245 Rue La Fayette, Paris 75010 Métro Jean Jaurès Train Gare de l'Est, Gare du Nord Tel (01) 46 07 65 11 Websitewww.paris-hostels.com
BUG Review
Peace & Love hostel is in a travel-convenient but noisy location between Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est, but the area has little to offer scenery-wise, and it is a 20 minute metro ride to the centre. The hostel does have a bar which opens onto a patio where you can buy cheap drinks, but which also sometimes attracts dodgy characters from the area. Rooms are newly renovated and clean, though on the small side, and the kitchen is clean enough, but facilities need maintenance. Unfortunately, the staff have a tendency towards extreme rudeness and impatience.
Price Dorm bed €17-21 Twin room €42-50 Prices are in euro and are inclusive of all taxes.
Reception Open 24 hours
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Pros:
Hostel Organised Walking Tour
Cons:
Twisty Windy Staircase
smileymac
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We stayed at this hostel for one night last October. Generally I would recommend it apart the fact that we had 3 people squeezed into a tiny 2 bed room ( I had to sleep on a mattress on the floor); the cleaning staff stole 2 of my books that I left on top of my sleeping bag; there is only one key per room and to get to any of the rooms you have to fight your way up a twisting spiral staircase that most ancient castles would be proud of - would be a nightmare to try and get out of in a hurry. It may be a fair distance from any of Paris' main sites but there is a Metro station right across the road and plenty of the city to explore along the river. The staff are friendly and good humoured and the kitchen was clean. The best thing about this hostel is the walking tour they organise twice a week (well they did at the time we were there) which covers Monte Martre, Moulin Rouge and Sacre Couer at night and boasts spectacular views of the city. It would be worth going to this hostel purely to experience this tour!
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(Review ID: 2998)
disorganised hostel with rude staff, April 16, 2005
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Anonymous
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i just spent three days at the hostel and i would discourage anyone from staying there. it's not very clean, it's really noisy and the staff are ridiculously rude. you'll stand at the counter for fifteen minutes before you are helped by a staff member and then you'll wait even longer while they talk on the phone, etc.
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2 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 2999)
Great Stay, July 6, 2004
Reviewer:
joenewmo
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I really don't see how anyone could possibly give this hostel lower than 3 stars, maybe someone who though it was a hotel or an american crying about the french, who knows, in any case its a 4 star hostel no doubt. It's right by the metro, cafe's, supermarkets, parks, and the river. You can't ask for more. You can swing by ED's supermarket buy a cheap meal for 2 euros and go back and cook it in a nice clean kitchen in the hostel, they have happy hour in the bar which will get you a pint of good beer for I think it is 3 euros, and they are friendly enough to help you with whatever you need, the price is worth the stay. I enjoyed my stay at the peace and love and would definatly go back for a few more.
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2 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 3000)
Bad neighborhood, poor staff, May 13, 2004
Reviewer:
Pat456
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This hostel is in a bad neighborhood, situated at a noisy intersection of about four streets, that is absent of any charming cafes, restaurants, or bakeries (there is a McDonald's). It's a short, but dangerous and confusing, walk to the metro, which you'll be using often to escape the bad neighborhood. Be prepared to walk up and down the narrow staircase in search of a clean and working toilet. If you have a room with a shower, understand that you will have no privacy while showering. And heaven forbid you run into problems with your roommate -- mine got really drunk, peed all over the floor, tried to start a fire, and harassed us all night. The staff member on duty (also the bartender who served the drunk guy all those drinks) refused to throw the guy out and offered us the bar floor as an alternate bedroom. He also refused to give us our money back. There are much better and comparably priced places to stay in Paris -- I highly recommend you look elsewhere.
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5 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 3001)
Great staff, clean, and good price, February 1, 2004
Reviewer:
Geoffrey
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Stayed 6 nights over new years and had a blast! The staff were all really friendly and a lot of fun, was very impressed! The rooms and common areas were cleaned daily, good access to most of the city from the Jaures metro stop (about 150m away) and Gare Du Nord was only one or two stops away (great if coming in/going out on Eurostar). A great hostel, I will be going back next time I am in Paris.
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1 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 3002)
Good staff, Cheap drink, Had Heaps of Fun!, January 19, 2004
Reviewer:
Clare, Romina and Lottie
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We stayed at Peace and Love for four nights, and can honestly say, after backpacking round Europe for awhile, that it was the place we had the most fun. Karaoke night, nighttime tours round montmatre, a party in one of the rooms, Peace and Love go out of their way to make sure that fun is had by all.Ok, so the stairwell is small, as are the rooms, but really it hardly seems to matter. If a small stairwell is going to ruin your travels, then you shouldn't be a backpacker! There is a cheap bar downstairs (the wine is REALLY cheap if you buy it by the bottle), the rooms are all cleaned (daily). Most importantly, as opposed to nearly every other parisian hostel, there is no lockout, and no curfew! Staff will tell you good places to go during the day and at night, help you read your French phonecard if you are limited in the local tongue, and generally do everything to make your stay enjoyable, and after staying in some really dodgy places its something you genuinely appreciate. The showers. Yes the showers are tiny, and in the room (with a glass door separating you from your roomates). But most of the rooms have ensuites, and don't have this problem (we lucked out on this).Peace and Love is close to Jaures metro station (orange line) and Gare du Nord (Paris' main station) so getting places is no trouble.Definately a recommended stay.
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5 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 3003)
I don't know about peace, but definetly love, November 26, 2003
Reviewer:
Celine Yarnall
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When I was in Paris for the first time a few years ago, I stayed at the Peace in Love for a few nights. I didn't have any reservations and they gave me the last mattress they had available. I was happy about the "no curfew" rule and the rooms were mixed which open a lot of opportunities. Unfortunatly, nobody spoke French. The place was decorated for Halloween. The bar is really cool with cheap beer (make friend with the guy behind the bar or one of the staff). My first 15 minutes into the place, I was approached by one of those guys (a American) that gives flyers to people at the Gare du Nord. He invited me for a beer, we talked and spent the next four days together. There was not a lot of privacy, but it didn't matter. We got engaged two days after we meet and four years later, we are still married...
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2 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 3004)
Good staff, if a little unorganised, October 30, 2003
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Anonymous
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I stayed here for four nights. I had made a reservation on the internet for a 9 bed mixed dorm, but when I turned up they put us in a four bedded dorm, which was a bonus! Then she told us to go upstairs and knock on the door because there was no key, which was a little strange; only ONE key? Turned out there was no one in the room and it was locked and they couldn't find they key. So they then gave us a two bed room, which was even better (except for those stairs, yes I am lazy). I also found it quite strange and somewhat annoying to have to leave the key at reception every time you left. I mean, come on, on the whole wouldn't it be better to just invest in some new keys???The bar was the best place- the cheapest beer by FAR in Paris...3 Euro for a pint in happy hour, when the cheapest I found was 4,50 Eur anywhere else. The staff are friendly and willing to talk.There are no storage facilities for your bag if you check out, you just leave it in the kitchen. It depends how willing you are to leave your rucksack there I guess. They do, however tell you there is a safe if you want to store any valuables.I would recommend this hostel to people wanting to have a good cheap time in Paris (in the bar I mean) the price is good for paris and they staff are friendly and helpful. It's also cleaned really thoroughly by this one guy, which was quite impressive. Also another plus about this place is that it's probably one of the only hostels in Paris I could find which had NO curfew and NO daytime lockout. Come on Frenchies, get with the times, hostels aren't convents!
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4 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 3005)
Great place, but expect the unexpected, October 2, 2003
Reviewer:
Kristian Rother
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I stayed four nights in the Love and Peace hostel, room 14, 6th floor. The place was clean, showers, toilets and sheets were OK. 23 Euros per night seemed not expensive. Traffic connections were very well. The road at night was loud, but constantly. You could also book a mattress on the floor for 19,-. Rooms were mixed. So far for the statistics.One of the people at the reception desk (they constantly changed, i almost never saw a face twice, not exaggerating) had screwed up my registration. In the first night, a mattress with another guy had materialized in the room. In the second night, another boy rushed in with a huge pile of furniture (i still am not exaggerating!), trying to claim my bed. A visit to the reception left me in the belief that now they should have got it. Wrong. In the third night, i came from business at 1.00 a.m. I opened the door, and found a beautiful girl from japan sleeping in my bed! Feeling like the 7 dwarves, i managed to get another mattress. We tossed a coin (i was really not in the mood for subtleties, sorry). Despite this Snowwhite incident i spent my whole time having very nice company. I did come to paris with an open heart for adventure, and it was exactly what i got. Must have been karma. So, i enjoyed it all the time.
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1 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 3006)
The wannabe american at the bar was a wanker!!!!, September 30, 2003
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Anonymous
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Well myself and my girlfriend came in to the hostel that was suppose to be all 'peace and love' to be met by a short fat guy giving us bad looks because we could not hear anything he was saying over the sound system - as he had it turned up so no one could hear what anyone else was saying.... Acting all cool - he said the place was full although he knew a place 5 stations away that had two rooms... so me and my girl got a drink just to be courtious - and then headed off.. found the other place in good time - just to find out that he was an arrigont prick himself - and had no rooms either.... In speaking to a couple of other guests while at peace and love - I quickly discovered that the name of the place is a bit misleading to what the actual vibe is in the place.... You can keep you wannnabe peace and love - be it cheap - the gay little man dancing around like he had the best bar in town - and sending all travellers off in all directions late at night - can have his little gig - its no way to spend your night in Paris, wake up little man, were having our beer down the road next time - you don't know the definition of hospitality!!!
