Charles Hawtrey

Rab Bruce <>, while facing east,
summoned the courage to declaim:

    >We've used Ibis a couple of times. The one in Namur (okay, Belgium, but
    >wth?) was impeccable and extremely friendly. The one in Laon (Aisne) was
    >absolutely appalling (details on request!). Seems to depend v muh on the
    >management.

Hmm, in my experience Accor run a pretty tight ship. Have you filed a
report of your experience with their main office?

Earl Evleth

On 17/01/04 4:09, in article , "Charles
Hawtrey" <> wrote:

    > Hmm, in my experience Accor run a pretty tight ship. Have you filed a
    > report of your experience with their main office?


Generally French hotels are pretty good. Certainly better than the
charter plane industry!

Earl

Devil

On Sat, 17 Jan 2004 08:26:58 +0100, Earl Evleth wrote:

    > On 17/01/04 4:09, in article , "Charles
    > Hawtrey" <> wrote:
    >
    >> Hmm, in my experience Accor run a pretty tight ship. Have you filed a
    >> report of your experience with their main office?
    >
    >
    > Generally French hotels are pretty good. Certainly better than the
    > charter plane industry!

I suppose I must disagree. Incidentally, on charters, I don't think there
is much of a French charter industry. That plane was Egyptian, and it's
beyond me that some folks would care so much about petty cash to entrust
their life to a fly-by-night Egyptian charter company.

But coming back to French hotels. I think the large French groups, at
least Accor (is there any other one?) is indeed pretty reliable.

However, the hotel industry in France is another story entirely, and the
large chains remain a relatively small portion, compared with small
operations with individual owners. Which is particularly unpredictable
in France. Even compared with places such as Italy, I would say.

Part of the issue may be the role of the (government-run?) star
classification. Which seems very formal and very feature-oriented. So
you end up with crappy places but who did make sure they do satisfy the
feature requirements.

Anyway, at the end of the day, lots of overpriced small hotels. Some are
wonderful, but you never know.

Bill Smith

I'm not considering swanky top-price places, nor hotels for the whole
holiday duration, but hotels where a traveller/holidaymaker might spend
a night or a few nights en route, on a limited but not ultra-tight
budget. Also, not considering the Travelodge type of stopover,
essntially an overpriced (even at £42 quid) spartan box containing a
bed, a chair and a telly, curtains that don't quite close, and all the
charm of Cell Block H.

Suggested approach, interspersed with Awful Experiences, follows, but
first, for the *total* beginner, remember that French hotels charge for
the room, not per person. Two occupants in a room priced 40 euros does
NOT mean 2 x 40 euros = 80. The 40 euros covers both of you (though
sometimes the duvet doesn't). Many won't charge, either, for a thid
person (eg your child) sleeping in the same room. Continental breakfast
often included or may be extra, but this will usually be advertised.

1. Before you leave, list the towns you might stop at and check out
what's available on the internet. Decent places will include photos that
give some idea of the decor, etc. and detail essentials like whether
meals available (cost?), is there a bar? toilet arrangements, parking
facilities, lifts, etc. etc.
For some, question of whether children/pets welcome is important.
Obviously essential if you have a kid/dog, but important now to us
because we spent two nights last year beside an otherwise charming young
couple whose infant's crying kept us awake half the night.

2. Before you leave, check as many guide books for each town as you can
find in the library. If several list the same hotel, it's a useful but
not certain pointer. (Bear in mind the most recent guide was probably
written a year ago, and things change. We were drawn to a hotel in
Rennes by a guidebook we trust, but found that the premises next door
had since publication become a disco and the music, street disputes and
taxi noises went on till about 3 a.m. The hotel itself was all the guide
had said it was.

3. Before you leave, on the basis of your research, short-list hotels
for each town/stopover. If you have enough time, ask on this ng for
comments from folk who've stayed in X, Y or Z hotel in A, B, C.
(1) to (3) will save a lot of time when you're there.

4. On arrival at A, have a look at the exteriors of your short-listed
hotels and delete the dilapidated ones with flaking paintwork, dirty
windows and ragged curtains. Scan the surroundings: litter, groups of
loutishly-behaving teenagers congregated nearby, potential problems like
our adjacent disco, etc. Venture inside the remaining 2 or 3. Check for
strange smells, general welcome, etc. Maybe have a drink and/or a snack
and chat (language permitting) with the bar staff/waiter. Check the menu
if you decide you'll eat at the hotel where you'll sleep. Useful if you
arrive at a mealtime to see if the locals eat there, usually a sign of
good, reasonably priced food. Or check for proximity of decent-looking
restaurants.

5. Ask to see the room you're being offered (normally they'll do this
witout you asking). Once, when we didn't, we found the bedroom & loo
papered with prohibitions: "Guests must NOT wash small items in the
handbasins / Pick-nicks have NO PLAC in this Bedrooms / Not to smoke
from out the window", and so on and on. Hoffnung with handcuffs.
Check the shower/bath for cleanliness; you've a right to expect
scrupulously clean WC/bath/shower, no matter how cheap the hotel.
Check the carpet for stains/smells - some staining is acceptable, some
absolutely not!
If it's France, don't be dismayed by clean but appallingly patterned
wallpaper. It's a French thing to decorate walls, especially bedroom
walls, with papier-peint created by the seriously taste-challenged. To
ensure that the guest fully appreciates how bad French wallpaper can be,
the French, even ikn their own homes, typically put up at least three
different wallpapers in each room, sometimes more than one paper on the
same wall, and each carefully chosen to clash each with the next.
Try to test the actual walls for soundproof level. We spent one night
unavoidably overhearing the couple next door - almost certainly a
married boss and his secretary - discussing matters both business and
personal. When it became rather too personal, I felt obliged to knock on
their door and advise them, to the couple's intense embarassment, that
every word was audible to us and presumably the people on the other
side. Normally it's not that juicy - just people blundering in from the
bar and putting on the TV - which doesn't have to be full volume to
disturb your slumber when you've 500km to do tomorrow.

I can't remember a single hotel we've stayed in in France over 30+ years
where they've provided tea/coffee-making facilities in the rooms. If,
like us, you're British and like a last-thing cuppa or a coffee with
your wake-up fag, buy a travel kettle (about £6 in Argos) and carry
small packs of teabags/coffee/sugar and powdered milk, or buy fresh milk
locally, and smuggle them in. I spent 20 years moaning about this
lamentable shortcoming of continental hotels before the obvious solution
came to me. Previously we relied on flasks of luke-warm water that had
been boiling when we set out. Dim or what?

Others may well add to these checks, but we find the fairly short time
spent, even on the on-location checks, is repaid by a decent stay and
happy memories.

But none of the above can prevent the occasional unexpected misfortune.
In Rouen we had booked two nights, intending to leave early on the
second morning. The management vanished for the day at about 8 pm, as we
found when we returned from a meal the excellent Gruttli. In the morning
we asked for the bill and explained we weren't taking breakfast there as
we'd a long journey ahead. The proprietor went into a fury, saying he'd
already been out to the baker's and bought croissants etc for us, and
now they'd have to be thrown away. If anybody on the staff had been
available the previous evening we'd have told them our plans, but this
carried no weight with the incensed proprietor, who was still loudly
berating us for our thoughtlessness as we slunk out with the cases. (The
same hotel, btw, had the most disgusting, filthy rubber over-bath shower
tube and plastic bath-mat I've ever seen, hence remark at (5) above!)

Another unexpected situation in Bruges: the hotel was very good, clean,
comfortable, but the owner was, well, wierd. The main door lock didn't
hold, and the wind was able to blow the door open. As I was bringing in
cases, he rounded on my wife because I was "wasting his money on the
heating", and several times throughout our three days he made nasty
references to my attempts, as he appeared to see it, to bankrupt him. I
suggested a couple of quid to a joiner would solve the problem forever,
but he thought I was extracting the Michael. And I *swear* he closely
resembled Norman Bates in appearance and demeanour, but smiled less
often and less charmingly when he did.

Much longer than intended, but a rant that may contain useful tips for
the novice. Hope so, anyway.

BS


Kevin Munro wrote:
    > Hello, can anyone tell me if there are travel lodge type hotels in France?
    >
    > By that I mean cheap ~£42 hotels that are all the same and fine for a stop
    > over when driving?
    >
    > Many thanks, Kevin.
    >
    >

Padraig Breathnach

Bill Smith <> wrote:

[informative post largely snipped, but worth a read]


    >Many won't charge, either, for a thid
    >person (eg your child) sleeping in the same room.
More and more, hotels charge for a third person or, more precisely,
for an extra bed.

    >Continental breakfast
    >often included or may be extra, but this will usually be advertised.
Almost always extra.

    >Ask to see the room you're being offered (normally they'll do this
    >witout you asking).
It's normal in France, so nobody need feel embarrassed about doing
this. Hotels which are members of a chain or franchise are less likely
to offer to show you the room, because the accommodation is
more-or-less standardised.

    >If it's France, don't be dismayed by clean but appallingly patterned
    >wallpaper.
My personal record is seven different wallpapers in one not-very-big
room in Paris.

    >I can't remember a single hotel we've stayed in in France over 30+ years
    >where they've provided tea/coffee-making facilities in the rooms.
Nor I. Hairdryers in bedrooms are almost as unheard-of, but they are
often available at reception.

France is the only country where I have received a gratuity from a
hotelier. We stayed a week in a hotel where normally people stop one
night, and took three dinners in their excellent restaurant. When we
were leaving, we were given two bottles of good wine. I am happy to
recommend "Au Val de Loire" at Les Rosiers, halfway between Angers and
Saumur. Note it down if, like me, you are a Loire Valley enthusiast.
Modest rates, reasonable rooms, superb restaurant.

David Horne

Padraig Breathnach <> wrote:

    > Bill Smith <> wrote:
    >
    > [informative post largely snipped, but worth a read]
    >
    >
    > >Many won't charge, either, for a thid
    > >person (eg your child) sleeping in the same room.
    > >
    > More and more, hotels charge for a third person or, more precisely,
    > for an extra bed.

With the Accor chain, the Formule 1 and Etap budget hotels have an extra
bed (usually a bunk bed) in addition to a normal double bed- included in
the price. Worth remembering, if you have a kid, etc. They don't tend to
be located very centrally though.

    > It's normal in France, so nobody need feel embarrassed about doing
    > this. Hotels which are members of a chain or franchise are less likely
    > to offer to show you the room, because the accommodation is
    > more-or-less standardised.

Yes, with Accor, I like this because you know _exactly_ what you're
going to get.

David

Terry Simmons

    > Kevin Munro wrote:
    > > Hello, can anyone tell me if there are travel lodge type hotels in France?
    > >
    > > By that I mean cheap ~£42 hotels that are all the same and fine for a stop
    > > over when driving?
    > >
    > > Many thanks, Kevin.
    > >

1. On arrival, invest in a copy of the latest Michelin Guide. Listings are all
under the towns, so you can easily plan ahead.

2. Don't stay anywhere that's not in the Guide.