The People Lyon — Hotel in Lyon

Stayed at Pilo for three nights while stitching lodging accommodations before and after Taylor Swift. Lyon was booked before and after that time, so finding hostel that could even take me for three nights was a challenge.||Depending what you’re looking for, Pilo is great. But it was not a fit for me, and unfortunately, I didn't realize that until it was too late.||Two themes I read in consistent reviews of Pilo were correct: that the main Wifi isn’t great and the beds are not comfortable, at all. Truly one of the top three worst beds I have slept in in my years traveling around the world in hostels.||They aren’t even a real mattress, they’re camping-like mattresses. So if you have a bad back, watch out. In the photos, it looks like a real mattress, but it’s really not. After two nights, I was really uncomfortable. The beds are also basically on the ground so you are crawling and Cirque du Soleil'ing your way in and out. They're just not comfortable or manageable at all. Plus the cabins get incredibly hot at night even with the window open and AC on.||Location is fine. Nice area for exploring the Croix-Rousse, but there aren’t cafes or boulangeries nearby, without going up a steep hill climb. I love leg day too but not usually before coffee. Coffee at the hostel is also available at a fair price compared to cafes.||Location also isn't as accessible by public transport, minus a small handful of bus lines that don’t go near the hostel so you have to still walk uphill about 7-15 minutes. Ultimately, if you have mobility issues, this location is a challenge.||Hostel does have a coworking space, which is great, unless it’s reserved and people in the hostel flood the small kitchen and “chill out” space, which doesn’t have overhead lights to facilitate work calls.||Reception is also constantly overwhelmed with people and a queue, even if they are polite and helpful. When I was struggling to find a backup for my work call, we were able to work something out (even if not ideal) so I did really appreciate that.||As I said, when I booked this hostel, inventory in Lyon was VERY low due to Taylor Swift and people staying on after. That’s great news for the city, but when traveling, it can create budget limitations. Personally, if I had known about the wifi and bed before then, I would not have booked this. Some of that is on me to have known ahead of time, but not all of it.||When I travel, I look for location, accessibility to local places to eat and transport access. This doesn’t really have any of that for what I need or was looking for. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that ahead of time.||Personally, I would not recommend this and I would not stay again ever. But if none of this bothers you, you should be good to go.||The WiFi though was fine to connect on my phone but my Macbook would not connect due to the poor security. That's the first time that has ever happened. Please use a VPN while there and...

Everything looked great based on reviews but after staying there I wouldn’t recommend this place. Let’s start with the first issue: location. The hotel/hostel is located halfway up a huge hill with no service by public transportation. The bus will drop you off near the bottom of the hill and then good luck dragging your luggage to the hotel. It turns out Lyon actually has pretty decent public transportation but you wouldn’t know it based on the location of this place. Also, there are basically no restaurants within a few minutes walk, so if you want to eat something you’re either going up the hill or down it, but nowhere relatively close.

Next is service. When I arrived (admittedly, rather late, around 11p), the guy at the front desk barely acknowledged me. Not so much as a “hello” or a “welcome” or anything else. In the 3 days/nights that I stayed there only one person at the front desk seemed genuinely interested in hospitality. By far the friendliest and most inviting person working there is the bar man, which isn’t really a surprise since this place seems more interested in operating a restaurant/bar than a hotel/hostel.

That brings me to the next point, one which I saw another reviewer point out: the interior designer must have been going for some sort of “prison chic” aesthetic, because once you’re out of the lobby it truly feels like a prison. Dark hallways, dark rooms, prison bathroom, no joke.

My room wasn’t cleaned for 2 days while I was staying there and water was pooling in the shower during that time. Nothing was done about that until the third time that I asked.

I’m glad that this place works for some people and if you’re wanting to have a drink or some breakfast and hang out in the lobby or courtyard it’s fine for that (honestly I got the sense that many people do so who aren’t actually guests), but I’ve traveled enough and stayed in enough hostels to know that there are likely better options out there (see, e.g. Silo in Basel; similar in name, worlds apart in terms...

I’ve stayed in Pilo hotel twice, 7 days in total , 2 types of room. The 8 people dorm is much better than 4 people dorm, you pay less and have more space and fresh air ( 4 ppl one smells awful, I couldn’t sleep because of the feet/body smell. Ofc I can’t pick my roommate but I’ve stayed in hostels all over the world this was my first unique experience). You do not have a sink in the toilet in 4ppl dorm so you will have to wait for someone to finish their shower to wash your hand since there is no toilet in the common area such as kitchen and chill space. The capsule beds in 4ppl dorm is terrible, as long as there’s 1 person moves the rest 3 would wake up and party together.

The hotel is locate at my favorite neighborhood in Lyon, croix rouge, means you got wonderful views and vibe but you have to pay by physical efforts. Tons stairs and the hostel/hotel itself is in the middle of a slope, doesn’t matter you walk down from the metro station or climb up from the bus station, both makes you wanna cry if you got a big luggage. Use Bolt, believe me. Don’t struggle.

About luggage room, you need to pay. Is fine to pay coz every business struggle after Covid. But, paying 25€ for 24h isn’t very reasonable consider your hotel is in the middle of a hill and you offer capsule rooms for many backpackers. If this is not taking advantage on people I’m not sure what is. ( I left my luggage in the hotel for a 5 days trip to another city. I wrote email before booking the hostel and confirmed multiple times the possibility of leaving my luggage. All of them ask me to use the locker but no one told me the machine would ask my to pay 170€. ) The staff is so sweet and friendly, who helped me to get my suitcase without paying extra 145€, but if someone doesn’t have gut to tell the staff, what would have happened ?

After all, is not a cheap hotel/hostel. A lot of things could...