Belazur Hotel, Calais

...be difficult to miss Hotel Belazur because of it's size, but in case you are now worried, it is on the corner of Rue de la Mer/Place d'Armes and is painted a pastel blue and white colour.

The Location is bang in the centre of town, by Rue Royale where all the main bars, cafes and shops are. There is also a supermarket a minute east from the Hotel, and of course several off-licenses and tabac's. This was ideal for me, and suited how ...
...superfluous to my needs so Belazur it was!


FACILITIES

Hotel Belazur caters for Smoking and Non-Smoking guests, has facilities for the disabled, and also for pets. Each room has a separate bathroom, and television (with BBC1&2), and apparently there is internet access in the bar downstairs. Apart from using the bathroom and switching the tv on a couple of times, I didn't really use any of the facilities so cannot ... more

I had a couple of days holiday left at the end of July and decided I would venture over to Calais. I don't drive and didn't have a lot of money, neither do I know Calais or speak much French. So I was looking for a hotel close to the centre that wasn't too expensive.

LOCATION

Walking from the port, it took me less then 10 minutes to find the Place d'Armes where the hotel is situated. The Place d'Armes is like a square car park where they have markets, fayres, and such like. The four roads that join around the square are also called 'Place d'Armes', which could make matters confusing. However it would be difficult to miss Hotel Belazur because of it's size, but in case you are now worried, it is on the corner of Rue de la Mer/Place d'Armes and is painted a pastel blue and white colour.

The Location is bang in the centre of town, by Rue Royale where all the main bars, cafes and shops are. There is also a supermarket a minute east from the Hotel, and of course several off-licenses and tabac's. This was ideal for me, and suited how I spent my time here - eating, drinking and shopping.

If you are looking for a quite location to stay then this may not be the place for you. The Hotel itself was fine - I was not disturbed at all - but there is quite a bit of traffic along this area with the French equivalent of our Boy Racers driving about all the time. This was never a problem for me, and all the outside seating for the cafes and restaurants is always full with customers, so it doesn't appear to be a problem for anyone else - I only mention this because if you don't like busy urban environments then you may be put off by this.

BOOKING THE ROOM

If you want to pre-book the hotel then this can be arranged via the phone number at the bottom of this op, but I just turned up there. The receptionist spoke perfect English, was friendly, and was patient with my attempt at Francais. The Hotel accepts credit cards although I paid in cash. The prices for the rooms are below:

PRICES IN EUROS (Per Night):

Single 42

Double 52

Twin 52

Triple 61

Quadruple 67

Breakfast is a further 6 Euros per person

From what I could see, this was one of the cheaper of all the hotels, and is what attracted me. I visited a few other hotels before I ventured into this one, some cheaper, some more expensive. The cheaper hotels were all booked up, and one in particular was pretty rough to say the least - I would have not stayed there. The more expensive places were superfluous to my needs so Belazur it was!

FACILITIES

Hotel Belazur caters for Smoking and Non-Smoking guests, has facilities for the disabled, and also for pets. Each room has a separate bathroom, and television (with BBC1&2), and apparently there is internet access in the bar downstairs. Apart from using the bathroom and switching the tv on a couple of times, I didn't really use any of the facilities so cannot comment on them. I opted out from having breakfast because it meant getting up, so I am not in a great position to comment on this section.

THE ROOM

Inside, the room was no oil painting, but it was clean, bright and cheerful. It looked like it had been painted pretty recently - lovely lemon yellow, pastel blue, and white! There was a balcony that overlooked the back of another hotel but I am not going to complain. There was a portable tv but there wasn't an alarm clock. However if you phone reception they will arrange a wake-up call for you. The bathroom was clean, with two of each towels etc. Most importantly, the bed was comfortable.

CONCLUSION

I was hoping to find a cheap no-frills hotel to stay in that was welcoming, secure and centrally located; Hotel Belazur was just that. It is open 24 hours a day so is ideal for returning after a night out at the bars, and is ideal for English travellers with little or no experience of France. I would recommend Hotel Belazur, especially if you are with your mates - if there are four of you and you rent a quadruple room then you pay than 17 Euros each per night!

Although it made no difference to me on holiday, a few more amenities could have been nice, like perhaps a hairdryer, trouser press and alarm clock, and therefore would not be my first choice if travelling for business. Similarly it hardly suffices as romantic or luxurious, but then if you are looking for this kind of holiday then perhaps there are better places to go then Calais?

There is a Kryiad travel lodge nearby, which is very competitively priced compared to hotel Belazur. There are more facilities and the rooms have modem connections, and trouser presses etc, so would probably be better for those on business trips. However it is a little outside Calais, in Coquelles, which is west of Calais so not great if you are on foot and don't know the place.

There are cheaper rooms elsewhere, especially single rooms, so Belazur is not perfect for everyone. However if you're travelling in a pair, or with friends then it is ideal. I would stay there again.

Hotel Belazur
23 Place d'Armes
62100
Calais

Phone +33 (0) 492 472 472
Fax +33 (0) 492 472 473

 

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