Cool & Bed Hostel
32 Quai Arloing, Lyon
Tucked away behind some shops on a fairly quiet road by the river, in Lyon one can find the perfect hostel, where I spent a few days before moving into my university accommodation.
I found the hostel on the internet, through Hostel World, where the Cool & Bed had received a fairly high score in terms of customer satisfaction and had received excellent reviews from those who had previously resided there a few days or so. I knew that rooms and beds would not be available should I leave the booking for long, so I promptly laid down a small deposit and reserved two beds for my mother and me.
The hostel is situated in the ninth arrondissement of the city and is about a ten-minute walk from the nearest metro station of Valmy (metro line D), though there is a bus stop that is closer. The hostel is tucked away behind a couple of shops along with a club of some sort, though there are signs so it’s not so easy to miss.
The hostel in its entirety was a very clean and pleasant space which offered various social areas such as the entrance hall and reception area and the kitchen. The staff who work there are welcoming and friendly, making the stay more comfortable, particularly if you’re not too sure of the city and are a little lost at first. The reception is open twenty-four seven, so there is always someone there to help should you need any advice or have any problems.
The bedrooms
There are several rooms available including a family room and female only dorms, should you have any preferences. Each room has a theme based upon the wonders of the world, such as, a Taj Mahal room, a Great Wall of China room, or a room themed around the Coliseum in Italy, like the room I stay in, where inside there several silhouettes of Italian monuments were painted onto the wall, such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It gave the hostel character and it is something I will always remember the hostel by. It is clear that a lot of thoughts had gone into the creation and design of this hostel.
The rooms were composed of several bunk beds that fit in well with the bright colours in the room. I’m not a huge fan of bunk beds, though I didn’t have a problem with them. Each bed has its own little shelf, sockets and a small individual reading lamp. There are also lockers available should one wish to lock away their possessions. Padlocks and keys are available at the reception, though one has to pay a five Euro deposit, which is returned when the lock and key are handed back over.
Bedding is included with the hostel, though it’s just a simple sheet and blanket. With the air con, things can get a little cold at night. It is possible to ask for the air-conditioning to be turned off, should that not bother any of the others who are also staying in your room.
The bathrooms
The bathrooms are kept in an immaculate fashion. They are modern, bright and well designed. The toilets are kept separately from the shower room, where there are also more sinks and mirrors and a hairdryer. However, the shower room tends to get rather humid and steamy; so the majority of your items you take with you are likely to get a little wet! Though there is a disabled bathroom that is also available for customers to use should they wish to. Towels are available from the reception at a small cost, should you not have your own.
The Kitchen
There is a bright green kitchen, fully equipped with a microwave, oven, stove, cutlery and even dishwasher that is available to use. Should one wish to cook, there are fridges where one can store items and labels available so your possessions don’t get confused with others. The hostel provided many basic culinary items and many dried foods that are long lasting often get left behind and one should feel free to use them. One can either eat in the kitchen, or take their meal out and sit in the open reception area, which is generally more social. It is customary to clean up after yourself.
Other Facilities
- Breakfast:
The hostel offers a free breakfast to customers that consist of cereal, bread, and croissants, jam and fruit juice. Although it’s rather basic, it’s better than nothing or having to spend the start of the day hunting down some breakfast from a nearby dingy café.
- Laundry:
There are also laundry facilities that cost about fewer than four Euros for the washer and dryer. The staff at the hostel do your laundry for you and return it all to you later that day.
- Bar:
At the reception there is also a bar, where one can purchase various beverages, including the alcoholic type. One can also purchase prepared food, such as sandwiches or tapas style meals should one wish to.
- Internet:
It is possible to connect to the free Wi-Fi of the hostel, which runs at a fairly decent speed, though anything is decent to me after living in this university Residence (but low! and behold, they are actually apparently trying to sort it out! ). There is also a computer available should one need to use that.
The hostel has an incredibly homely feel, despite its very modern characteristics and I would say that is all down to the relaxed and welcoming nature of the wonderful staff at the Cool and Bed, who are happy to provide their customers with whatever it is they need or even just have a friendly chat with them.
For students especially around the time of starting a semester at university, I would completely recommend the hostel as I was able to find many other new students coming to study here in Lyon and make some wonderful friends, making the whole process of starting a new life here in Lyon a slightly less daunting task. The Cool & Bed are more than happy to have you back should you wish to make a quick visit, use the laundry facilities or quite simply use the oven!
I certainly agree with the reviews others have left on various websites and I certainly would not hesitate in recommending the hostel. It’s certainly one of my favourite hostels. However, whilst I profusely recommend the hostel, I most certainly don’t recommend getting a taxi from Part Dieu train station, if it can be avoided, (it's rather difficult should you have rather a lot of luggage) as the price of a taxi can be rather pricey, particularly on Sundays and in the early hours of the morning.
