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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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!

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.