustling meeting place.

Maybe this approach is too museum like or perhaps it is just typical of provincial life that there is no sense of bustle and business here. Rather a sense of ennui pervades, making a strange contrast with the stronger pulse of towns such as Rheims. I understand that there is a strong pull from country into the city for many especially the young, but most hotels create a feeling that they have a heartbeat of their own. Not here though, perhaps because at the time of my visit is the time (August)when most of France was on a beach somewhere and the hotel was emptied of its business traffic, but the design has contributed to this by creating the museum like feel in the public areas where the heart should be.

Bedroom space is generous - rollover to see alternative room type.

The air-conditioned bedrooms provide a huge amount of space, and provided perhaps the largest working desk I have found in any hotel. The space had also been used to create a separate toilet and bathroom separated by the wardrobe area, almost making a dressing room. The bathroom was large with a large marble vanity unit and a powerful shower over the bath, impressive for the level of hotel. The bedroom was large enough to have almost a separate little dining area, and whilst I think more effective use could have been made of the space, all the bedrooms seemed to be of a similarly impressively large scale. The suite I looked at was on an equally large scale, and the design was again gently understated, echoing the corridors in warmth of colouring.

It is easy to see how a hotel like this could be moved up a standard by better use of the space, but whether there would then be the demand is a different matter, and Accor have opted to operate as a superior three star. With more effective tighter space planning a separate shower could have been incorporated into the bathrooms, and the bedrooms could also operate as minisuites, and have enough space in most that they could have the addition of the bed settee to allow family letting at weekends without the addition of a temporary bed for the children.

In the public areas as well there is sufficient space for a Restaurant service to be offered, although I suspect the adjacent restaurants built as part of the development are the reason the hotel doesn’t off this service itself. When Troyes returns from the beach, there are probably more local restaurants available to give greater choice.