St. Christopher’s Inn, Gare du Nord, Paris
St. Christopher’s Inn, Gare du Nord, Paris is in the ideal location for a backpacker and may well be one of the best places in the city to stay if the dizzying costs of Parisian Hotels are found to be off putting.
Check Reviews and Prices here – Booking.com – Tripadvisor
Access is key to St. Christopher’s Hostel. It is within a minute walk to the nearest Metro station and the main terminals at Gare du Nord are a mere 2 minutes further.
Upon walking into the bustling reception we were greeted with numerous backpackers being seen to by the staff. We didn’t have to wait long before we were served and being instructed about the keycard system and where our room could be found. We were also given discount coupons to use at the Restaurant/Bar Belushi’s that is situated next to the reception. They have multiple televisions for watching sports games and have regular events ranging from Beer Pong Tournaments to Open Mic Nights.
There is an air conditioned lounge area at the right of Belushi’s furnished with cozy leather Chesterfield sofas. An excellent comfort for the weary sunbaked traveler making their way through the hot Parisian streets.
St. Christopher’s finds itself in a unique position for a Hostel where it keeps the feeling and similarities to a Hotel but retains the youth and effervescence of a Hostel. We found our way to the room down the corridor on the fifth floor and entered to find a small but well equipped suite. The room was clean and modern in design. It felt as if the room had been renovated recently and in addition to having the Suite we could also use the communal toilets and showers. We had a view of the Montparnasse Tower dominating Paris‘s skyline and The Eiffel Tower could also be seen peeking through the skyline on the horizon. Looking further at the suite, we found USB sockets conveniently mounted in the wall beside the cozy bed, where plenty of fresh linens were supplied for us too. We headed downstairs and after a quick beer at Belushi’s we found ourselves re energised to go out and start exploring the streets of Paris.
Accessing the building after hours is easy and secure. A Doorman from Belushi’s stood guard making sure guests went in the right entrance for the Hostel versus the bar. We made our way to the suite up one of the two elevators, and while waiting for it, could hear a few cheers from other guests but nothing that we’d be losing sleep over. The padded flooring in the hallway is a neat detail that helps dull any heavy steps in the hall during the night.
After a good night’s sleep we made our way to a continental breakfast that was served between 7am and 10am. Bread, Ham Cheese, Fruit, Cereal and a huge basket of Nutella and Jams are on offer alongside Coffee, Tea and Fruit Juice that helped set us up for the day. Other food is available through the restaurant but this breakfast was more than enough compared to other Hostels I have stayed at.
Having adequately eaten for the morning we made our way to the air conditioned lounge area to plan our day ahead and spend some more time on the leather Chesterfields. The WiFi throughout the building is fast and free, even with numerous people using it at the same time.
All good things must come to an end and so did our visit at the St. Christopher’s Inn. Housekeeping had been and gone replacing our linens and cleaned the suite despite us leaving that day. Laundry facilities were available if we needed but our stay was not long enough to warrant that. We did use the locker room in the basement as we had nowhere to leave our bags after checking out. These were easy to use computer controlled lockers where storage can be purchased for up to 24hrs. This was perfect as we were then free to explore Paris for a few more hours before our departure. One word of advice on the lockers; as checkout is at 11am you will find the locker room at it’s most busy with all the other guests aiming to use this facility at this time of the morning.
Both the Gare du Nord and Canal locations of St. Christopher’s are consistently rated amongst the top Hostels in Paris for many reasons. They offer modern, clean and safe facilities that offer a Hotel type of feel to a modern and lively Hostel. Our thanks go out to all the staff who ensured we had a comfortable and pleasant stay.