The Originals Residence, Appart’Hôtel Hévéa, Valence — Hotel in Valence

Valence is a convenient stopover point for travelling on the A7 highway. I've stayed just south of town once and wanted more dining options than just fast food, this hotel fits my budget and requirement (own paid car parking). ||||The hotel faces government offices and a busy roundabout, which can be noisy at times. Depending on which direction one is coming from, the hotel's car park entrance is located two buildings before/to the hotel, it's not very obvious and will require a careful reverse down a one-way lane to get into if passed it. A code is required to get into the garage.||||Check-in was slower than average but the reception was friendly and spoke English. The room I was assigned on the first floor just above the reception facing the roundabout, traffic noise was very noticeable even with window closed. Upon request, I was reassigned to a room on the second floor, it was much quieter!||||My basic room has a kitchenette and adequate cooking and dish washing supply - a large sink, a mini fridge, and cooking hobs. The room has a desk, a chair, a small table by the kitchenette with a stool, a firm queen size bed, two soft pillows, two bedside tables, reading lamps, a thorn floor lamp, a small TV, and a small wardrobe space. The small bathroom has a walk-in shower and a small heated towel rail.||||The hotel has a sauna on the second floor which I did not use. ||||The room could use an upgrade and a fresh coat of paint, lighting is poor especially the kitchenette area, the bathroom could also use an upgrade from water damages and better lightings.||||If the rooms were renovated I would consider...

Where Comfort Went to Die||Imagine a hotel conceived not by hoteliers but by cost accountants—somewhere in a fluorescent-lit boardroom in Paris, Moscow, or New York—debating how to strip hospitality down to its cheapest possible form. Remove staff entirely—problem solved, payroll gone. Shrink the rooms until you can touch both walls without moving your feet. Install the smallest bed still legal to call a double. Replace air conditioning with a desk fan loud enough to wake you every twenty minutes. And, of course, banish drinking water altogether—no bottles in the room, no dispenser in the hall, not even a vending machine in reception. After all, comfort costs money.||That’s exactly where I stayed last night: Well Yu’s Hotel, a monument to false advertising and corporate austerity. The photos online promised minimalist chic; what I found was minimalist misery. The wide-angle lens had done heroic work—turning broom cupboards into “suites.”||If you value sleep, space, or the basic human need for water, stay...

It's a no-fuss hotel, very clean and looks new-ish. Everything works! Context is that we were just passing through and staying the night, hence would recommend it for a simple few nights' stay.||||The carpark was not connected to the hotel and had no elevator or steps. We had to push the luggage up the slope of the carpark. Not a big inconvenience, but not ideal either. ||||Had a bit of issue with the wifi though. Can only log in 2 devices at a time and have to keep re-logging in over and over again. ||||If I transit through again in future, I will definitely consider...