We were visiting friends in Nantes and decided to pick somewhere nice and central and got a great deal on this hotel.
The hotel is ideally located right in the heart of Nantes, literally at the 'Commerce' tram/bus terminus and within a few meters of the Place Royale and the quirky and restaurant-laden, Bouffay area. The tram system also gives you very rapid access to the railway station and there are bus connections from 'commerce' to the Airport
I would also highly recommend a trip, on foot, to the île de Nantes and "Les Machines de l'ile. This is an art centre based in a former shipyard. Artists and engineers work together to create amazing machines including the famous mechanical elephant which is about the size of 4 London double-decker busses! There centre also includes many other smaller machines which would remind you of something from a Tim Burton movie (i.e. Nightmare Before Christmas). It's really well worth a visit and is one of the quirkiest tourist attractions in the region.
The Château des ducs de Bretagne is also worth visiting. A short walk from the hotel, this ancient fortress has been turned into an extensive museum. It tells the complete story of Nantes, warts and all, covering everything from its Breton history, its architecture, to its dark and shameful connections with the slave trade, it's role in the French revolution, World War II, its industrial heritage right up to modern day France. It's a very interesting way to get a true sense of Nantes, Pays de la Loire and Brittany.
The hotel is also right in the middle of Nantes' main shopping districts. For a city its size, it has an amazing array of shops which are as good as anything you'd find in any European capital. I would highly recommend it as a shopping destination if you don't want the hustle and bustle of Paris.
The hotel room was quite generous for a French city centre hotel and the facilities were good. There was also an excellent self-service breakfast bar which provided a nice selection of breads, pastries, coffee, tea, cheese, yogurts and even a orange-juicer machine for perfectly fresh OJ.
The staff were also extremely friendly and helpful and did their best to make our stay as nice as possible.
The only drawback of this hotel is that it is right in the middle of some of Nantes' busiest night spots. So, there is quite a lot of noise outside at night, particularly at the weekends. However, that tends to be the trade-off for staying in a truly city centre location.
I would highly recommend this hotel and a visit to Nantes, which I feel is a very underrated and overlooked city. It's well worth a visit!
Tips:
There is a laundry/laudromat located just across the tram tracks at Allée Dugauy Trouin (which is just on Cours Franklin Roosevelt) 2 mins from the hotel.