I made my reservation for Appart City Residence Le Havre online through HotelClub.com. I was looking for budget accomodations near the train station and this hotel was under $60. I requested a late arrival as I knew that our train would get in after 11pm. Once we arrived in Le Havre, it became immediately apparent that the hotel was not close (within walking distance) to the train station and would require a taxi. The taxi driver drove us through Le Havre to the hotel which took about 7-8 minutes. It is off of a main street and everything was completely dark. No street lights, no lobby lights. We asked the taxi driver to wait while we checked out the situation. There were no instructions for late-arriving visitors and the hotel was locked tight. We returned to the cab (now after midnight) and asked him to take us to the Sofitel near the train station. After a 25 euro cab ride in vain, we were lucky enough to secure a room at the Sofitel at more than twice the rate of the Appart City accomodations. The next morning I went to the hotel (seeing the dicey neighborhood for the first time) to find out why we had been locked out and the person at the desk greeted me BY NAME and informed me that "We're closed on Sunday". Why I wasn't informed of this during the reservation process is beyond me, as well as WHY they would accept a booking for a day they were "closed". I was further puzzled why a hotel would be closed on a Sunday. When I contacted HotelClub.com via email, I soon received a response saying that they had contacted Appart City Residence Le Havre and that I had "gained access and had stayed the night". I was aghast. I fired off an email informing them that I HAD NOT stayed the night but visited the facility and was told that they were "closed on Sunday". To their credit, HotelClub.com issued me a refund and the issue is now closed.

For anyone visiting Le Havre, might I suggest the Sofitel near the train station and avoid the nasty surprise of finding yourself at a dark, closed hotel after midnight in a dicey neighborhood in a strange city overseas...unless you crave that.